It all started when I heard there was a radio contest on Q-Music to win a meet and greet with Tina. They would start with the contest on Monday 22nd.

Wondering what it would be I was quite nervous that Monday. That evening they already had someone to play, so I couldn't participate. They asked 5 questions, all about the tracks on the All the best cd. The guy answered 4 questions right. Next day I was even more nervous ;-) That evening I got in and they asked me a screening question “What's the name of the tour from 1987”… of course that was Break every rule. So, I was selected to play. I also had to answer 5 questions :

1. What word did they beep away in I don't wanna fight “We must stop beep I can't live this life”. So that was pretending
2. Who wrote Private dancer ? That was Mark Knopfler
3. With who did Tina sing It's only love ? Bryan Adams
4. From what album is typical male ? Break every rule
5. From which song is “You go to the fields on weekdays and have a picnic on labor day” ? Nutbush city limits

I answered them all right… so I would be in the finals on Thursday. On Wednesday Mike Rudge also answered all the questions right, so we were both in the finals. From that moment I was even more nervous than before ! On Thursday they even had to give me something at work to calm down. That evening my heart was beating like hell. There was another person who could play so it was possible that there were 3 persons in the finals. But he only answered 3 questions right so I got my hopes back up.

In the finals Mike and I had to list the tracks from the All the best cd, each track within 5 seconds and we couldn't repeat a tracks the other person already said. After a few tracks Mike mentioned Addicted to love, but I already said that one, so he lost. I didn't realise at first until the presenter Alexandra said “Annemie, I wanna hear you scream”… I completely went nuts !!! I was crying because I was sooooo glad I won. That evening Caroline from EMI contacted me to give me some details about our departure.

On Friday I woke up at 5 o'clock and my heart was beating quite fast… I was very nervous because I also had to arrange some things. Normally Sidney would have come with us to Zürich by car, but now we had a little problem. Caroline was going to inform with the travel agency to see if they could book extra seats for him on his expense. We had to leave at 10.45 am and at 10am I still didn't know if Sidney could come. At 10.15 am I got a phone call from him saying there still was a place available on the Thalys and on the plane… yes ! He had to hurry to get his train to Brussels . At 12.30 pm we met Caroline from EMI and Ben and Matt (the other winners) in Brussels . We were all quite nervous. We took the Thalys to Paris Airport . All the way on the Thalys we were talking about Tina and watching videos ( Sidney and I had our laptop with us).

Ben, Matt, Caroline, Sidney and my mother	my mother and me before getting on the plane

When we arrived in Zürich we took the shuttle bus to our hotel, the Renaissance hotel… a really very nice hotel. Caroline told us that Tina's band members were also staying there. We unpacked and had a drink in the hotel. There we met Carlo from EMI Switzerland. He brought our tickets for the Benissimo show and told us some details about the meet & greet. From that moment we even got more nervous… He told us we could attend the rehearsals so that was also great news. We had to choose 1 thing to have signed and we weren't allowed to take pictures ourselves. He would make a group picture with his digital camera. We were talking about Tina of course and we were able to ask him some things. He told us that Complicated Disaster would be the next single. We were so glad ! He also said that the reason they didn't make a video for Open arms is because no music channel would play it, so it would be a waste of money. They're also still discussing what to put on the dvd's, that's why the release is postponed. He's a very nice guy and it was really nice talking to him. After that we took a taxi to the center to have something to eat and visit Zürich by night. It was very beautiful because they already had Christmas lights on. At about 11 pm we drove back to the hotel to get some sleep, because the next day it would happen. After that we took a taxi to the center to have something to eat and visit Zürich by night. It was very beautiful because they already had Christmas lights on. At about 11 pm we drove back to the hotel to get some sleep, because the next day it would happen.

Zürich by night

Saturday morning I woke up and I felt quite sick and I could hardly eat… nerves. We went to the center to search for a present. First I wanted to buy something from Swarowski but I changed my mind. I found a nice crystal bonbonnière. I thought she would like that. A bit later I also found a silver pen to sign my picture. We had to be at the railwaystation at 12 pm where we were going to meet other fans from all over Europe . Sidney called Lars and we were going to meet him and Marco in front of the Swarowski shop. From there we went to the meeting point in the railwaystation. At 12 pm there was a lady from the tv station. She explained what was going to happen. At 12.30 pm the cameraman arrived and he started filming the fans. We all had to say from which country we were. From the station we went to the studio by tram and bus. Once we arrived at the studio we were able to take a look inside. They explained what would happen that evening and where everyone should stand. After that we went up to the cafeteria to have a drink. I became more and more nervous… because the moment we would meet Tina was coming closer.

