Politicians and businessmen
Former Albanian prime minister Fatos Nano might be the best known, but a number of Balkan politicians and businessmen frequently fly to Thessaloniki for a night out at one of the bigger clubs in the area around the city’s airport in summer, and often even during winter in the Sfageia district. In an interview with a prominent government official in a Balkan state last year, this writer offered him a bottle of Greek red wine and was told, «This would taste better if I were listening to (singer Dimitris) Mitropanos!» Greek music is particularly popular from Durres to Brasov, Novisad to Montenegro, at tavernas, cafes, parties, festivals and weddings. CDs, both authentic and pirated, circulate widely, although lately pressure from the West has reduced the number of illegal copies being sold. George Dalaras, Anna Vissi, Yiannis Ploutarchos, Sakis Rouvas, Haris Alexiou, Costas Karras, Despina Vandi, Helena Paparizou and Katy Garbi are just some of the big names popular across the border; many of the songs are also sung in translation. In Sofia, two Greek clubs are doing great business, with Bulgarian musicians playing bouzoukis and singing in Greek. In Monastir and Skopje, Greek music is top of the charts at discotheques. In Belgrade’s cobblestoned Skandarlia district, one could be in Plaka, Athens, or in the Ladadika district in Thessaloniki. In Albania, meanwhile, it is rare to find a home without at least one CD of Greek songs.
