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The story is not new, the Mediterranean tour was the longest tour we ever done. It started in the end of 1999 and finished in the middle of 2002.
With Bandit and Ivan in the streets of Istanbul, with Marcio in the clubs of Malta, the Mediterranean tour saw the end of the Varanne brothers
and the beginning of the Infernal Varanne era.Let's check out.
From France to Turkey
In November 99 Bianca the daughter of Philippe and Conchy, the came to world in Lyon France. Three weeks after we start the tour in Sicily.
A long trip as we must take care of the new born Bianca. We pass the new eve in Catania, the Millennium! It was such an event from one millennium to another.
As February approached we prepared the BIG tour to Turkey. To be frank, I wasn't that glad to go there. From Turkey I just heard
about bad people, and bad police as seen in Midnight express movie. But Philippe convince me to go there.
We waited in Catania Sicily, the ship that should bring us to Trieste in the north of Italy near the Yugoslavian border.
But the big ship got down. So we had to wait couple of more days. Finally we arrived in Trieste, when I saw the enormous vessel full of strange
faces from Iranians I was happy to take airplane, we where there just to load the Globe of death equipment and trucks....So I thought.
Philippe told me that his dog is not allowed in the flight to Istanbul and ask me to keep his dog in the ship for one week. Hoops!
Ok Brother, I'll go with the strange guys.
In the boat, no problem, everyone was so cool with me, the first contact with the middle east was soft. Ok, one week on the sea, is quite boring.
The night before our arrival in Istanbul I asked the captain to wake me at 5. I wanted to see the Bosporus in the morning.
Woaoo. I saw Istanbul as no much people have seen it. I can not tell, let me just tell you that Istanbul is to me the nicest city in the world, just this.
Drive a truck in Istanbul is hard experience, cars are coming from left or right or even face to you and turn at the last moment. We get out and
stopped in a border of a lake with the trailers and campers. It was such a nice place when we woke up, 2000 kilometers away from France
in the middle of nothing, so quiet.
After 2 days on the roads we arrived in Izmir, the first city tour, the Millennium circus was installed, a nice brand new top run by the Kodaprin family.
It was cool to be at this place after 10 days on the roads.
The performers where; Antal Donnert, Karchy Donnert, the duo Lucky, the dutch girl Rosa, Iler, Anthony,
Elvis, Katia Kodaprin and two Hungarian boys: Lazlo Gabor aka " Bandit" and Ivan Makay aka " Maxyboy", they all became friends.
After 2 month I still was unable to speak Turkish, except: "Sen chok guzel, geil buria, ben karavan bu haksham"
In Adana I started to became friend with Bandit and Ivan, the summer was coming, we listened to the same music,
not true, Ivan introduced me to Body count and Cypress hill, our everyday music from this day.
With Ivan and Bandit we walked in the streets all nights, every nights from clubs to clubs, no place has secret for us.
In Istanbul we established a Street ball team, we wore the same tank shirt (Blue!), and after spending good time at our place we walked
to the pier to beat the Turkish guys. We won for 30 consecutive days, easy with our Nikes and Bandit who was a professional Basket ball player
of 1 meter 95. Basket ball at 2 oclok at night is a cool thing.
With my two friends we where everyday searching things to do or new people to meet, we met a lot of people, nice persons of all kinds.
No details will be tells here, it would be too long...
In Cesme, we walked at night and we where attracted by big house with light and soft house music. It was an open air bar.
The house has a swimming pool in guitar shape, a nice garden with couches, a giant wall screen, the DJ cabin was up in a tree...A dream
place. The owner of the place, Cemil Bora found us cool, and told us " This place is yours guys, I like circus performers "
Oh, god, we did as he says, we thought it was our home.
In the end of September the end of the tour was approaching, it meant the end of EVERYTHING to us.
I left Turkey alone on a boat, I was so sad to leave this nice country, Bandit and Ivan stood some more days. Bye brothers, see you one day on the road.
From Turkey to Greece
The boat is bringing us to Italy, we stay one week in Arbell Circus in family. My agent call me and asked me to go to Athens at the circus Medrano.
That was good, Athens is a city that must be seen, people are a bit aggressive, specially when driving, but dont miss Athens if you can.
When we Arrive at the circus there was another Globe of Death team. We a had nice talk about Globe of death technics and legendary stories of
our loved show.Then they left to another destination.
Ok, after this 2 month we go back to Italy our home in sum.
From Greece to Italy
We went back to Sicily again, we love Sicily, people are frank, and direct, you know who you talk to. But dont make mistakes, they are Sicilians, dont forget.
We went to Palermo, Catania, and finished to Messina, the city of Maria Cuccinota! We never saw her.
From Italy to France
Me and Philippe where talking about taking different ways, life is life, everything has a end. So after a show in the arenas of Palavas, France
for the circus Archaos, we split, 17 years after our first show in our father's wall of death.
From France to Malta
I had to recreate a team, difficult when you always worked with brothers, you can stand on brothers. I had to trust new people
or change my work. But my name is the oldest in Europe to do this show, I wont give up. So I had talk with some international Globe riders.
No one where interesting to me. Then I remembered Marcio from Brazil, I met him in Athens in the other Globe of death team.
I called him, he was interested to work with me, we go for the job. In Valletta, Malta.
The man is here as he promised, a luck for me. Marcio came from another Globe of death culture, his routine was diferant from mine. The GO, the stop,
we had to train, to adapt each selves to the other one. We came out, we could do a clean show after 2 days of training.
We became friends very quickly, Marcio is a funny guy, he likes to party, and Malta island can provides you everything for parties.
A street named Pacheville made of 50 night clubs at least. Free entrance everywhere, and a lot of nice girls everywhere, I tell you, everywhere.
With Marcio we talked about creating a Brazilian division of My team. Let's see later, for the moment, we took the best Malta has to give us.
Crazy Neil the soon of the show promoter was often with in parties, this young guy was really crazy, always talking. He couldn't stop talking.
He was our good friend. Time is coming to go to the next step of the very long Mediterranean tour.
The next step is Tunisia. Marcio Go to Brazil and I go to Tunisia via Marseilles in France with the truck.
From Malta to Tunisia
As we arrives the show promoters send us in a huge hotel in Hamamet for 10 days of rest. Was nice place.
We then discovered the place for the show, a theme park in Tunis city, we played 5 weeks, 2 shows a day.
Then the we finished the official period of show and we stood 5 more weeks for rest, not bad 5 weeks working 5 weeks vacation.
Tunis city is not really interesting, for the fun we drove every day to La Marsa, La Goulette et specialy bautifull Sidi Bou Said.
Le cafe des nattes a nice place to rest in the front of an amazing landscape. Time came a bit boring after 3 weeks when a night club owner
proposed me to work in his night club as a DJ. That was cool, DJ in a NON ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES club!! I still laughing of this story.
The rest of the time was spent with our local friends, playing guitar everywhere.
It's time to go back to France, I left my country in 1999 and came back in 2002.
A page was turned, many people we met will be not forgotten but never seen again, except in our heart and in the photo gallery.