At 3.30 pm we met Caroline in front of the tv station, she also called Sidney , he could come for the meet & greet too !!!	While we were waiting there, Tina's band arrived and I was able to take a quick picture of Joe.

Then we could go inside and we went to the studio for the rehearsal. We were so nervous because in just a few moments we would see our queen ! We sat there and there she was, she looked sooooo great ! They told us we could applaud, but we weren't allowed to scream or something (which I totally understand). It looked all so great ! Nearly at the end of the song there was a cameraman who fell. Tina just kept on singing ;-) (she's a professional !) But at the end of the song she went to the cameraman and she said “Are you alright ? Well, not for you but for the camera” and she started laughing. Then she did Open arms once more and after that the presenter of the show told her what he was going to ask. There she stood, looking soooooo good and she was laughing.

Then we had to leave the studio and we went to the hall close to Tina's dressing room. Carlo explained what would happen : the Swiss winners and the Belgian winners would go in separately, we could say “Hi”, have 1 piece signed, take 1 group picture and then it would be over. So I already took my picture out because it would all go very fast. When we were inside I realised I didn't have my present yet, so I quickly took it out of my bag. They introduced everyone to Tina, she shook hands and said “Hi, nice to meet you”. When they introduced Ben she called him “Robbie Williams' eyes” ;-) I was the last one and Caroline introduced me “This is Annemie”, Tina looked at me and she almost screamed “Oh hiiiii, you're my nutbushgirl !!! How are you ? Good ? Super ! What a nice surprise !!” She immediately hugged and kissed me. I couldn't believe it, she immediately recognized me ! I printed the picture from the Wembley dvd where she pinched my cheeck so I showed it to her and I said “Do you remember ?” and she said “Of course I remember, I remember your face, you always wore a cap” and then she was telling the people about the first time she noticed me, that was 8 years ago ! She kept the print and said “Thank you, it's such a nice memory”. Then I gave her my present and she told me she would think of me when she opens it. I was sooooo happy, I stood there with tears in my eyes ! When Ben gave her his present she said “Thank you Robbie”… we all started laughing ! Then we could give her something to sign. In Ben's tourbook she wrote something with the Robbie Williams' eyes, so sweet. Then I gave her my picture and she asked my name, so I told her and I spelled it to her, but she said “I'm gonna need some help here. What was it again ? Annelee ?” And I said “No no, Annemie” and she said “Ooooohhhh Anna-Mae !! That's my name !!!!”, I said “Yes, but it's Annemie” “Of course” she said “but it's so close !”… so she signed my picture and then told me what she wrote and it says “Always alway to Annemie from Anna-Mae xx (aka) Tina Turner”. It was great ! “Ok ?” she asked and I said “yes of course thank you so much” “Super !” she said and I answered “You're super” “Oh thank you, nice to see you again” she said. I was soooooooo happy. Then Sidney gave his poster and she said to him “And you're Anna-who ?” that was sooo funny. She even called me back for my pen ;-) Then we had to stand together for the group picture. Ben and I were next to Tina and they took 2 pictures… I could feel Tina's hands, they were really cold. Then we had to say goodbye. She held my hands, gave me 3 kisses and said “See you next time” “Of course” I said “I hope it will be very soon !”. Ben wished her good luck with the movies and she said “Thank you, it's gonna be very hard cause I have to speak the Indian tongue”. We thanked her again and left. We were all so impressed, she is such a warm and nice woman ! And I was so incredibly happy because she recognized me, even without the cap ! Even Caroline was impressed because it's been 4 years and she sees a lot of faces (and singing Nutbush with her was 8 years ago). Then we went back to the hotel, but we were still walking on clouds ! We just kept talking about how great she looked and how nice she was. At the hotel we agreed to meet each other in the lobby at 7 pm to go to the tv station for the Benissimo show. In my hotel room I put all the pictures on my laptop and we kept talking about the meet & greet. It was so incredible, very short (10 minutes), but also very intense !!

