Welcome to North Cyprus – Christine

of All Star Agency Promotions

By Margaret Sheard….

Video by Chris Elliott….

The All Stars Agency Promotions (ASAP) are doing a great job of making it easier for expatriate entertainers to perform legally in North Cyprus and there are now many on their books who have made their home here, such as Andrew and Glen of Andrew Sings….. and Jamie (the Man in Black),  who want to give something back through their talent of entertaining the public.  Ken Hibbitt, the new Manager of ASAP recently invited us to the Almond Holiday Village where there was to be a showcase of a brand new vocalist who will be coming permanently to North Cyprus very soon – Christine.

We met Christine before her performance and she said she was a little nervous but when she actually started singing there was no hint of this and indeed she gave a brilliant performance with a first set of many old favourites, ending with the Whitney Houston classic – I Have Nothing.  Some of the guests could not resist getting on to the dance floor and in the second set Christine upped the tempo and the dancing continued which I am sure made it so much easier for her to enjoy singing to such a receptive audience.   We were very impressed, as I think everyone was, she has what I would call a cracking voice and should do well when she finally makes the move from Turkey to the TRNC.

While we were listening and Chris was videoing we enjoyed a lovely 4-course meal at Almond Village, they certainly know how to satisfy their guests on the food front.  We had made our choice in advance from the very nice menu available and the waiters did not need us to remind them of our choices, they brought the right meal each time.  Brilliant meal and brilliant service.

Later in the evening a cake arrived as it was Ahmet’s birthday and Andrew took the mike to sing Happy Birthday to him.   Ahmet originally set up ASAP so it is thanks to him that our entertainers, who are registered with All Stars Agency Promotions (ASAP), can now work legally here without any fear of fines or deportation.

It is always nice to know something about the people who regularly entertain us in the many venues around the island and I asked Christine a little about herself and her career as a singer.

Christine Sayman is from Preston in Lancashire, UK.  She has loved music all of her life and in the UK she sang with musicians and bands at festivals and shows and also did studio work.  In 2000 Christine was the winner of “Search for a Star” in her home town.  She has a wide repertoire of music styles but her main love is Soul and Motown.   She says “My life is music, and music is my life”.

Christine has a Turkish husband, Sinan, who she met on the last day of a holiday in Turkey in 2006, they kept in touch by phone and email for some months and then Christine went back to Turkey and they eventually married.  Christine has 2 children aged 14 (of a previous marriage) and 9 (with Sinan).  Christine lived and performed in Didim, Turkey, which is where she met Andrew and Glen and was able to help them when they were trying to entertain there but unfortunately in Turkey the restrictions do not allow foreigners to obtain a permit for entertainment which is why Andrew and Glen finally made the decision to move to North Cyprus.   In Christine’s case, as she has a Turkish husband, she was able to work in entertainment but she found a problem with finding suitable musicians to work with in Turkey and mainly used a backing sound system for her performances.

The showcase at Almond Holiday Village was a great success for Christine, it was an excellent evening and we can look forward to seeing more of her when she and her family make the move to North Cyprus at the end of June.   Christine’s husband, Sinan, is also a DJ so maybe we will be treated to his music as well at North Cyprus venues.

Well done All Stars Agency Promotions for giving us yet another superb performer and we look forward to seeing Christine in the very near future at North Cyprus top venues, as well as our regular favourites.

Ken Hibbitt, the Manager of All Stars Agency Promotions, can be contacted on 0533 880 7476.