Not only does former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev have a debut album, but it sold for a whopping £100,000 (that's about $188,000 Canadian). Gorbachev's album of romantic ballads entitled Songs for Raisa was recently bought at a charity auction in London by an "anonymous British philanthropist."
The auction was held to benefit the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation, and according to Russian newspaper Pravda, the private event rounded up nearly 350 luminaries, including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's wife, Sarah, London Mayor Boris Johnson, Harry Potter author JK Rowling, actor Vanessa Redgrave and Russian ambassador Yuri Fedotov.
For these esteemed guests, Gorbachev performed the romantic Russian number "Old Letters" from the record (you can hear the track here). The Raisa Gorbachev Foundation is dedicated to the struggle against childhood cancer and was established in honour of Gorbachev's wife, Raisa, who passed away in 1999.
As reported by the Guardian, Gorbachev said in a press conference: "The disc includes seven of Raisa's favourite romantic songs... I sang them myself, with Andrei Makarevich playing the background music."
According to the Guardian, Makarevich is a prominent "rock star" in Russia, and we'll just take their word for it.
The auction was held to benefit the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation, and according to Russian newspaper Pravda, the private event rounded up nearly 350 luminaries, including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's wife, Sarah, London Mayor Boris Johnson, Harry Potter author JK Rowling, actor Vanessa Redgrave and Russian ambassador Yuri Fedotov.
For these esteemed guests, Gorbachev performed the romantic Russian number "Old Letters" from the record (you can hear the track here). The Raisa Gorbachev Foundation is dedicated to the struggle against childhood cancer and was established in honour of Gorbachev's wife, Raisa, who passed away in 1999.
As reported by the Guardian, Gorbachev said in a press conference: "The disc includes seven of Raisa's favourite romantic songs... I sang them myself, with Andrei Makarevich playing the background music."
According to the Guardian, Makarevich is a prominent "rock star" in Russia, and we'll just take their word for it.