At 7 pm we went to the studio for the Benissimo show. There weren't any other fans yet, because they only had to be there at 9 pm. We talked to one of the Swiss winners and she was also really impressed. She lives 5 minutes from Tina, but she never met her before. She told us she even saw a concert of Ike & Tina in the seventies. At 7.30 pm we could enter the studio and we had a really nice place. We could stand up without disturbing anyone so that was great, we even got some champagne. It took ages before Tina came, it was 9.45 pm when we saw all the fans coming into the studio. They showed the report of the afternoon from all the fans, it was really great to see. Then the moment was there… our Tina was there. We were all shouting and clapping and it was really great ! Everyone was enjoying it and she did a great performance. She wore the nice cloth she wore at Rai Uno. Then after Open arms the presenter did a little interview, he gave her some flowers and of she was… between the people !

The fans had to leave the studio, and actually, we wanted to leave too, but it would only take another 10 minutes, so it was OK. Once outside the studio a lot of fans came to ask me how it was. Then we had to say goodbye because everyone was going back to their hotel. Lars and Marco came with us to see some clips and the Ike & Tina Turner DVD. They wanted to hear and see everything from the meet & greet ;-) Ben and Matt also joined us at Sidney 's room and we kept talking about Tina. We watched some nice clips and then Ben and Matt went back to their room. Lars and Marco stayed to watch a part of the DVD. It was really great. Lars also took a picture of my signed picture and of Sidney 's poster. Then we said goodbye because they had to walk half an hour to their hotel. I went to bed, but I put the alarm of my mobile phone on, because they showed a replay from the Benissimo show at 2 am. At 3 am I woke up to see the show, but it still took about 1 hour before it was Tina. It was really great to be able to see the show. After that we went to bed again.

The next morning when we were having breakfast, I saw some members of Tina's band. So I went to them and asked where the others were and if it would be possible to take a picture. “Of course” he said, so I ran to my room to get my camera and my ticket from the Benissimo show to have it signed. Sidney took a picture of me with 3 band members and they signed my ticket. Then Joe came down and he also signed my ticket and I was able to have a picture with him also. I asked him if he would see Tina again soon and he told me they were going home, that is was finished now. Shame, because otherwise I would have asked him to thank Tina again like a million times from her Nutbushgirl ;-)

We went back to our room and again watched the pictures and talked about Tina. At 12 pm we had to leave the room. We saw Caroline in the lobby and I thanked her again for the great time. At 1 pm we took the shuttle to the airport, but we only had to board at 3.30 pm, so we had some time to go shopping. There was a cd shop and they were playing Tina, so I entered and immediately told the guy it was a great shop ! ;-) I bought a spare copy of Open arms, the Live Aid dvd and a dvd with Ike & Tina. We got something to eat and had a drink. At 4 pm our plane left to Paris . In Paris we still had some time to sit down before we had to take the Thalys (in our private Salon ;-) ). We took a group picture with all our signed items. On the way to Brussels we were listening and watching Tina(again) and Caroline was playing as if she would go nuts ;-) “Help me, I can't take it anymore” ;-) So funny. Then in Brussels we had to say goodbye to Caroline, Ben, Matt and Sidney . It all came to an end, and it was quite sad to say goodbye because we had such a great time ! I'm sure I'll keep in contact with Ben and Matt, because they're so great. I'm very happy I met them. On the train to Antwerp my mother and I were talking about the great weekend and we still couldn't believe that Tina was so great and that she recognized me.

When we arrived at home we were very tired and went soon to bed. We had some dreams about Tina ;-) This was the number 1 weekend of my life ! And it was so nice to see some fans again and get to know other ones !

I want to say a special thanks to :

EMI for organising this it was super (as Tina would say ;-) ) and especially a big thank you to Caroline for her friendship and all the extra effort she put in it
Q-Music for making it a real Tinafan contest, so that not just anybody could win this
Ben, Matt and Sidney for a great weekend !
All the fans who where there for their kind words ! Hope to see you guys again real soon !
Tina's band for signing my ticket and the picture
And last but not least : Tina for her warm heartedness ! You are the best and I hope to see you again real soon !!!!

Annemie a.k.a. Nutbushgirl ;-)

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Author: - Published on: 2007-04-09 (4725 reads)