The seventh edition of The Golden Stag Festival - 1994
The
seventh edition of The Golden Stag Festival took place in Brasov
between August 30th - September 4th, 1997, in Sfatului Square
- in the old city. The Festival's hosts were Bianca Brad, Beatrice
Vornicu, Daniela Popescu, Cristina Stoica, Tania Budi and Ricky
Dandel.
The opening cocktail was offered by the mayor, the prefect, and the manager
of the festival, Dumitru Morosanu at Cetate Restaurant - a medieval restaurant
built inside the city's old fortress.
The festival was opened at the National Television by a short movie telling The
Legend of The Golden Stag (directed by a 4th year student at the Movie
Academy in Bucharest, Miki Balbi).
More
than 7,000 people seated in Sfatului Square and more than
18 million viewers watched every night a 2 and a half hour
live transmission from The Golden Stag. The festival was
broadcast by the Canadian, Spanish, and Japanese televisions,
while more than 150 journalists from Europe and United
States got credentials to write about the festival and
its stars.
The National Television organized a trip to Poiana
Brasov, where the competitors and their managers were happy to taste the
Romanian cuisine at Miorita Restaurant. The trip also included a stop at the
Horse Riding and shopping at the Artisans's Fair located in front of Sura Dacilor
Restaurant. The next day they visited the Peles
Castle and had a nice walk in Sinaia, one of the most beautiful mountain
resorts in Romania. On the third day, the competitors had the chance to see
Bran Castle and to be part of the Dracula's
legend.
In
the hors-concurs shows the audience met Paul Young, David
Palmer, Boy
George, Culture
Beat, The Commodores, Ray
Charles, James
Brown, as well as Romanian artists like Silvia Dumitrescu,
Loredana Groza, and Monica Anghel.
Worthy Davis from U.S.A. was awarded with The Golden Stag Trophy.
The seventh edition of The Golden Stag Festival ended on September 5th, at
the Aro Palace Restaurant, with a dinner party for the singers, the stars,
the jury and the journalists.
1994 Stars
In the hors concours-shows the audience met Paul Young, David
Palmer, Boy George, Culture
Beat, The Commodores, Ray Charles, James
Brown, Silvia Dumitrescu, Loredana Groza, Monica Anghel,
Arina, Sfinx Experience and Directia 5
Boy George
Boy
George was born George O'Dowd in 1961 in Kent, England. During
the '70s George became a big fan of glam rock, especially David
Bowie, and began attending hip London clubs in flashy women's
clothing. His outrageous style encouraged Sex Pistols manager
Malcolm Maclaren to recruit George for Bow Wow Wow, a new wave
band he was producing. George performed with the band for only
a short time before forming his own group, Culture Club, with
guitarist Roy Hay, bassist Mikey Craig and ex-Adam Antdrummer
Jon Moss.
In 1982 Culture Club signed to Virgin, but its first two singles failed to chart,
despite growing fashion interest in Boy George. Finally, the band reached No.
1 in the U.K. with their third single, Do You Really Want to Hurt Me. A 1983
debut album, Kissing to Be Clever, followed, and several singles reached the
Top 10 in the U.S. and Britain. Culture Club's fall 1983 follow-up, Coulour by
Numbers, made them worldwide pop stars with the No. 1 hit Karma Chameleon. The
band became MTV favorites, largely due to George's androgynous dress, and Boy
George soon found himself a cultural icon, known for his witty interviews.
Unfortunately the next few Culture Club albums did not sell as well as expected,and
the group began experiencing problems. George and Jon Moss, who were lovers,
began having relationship problems and George became addicted to heroin. During
the summer of 1986 George was arrested in Britain for marijuana possession; several
days later Culture Club's session keyboardist, Michael Rudetski, was found dead
of a heroin overdose in George's home. As George underwent treatment for his
addiction, Rudetski's parents filed a wrongful death suit against him, and Culture
Club broke up.
Culture Beat
Culture
Beat, the German group, was the creation of the producer Torsten
Fenslau, who got killed in a car accident. The story has its
beginning in 1989 when Torsten found the American rapper Jay
Supreme and the German singer Lana E., and asked them to form
a group. Beat. Their first hit was Strawberry Lips (also known
as Cherry Lips), but the pivot of their career was No Deeper
Meaning, one of the singles featured on their first album (Horizon)
which entered the Top 5 in several European countries.
