Magazine Dernière Heure, Vol. 7 N° 8, 22 April 2000
Page 40
En Francais ensuite
In 1987, Claude "Mégo" Lemay was the head of orchestra of the Festival of the song of Granby and also worked with Jean-Guy Moreau lorse that the producer Jean-Claude L'Esperance proposed to him to direct the musicians of Céline within the framework of the new tour which the singer was going to undertake. " I spontaneously answered him "no", because the fact of associating to me to the interpreter of the song "A Dove" [see notes 1] did not correspond to my image, which was more rock' roll. He then suggested that I watch the TV special Incognito, which was on a few days later... After having seen the program, I wanted the job!
My first meeting with Céline took place at her house in Laval. When she started to sing during the show, I had shivers... But, at the time, who could suspect that Céline would become the engine of such a gigantic machine? With the wire of time, I became a little like her big brother, and her, my little sister. What characterizes our relationship, is that on scene we do not need to say anything to understand each other...
Céline allowed me to carry out great dreams, like playing on the Wembley stage in front of 65 000 people, where we were the last to produce there before its demolition. My partner, Dominique Géraldeau, also works with the tour team as the choreographer, because we needed a person appointed to recruit the dancers in various cities which we visit. I have just finished the music of the tour of Daniel Lemire and that of a theatre in Saint-Sauveur in summer. Moreover, I currently work on the new album of Breen Leboeuf. In the autumn, I will be the head of the orchestra of the new program of Marc Labrèche, who will be introduced to network TVA. "
Notes
1: Une Colombe - A Dove was the song that Céline sang for the Pope when he visited Montreal. By the time Mégo was asked to be her musical director, her image had changed quite a lot as she had taken a year off to change her fashion and have her teeth straightened, but Mégo hadn't noticed her since!
Céline m'a permis de réaliser de grands rêves, comme jouer sur la scène du stade Wembley devant 65 000 personnes, alors que nous étions les derniers à nous y produire avant sa démolition. Ma compagne, Dominique Géraldo, s'est également greffée à l'équipe de tournée à titre de chorégraphe, car il fallait une personne attitrées pour recruter les danseurs dans différentes villes que nous visitions. Je viens de terminer la musique de spectacle de Daniel Lemire et celle d'un théatre d'été à Saint-Sauveur. De plus, je réalise actuellement le nouvel album de Breen Leboeuf. À l'automne, je serai chef d'orchestre de la nouvelle émission de Marc Labrèche, qui sera présentée au réseau TVA."