Queen of the Gypsies in London

I found out today that the Queen of the Gypsies, Esma Redzepova, will be playing a concert in London on September 8.

· details here

Sadly, I can't be there as I'm on holidays, but I thoroughly recommend. Esma is an amazing performer, her voice soars but has wonderful nuances expressing joy and pain, laughter and love.

She may be best known in the UK for her song from the Borat soundtrack, Chaje Shukarije (...although wikipedia says that the track was used without her permission). Esma's singing career has spanned 4 decades - here's the song in two versions, one much older and one more recent.

I prefer the more modern version - look at her go, a spinning vision in mint green!

· Esma Redzepova website