In 1993 a big change occurred while Lana had left Culture Beat, and the producer
replaced her with the new-comer Tania Evans. Jay and Tania proved to be the winning
combination. Their first single, Mr. Vain, became soon No.1 in many countries.
Short after, their second album, Serenity, scored the tops with songs like Get
To Get It, Anything and World In Your Hands.
Meanwhile, Torsten Fenslau got killed in a car accident, and they had to postpone
the release of Anything. Everybody was wondering if Culture Beat would go on.
When it was released it looked like this single wouldn't be as successful as
it's predecessors.
Only after few weeks Anything reached the No.4 of The Dutch Top 10. The next
success was without doubt World In Your Hands, an album followed by a re-mix
After the re-mix album people thought they will stop, and will not go for a new
album. However, Frank Fenslau, Torsten's younger brother, became the big man
behind Culture Beat. Assisted by five producers, who were used to work with Culture
Beat, Frank released in 1995 Inside Out.
In 1996 Culture Beat put one song to the Queen Dance Traxx Vol. 1 CD, a CD containing
covers of Queen redone by dance-acts among whom Mr. President, Scatman John,
Blossom or Magic Affair. For the cover, Culture Beat chose Under Pressure, a
re-mix which became very popular.
On the same year, Tania left the group and continued
a solo career by remaining to the dance sound which made
Culture Beat famous. Frank replaced Tania with
Kim Sanders, a singer famous for few solo hits.
When on 16th February, 1998, Pay No Mind hit the stores
in Germany and in the Netherlands, Jay Supreme had already
left the group. Four days later the new
album Metamorphosis reached the stores.
On, February 2000 Kim Sanders left Culture Beat. She
was replaced by Jackie Sangster, a vocalist who worked
with ex-T-Spoon rapper Shamrock on a song called Superflysexylove.
James Brown
James
Brown grew up as the only child of a poor family. At the age
of five, he moved together with his aunt, who used to live in
Augusta, Ga. He earned money by dancing and singing for the soldiers
located at nearby Camp Gordon.
In 1940, he had run afoul of the law on an armed robbery conviction. A family
friend named Bobby Byrd helped him get parole. Ten years after Brown and Byrd
put up together a music quartet named the Flames.
In November 1955, the Flames recorded a demo with the name
Please, Please, Please, which was heard by the producer Ralph
Bass. Impressed by Brown's talent he signed
a contract with them. One week later, James Brown and the Flames were recording
in Ohio and within two months they released Please, Please, Please, a single
which reached no. 5 on Billboard's R&B list.
The second hit, Try Me came only after three years in the
winter of 1958. Brown hired a steady backup band, which became
the hottest R&B band in America.
He trained his team to dance, shake, and scream while on the stage. These strange
movements became the group's trademark.
Brown released the first album spending his own money. He recorded his performance
at the Apollo Theater in October 1962. In one year, Live At The Apollo hit no.
2 on Billboard's album chart.
Ignoring his King contract, in 1964 James recorded Out of Sight for Smash. He
got in trouble and started a legal battle. For one year he couldn't release any
new song. When he finally made up with King in 1965, he signed a new contract
allowing him a wide array of artistic control.
Out of Sight hit the pop Top 30 and topped the R&B charts.
Shortly after he released Papa's Got A Brand New Bag which
hit the jackpot becoming No. in
Top 10 pop single,
I Got You (I Feel Good) - hit No. 3.
In 1969, Brown's band walked out on him, and he hired instead a young band from
Cincinnati, the Pacemakers. They worked together only for one year. By the early
1970s, some members of his old band returned. By the 1980s, he lost his artistic
power, while the critics were complaining that the Godfather was repeating and
recycling his music.
Since the 1970s, the artist had a number of difficulties, including financial
and drug problems. In 1988, Brown's wife brought assault and battery charges
against him. He was involved in a car chase. According to the police Brown threatened
people with a handgun. He went to prison for six years. He was released on parole
after two years.
In 1992 Brown was awarded with a Grammy for his entire career.
Ray Charles
Blind
since he was six, Ray Charles studied composition and learned
to play to different instruments while he was studying at the
St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind. Since his parents
died when he was a teenager Charles had to work as a musician
in Florida. In 1947 he moved to Seattle.
Charles hit in 1951 the Top Ten R&B with Baby, Let Me
Hold Your Hand.
In the early '50s, Charles went to New Orleans where he worked
with Guitar Slim. But only at Atlantic Records, Ray found
his success releasing I Got a Woman,
a No. R&B hit in 1955.
