Today, Monday, the anniversary of the departure of the great musician Farid al-Atrash, who left our world on December 26, 1974, after suffering a heart attack, was later transferred to Beirut hospital to meet his Lord after an intense march of authentic rapture..
Farid al-Atrash was a fan of Nadi ZamalekHe is one of the most fanatic people to watch the matches, and doctors have prevented him from practicing his favorite hobby out of fear of him, and many situations have brought him together with his artist friends due to his extreme fanaticism for the White Castle, so such as his tangible role in saving Zamalek from bankruptcy..
A quarrel between the Nightingale and Al-Atrash because of Al-Ahly and Zamalek
There are always quarrels between the fans of “Al-Ahly” and “Zamalek”, even in the time of fine art. In 1960, when the team of the Zamalek club defeated Al-Ahly, Farid Al-Atrash held a big party in which he named the teams of Al-Ahly and Zamalek, and in 1961 the Lebanese star promised The Morning to throw a party for Al-Ahly if he wins.
On December 12, 1961, “Al-Kawakeb” magazine published an article titled “Sabah Celebrates the Three Tour”, where the star kept his vow and held a big party after Al-Ahly’s victory, to which numerous stars invited the supporters of the two clubs, and Al-Ahly’s stars were led by Abdel Halim Hafez and director Ezz El-Din, Zulfiqar and Saleh Selim, and Zamalek’s supporters include artist Farid al-Atrash and the artist Salah Zulfiqar, and the Nightingale kept singing to celebrate Al-Ahly’s victory, and there is a photo where Abdel Halim Hafez holds up 3 fingers, in reference to the 3 goals Al-Ahly won over Zamalek, and he was to sing “Majour”, and he changed the lyrics of the song “Oh your sweetness, oh your beauty” by Fayza Ahmed, which Al-Atrash composed to “Oh your delusion, Zamalek.
Farid Al-Atrash said, at the end of the ceremony, “I have been exposed to an embarrassing situation for the first time in my life because of the Zamalek club, and I will think about encouraging Al-Ahly in the coming period.”“.
A dispute between the master and Al-Atrash because of Zamalek
Saleh Selim, the former president of Al-Ahly, got into a tough dispute with the late singer Farid Al-Atrash, who is considered one of the most fans of the Zamalek club, and Farid Al-Atrash gave the best examples in arguing the White Castle during its financial crises, as it revived several concerts within the club and donated all its income to complete the club’s facilities, such as the construction of the social building and the refurbishment of the club’s grandstands after a serious crisis that hit the club after the nationalization of the club’s assets.
Al-Atrash’s solidarity with the Zamalek club and Al-Ahly’s contempt for the late Saleh Selim’s discontent appeared during his newspaper interview when he was asked about his favorite singer, and he replied: Abdel Halim Hafez, “And Farid Al-Atrash is a Beloved”, according to what was published by the newspaper Akhbar Al-Youm on February 11, 1961..
When Farid al-Atrash heard about this dialogue, he became very angry because of Saleh Selim’s response, and commented on this, saying: “Every person is free to choose his favorite singer..
Al-Atrash saves Zamalek from bankruptcy
In March 1966, the Zamalek club was under severe financial difficulties and Farid al-Atrash heard about it, so he came to the club and met with Major General Hussein Labib, the club’s general manager at that time, and told him that he was alongside the club in its difficult circumstances, with his band, without any compensation. Within two weeks of his meeting with the club’s general manager, Farid al-Atrash held a party in a large marquee built by Orabi, the agent by the artist, at the football stadium..
Farouk Jaafar admits: I took the first £100 of my life from Farid al-Atrash
Farouk Jaafar, the former player of the Zamalek club, said he received the first £100 of his life as a gift from the late singer Farid Al-Atrash..
Jaafar added, during his interview with the Zamalek channel, “There were a very large number of performers keen to spend their time in the Zamalek Social Club, and by that time the matches had moved outside Mit Oqba and Al Jazeera.” .
And Jaafar continued: “The first 100 kilos I gained in my life were by Farid al-Atrash in 1971.“.
And he continued: “The difficult circumstances that the Zamalek club was going through earlier made the management unable to give the players a decent financial return, so the gifts compensated for this.”
