Under the title “Love Songs”, the veteran band Les Petit Chats last Sunday
performed a concert at the Grand Hall of the Cairo Opera House in celebration of
Valentine’s. The repertoire featured a collection of the most popular international
romantic songs including La Femme de mon ami, I who have nothing, Rain Man,
Dancing Queen, Words, My Way, We are the World.
The songs brought to life nostalgic memories of the 1970s, the heyday of Les Petit
Chats. The band left a lasting impact on the music scene back then and, even
though it presented no productions of its own, it offered Egyptian audiences live
shows of the music and songs of all the best performers in Europe and America at
the time.
The band was formed in 1967 by Wagdy Francis who performed the songs,
guitarist Omar Khorshid, Omar Khairat on the drums, Ezzat Abu-Ouf on the organ
and Hany Shenouda on the hammond. Sobhy Bedeir and Sadeq Qellini later joined
as singers and George Lucas on the saxophone. By the 1980s Les Petit Chats
disbanded, with each member following an illustrious career in music on his own.
The Sunday concert featured the old boys of the band Francis, Bedeir, Qellini, and
Abu-Ouf. They were accompanied by Ramy Sousou, Elhamy Amin, and the
pianist and conductor Nayer Nagui.
Watani International
10 December 2016