This Little Girl of Mine, Drown in My Own Tears, Hallelujah I Love Her So, Lonely
Avenue, The Right Time, and What'd I Say were all big hits for Ray Charles.
At the end of the 1950s he left Atlantic Records for ABC. He was happy with the
arrangements because they agreed with a much greater degree of artistic control
of his recordings. He used it to release Unchain My Heart and Hit the Road Jack.
In 1962, he changed the style and turned to country & western
music. Soon he scored the charts with I Can't Stop Loving
You.
In 1965 Ray Charles was busted for heroin.
Competitors
SINGERS' CONTEST
MICHAEL JAMES - ENGLAND
CHARLES HERMAND - BELGIUM
NADIA BOTEVA - BULGARIA
AFONSO - BRASIL
ZHU HONG - CHINA
CARON - FINLAND
JAY DAY - FINLAND
ENA SEA - GERMANY
MICHAEL MORGAN - GERMANY
DUILIO - ITALY
AB THREE - INDONESIA
EDO KONDOLOGIT - INDONESIA
DAV MC. NAMARA - IRELAND
MARIS VITOLS - LITHUANIA
GYTIS PASKEVICIUS - LITHUANIA
ARTURO VARGAS - MEXICO
TONE NORUM - NORWAY
LORENZA - HOLLAND
SOPHIA - HOLLAND
MONA ROSOGA - ROMANIA
YOUDDIPH - RUSSIA
ZIA - SWEDEN
PATRICE - U.S.A.
WORTHY DAVIS - U.S.A.
VIDEOCLIP CONTEST
ELBA - BRAZIL
MEI HUA - CHINA
LARONTE - CUBA
JAY DAY - FINLAND
AB THREE - INDONESIA
GYTIS PASKEVICIUS - LITHUANIA
TONE NORUM - NORWAY
DZIDEK - GERMANY
CLUB FACTORY - HOLLAND
LOREDANA GROZA - ROMANIA
ENA SEA - GERMANY
BENNY - MEXICO
LINGA - LETHONIA
YOUDDIPH - RUSSIA
DEBUT CONTEST
TONY PUTRINO - AUSTRALIA
CHARLES HERMAND - BELGIUM
BAD GIRLS - BRAZIL
MEI HUA - CHINA
CARON - FINLAND
ENA SEA - GERMANY
MIRJAMS DREAM - GERMANY
DUILIO - ITALY
ANTONELLA ARANCIO - ITALY
BENNY - MEXICO
SOPHIA - HOLLAND
CARL LINGER - HOLLAND
DRAGOS ALEXANDRU - ROMANIA
YOUDDIPH - RUSSIA
ZIA - SWEDEN
TONE NORUM - NORWAY
The
seventh edition of The Golden Stag Festival took place in Brasov
between August 30th - September 4th, 1997, in Sfatului Square
- in the old city. The Festival's hosts were Bianca Brad, Beatrice
Vornicu, Daniela Popescu, Cristina Stoica, Tania Budi and Ricky
Dandel. 
Boy
George was born George O'Dowd in 1961 in Kent, England. During
the '70s George became a big fan of glam rock, especially David
Bowie, and began attending hip London clubs in flashy women's
clothing. His outrageous style encouraged Sex Pistols manager
Malcolm Maclaren to recruit George for Bow Wow Wow, a new wave
band he was producing. George performed with the band for only
a short time before forming his own group, Culture Club, with
guitarist Roy Hay, bassist Mikey Craig and ex-Adam Antdrummer
Jon Moss. 
Culture
Beat, the German group, was the creation of the producer Torsten
Fenslau, who got killed in a car accident. The story has its
beginning in 1989 when Torsten found the American rapper Jay
Supreme and the German singer Lana E., and asked them to form
a group. Beat. Their first hit was Strawberry Lips (also known
as Cherry Lips), but the pivot of their career was No Deeper
Meaning, one of the singles featured on their first album (Horizon)
which entered the Top 5 in several European countries.
James
Brown grew up as the only child of a poor family. At the age
of five, he moved together with his aunt, who used to live in
Augusta, Ga. He earned money by dancing and singing for the soldiers
located at nearby Camp Gordon. 
Blind
since he was six, Ray Charles studied composition and learned
to play to different instruments while he was studying at the
St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind. Since his parents
died when he was a teenager Charles had to work as a musician
in Florida. In 1947 he moved to Seattle.