Charles Aznavour gears up for world tour

The legendary French-Armenian singer and songwriter, Charles Aznavour is said to have pleased fans the world over when by announcing plans for a month-long residency at Paris' landmark Olympia theatre starting September 7, followed by a nationwide tour.

Aznavour's stint in the capital is a return to the stage that launched his career 55 years ago, AFP reported.

Close to 1,000 songs and some 60 films later, there is - once again - speculation that he may choose the moment to announce his retirement.

"Some of the press say anything!" he told AFP. "I said that I was going to do one of my last tours. But when [US director] Martin Scorsese presents his latest film, you don't say he's not going to make another."

The performer of such hits as "She", rerecorded by Elvis Costello for the Julia Roberts-Hugh Grant comedy "Notting Hill", and "Yesterday When I Was Young" said he is embarking on his new tour without first-night nerves - but a bit of anxiety..

"I used to get nervous, at the start, when the audience hadn't come to see me but from the moment they did, it stopped," he said.
For his Olympia shows and the 20 dates that follow he has selected "some new songs, some old, some very old, and some all-time favourites."

"So I am going to sing a song that I recorded with a duduk but that I have never been able to play on stage," he adds enthusiastically.
"I'm like every other artist, I like doing things that nobody else does: performing at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, at the Kremlin, St Mark's Square in Venice... I get a real kick out of that," he said.

"At my age, I'm not stopping anyone else from doing it. Just the opposite, I think am paving the way."