Spécial Dalida

Background

After recording five new songs for a TV special Dalida headlined on New Year's Eve surrounded by other fellow French stars, Orlando Productions decided to release a full album containing the recorded songs from the TV show plus other songs that would eventually be released as singles.

The album contains a French-language version of Dalida's big Arab hit "Helwa ya balady". The French version is dedicated to the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat who was assassinated in 1981. Dalida went on to record a Spanish version of that same song called "Io T'amero (Tres Palabras)", with different lyrics. Among other songs, the album contains a disco dance version of Dalida's 1959 hit "Le jour où la pluie viendra" composed by Gilbert Bécaud.

The album was successful in France and other French speaking countries and Dalida promoted the album through television specials and radio shows throughout Europe.

Track listing

1. "Si la France"
2. "Jouez Bouzouki"
3. "Ensemble"
4. "Quand je n'aime plus je m'en vais"
5. "Comment l'oublier"
6. "Le jour où la pluie viendra"
7. "Danza"
8. "Nostalgie"
9. "Pour vous"
10. "J'aurais voulu danser"
11. "Pour toi Louis"
12. "Bye bye"

Singles

"Quand je n'aime plus je m'en vais" / "Nostalgie" was released as a single in 1981, prior to the album. "Quand je n'aime plus je m'en vais" became a minor hit due to extensive promotion on French and German television as was "Nostalgie" which is a cover of Marty Balin's hit song "Hearts" that Dalida was very fond of.

Danza was released in Europe as a single in 1982. Dalida filmed a video clip for the song featuring ballroom dance choreography. Very few performances of the song exist, the most known one is from the Belgian TV show Chansons à la carte.

"Jouez Bouzouki" is the biggest hit from this album as it was hugely successful in the Middle East and fared particularly well in Lebanon where it was a big hit due to extensive radio airplay. Playing on the Greek theme once again and featuring bouzouki instrumentation, the song is a festive mix of Greek folk and pop music. Dalida performed the song live during many television appearances in France, Belgium and Switzerland.