Nana Mouskouri

11:57am Friday 19th October 2007

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By Jemma Dobson »

Nana Mouskouri has been named the most successful female singer in history, having sold over 350 million records worldwide, outselling The Beatles and Elvis combined. Now, after 50 years in the business, she speaks to us as she decides to finally hang up her microphone.

BEHIND those trademark glasses there is a voice that is one of the most notable in history.

Now a 73-year-old grandmother, Nana Mouskouri has released yet another album and is touring the world again - but this time it's her farewell tour.

It was in 1961 that Nana recorded her most famous song, The White Rose of Athens, and her mastery of languages - she speaks half a dozen - ensured that her popularity grew to global proportions.

She even represented Luxembourg in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest.

Apart from the languages she can actually speak, she has also recorded tracks in Japanese, Korean, Hebrew and Welsh, with a total of over 1,350 songs performed in 100 concerts a year for nearly 50 years.

"I can remember the first time I thought that I had made it was when I was performing at Royal Albert Hall in London and the organiser came up to me as I was about to go on stage and said Well done, it's a sell-out - that is quite a rare achievement.' I was so happy. This last tour is really a chance for me to say thank you to all my fans and, as best I can, in their language too," she said.

To date she has received more than 300 gold, platinum and diamond records and her breathtaking voice is known and loved by millions across the world.

But it was rather by chance that Nana turned to singing.

It was, in fact, her sister Jenny who wanted to study classical song at the conservatory in her native Athens. But one day a lecturer invited Nana to try it herself. She auditioned and was accepted at once for the unusual qualities of her voice. But instead of restricting herself to classical music, Nana appeared in cafes, singing folklore and jazz, advancing to the status of the "new voice" on the musical scene of Athens of the 1950s. This kind of success did not make her popular with everyone and she was expelled from the conservatory. It was a fateful event, which in hindsight was to pave the path for her success.

And as if singing wasn't enough, Nana also travels the world as a UNICEF ambassador and has made personal donations to help the lives of children in almost every country she has visited. She has also served her native country at the European Parliament by championing the rights of women and children.

And it is these projects she plans to concentrate on when she retires next spring, after the five continent tour concludes in Ireland.

She added: "I want to concentrate on my charity work and leave all the energetic performing to the younger ones now. It is time. I have learned so much and experienced so many wonderful places and cultures. I've been lucky enough to travel and I'll still be travelling. I have homes in Paris, Geneva and Athens.

"But I had fall a few years back which made me realise I am getting a bit old for all this now. I'll leave my singing for the ears of my new grandchild and anything else which doesn't include touring."

l The British leg of Nana Mouskouri's Farewell Tour comes to Manchester's Bridgewater Hall on Wednesday, October 31. For tickets contact the box office on 0161 907 9000 or log on to bridgewater-hall.co.uk