Tarkan

If you came across this blog by accident, then there is a very high chance you surfed in while looking for information about the singer Tarkan. Please note, this page is no longer updated as of November 7, 2010. If you want to go to a summary of the main links on this page, click here.

Who is Tarkan?

A popular music artist, born Tarkan Tevetoğlu on October 17, 1972 in Alzey, Germany, his signature song in Europe and the Americas is the song "Şımarık". People in the UK will know this song under the name of "Kiss Kiss".

My main sites about Tarkan are:

• Tarkan Translations
  Holds news articles, album information and song lyrics in English. Some sections require Flash.
  
• Tarkan Documentary
  Titled "Making Moves", this is a documentary about the singer's life and career in music. Flash is required to view.
  
• Tarkan Visual
  This is a listed photoblog that shares free and unwatermarked photos of Tarkan, which have been donated from fans across the world.

Track the progress of these Tarkan blog projects here: 1 | 2 | 3

Tarkan at Tarkan Deluxe®

The blog you are reading now is Tarkan Deluxe. It adopted its name from my old Tarkan site. It's a behind-the-scenes perspective to my other three Tarkan sites, because although I begun the blog after a dinner conversation concerning Tarkan, it has developed into my personal blog.

Who am I? I'm still searching for the answer to that one, but I leave a lot a clues all over this blog.

Each life is a personal drama. In this blog you'll find my drama, presented in different ways. If people want to know the profile behind the Tarkan translations, then they come here.

As my Internet presence is due to the singer, you'll find I keep my blog manifesto that governs my Tarkan sites here and that Tarkan Deluxe is a series in which Tarkan occasionally guest stars.

(All links open in a separate window)

Here are my posts on Tarkan:

Tarkan Q & A

In the many letters I receive, I get asked a lot of Tarkan questions. I select a few to answer on my blog. I've complied a Q & A from those mails.

Part I: Information about Tarkan
• Where can I find out more about Tarkan's personal stats and his life?
  
• What does Tarkan's name mean?
  
• How tall is Tarkan?
  
• Does Tarkan smoke cigarettes?
  
• I want to read some articles about Tarkan, can you help?
  
• It is so difficult to find out anything about Tarkan on the Net. Where can I find up-to-date information about Tarkan?
  
• Do you ever post any news on Tour dates? Or is there another site for current concert events?
  
• Where can I get photos of Tarkan?
  
• Where can I get Tarkan's music and videos?
  
• How can I contact Tarkan's management or him personally?
  
• Does Tarkan own a record company?
  
• I've heard about Tarkan's active love life. Where can I get information on his girlfriends?
  
• So many people tell me Tarkan is gay? Is it true?
  
• What is the dispute between Tarkan and the Turkish media?

Part II: Information about his works
• I love Tarkan's songs but I don't understand what he is singing about! Where can I get English translations to his song lyics?
  
• Is there a translation for Tarkan's song "Ayrılık Zor"?
  
• I've found different release dates for Tarkan's first and second albums. What are the correct release dates?
  
• I have got all of Tarkan's albums, but there are Turkish songs being shared over the Net that are not from any of the official releases. Where are they from?
  
• I didn't know that Tarkan had dubbed the Turkish version of Disney's Hercules. Where can I find out more about it?
  
• I know Tarkan has been covered by other artists many times, but has Tarkan ever sung any cover versions?
  
• I am looking for a Tarkan song with kisses in it. Do you know what it's called?
  
• Did the Turkish government ban a music video by Tarkan because of a kiss?
  
• Where were Tarkan's first European video singles filmed?
  
• Is it true that an American singer called Rob Thomas covered Tarkan's "Dudu" song?
  
• Does Tarkan have any future Turkish projects?

Part III: Information about his English works
• Is it true that Tarkan's English songs were stolen and leaked over the Net?
  
• Is it true you had AMG change its original review about Tarkan's English album?
  
• Was Tarkan's 2006 English album a success?
  
• What do you think about Tarkan's English single "Bounce"?
  
• What do you think about Tarkan's command of English? Is it any good?
  
• Did Tarkan sing a song called "Down Boy"?
  
• Did Tarkan film two music videos to "Start the Fire"?

Part IV: Other information
• Where can I buy the Tarkan perfume?
  
• What does Tarkan's perfume smell like?
  
• Is it possible to buy Tarkan calendars?
  
• Do you know anything about Tarkan's bodyguard Levent?
  
• I see Murat Matthew Erdem's name on many of Tarkan's albums. Who is he?
  
• I see the Ozan Çolakoğlu name a lot in Tarkan albums. Who is this person?
  
• What is the connection between Turkish actress Serra Yılmaz and Tarkan?
  
• Do you have any idea what the story is about in his music video to "Hüp"?

Articles on Tarkan

My Articles on Tarkan

I have written a few articles on Tarkan throughout the years - in addition to providing links to other articles on the Internet - to help those fans who have recently discovered Tarkan get a clearer insight and to those who want to read more about him.

• A Sun Rises In The East: Mini Biography
  
• 1997
  
• Tarkan at the Hippodrome Part 1 | Part 2
  
• The Passion Of Tarkan Part 1 | Part 2
  
• Tarkan's Long Hello Part 1 | Part 2
  
• The Difference between Sharing and Stealing
  
• Tall Stories, Small People
  
• Liar, Liar
  
• The Metamorphosis of Tarkan
  
• Moments of Connection
  
• A Year to Remember
  
• Ten Things on Tarkan: Did You Know...?
  
• For the Love of Tarkan
• Translating Tarkan
• Tarkan's Classical Flop
• The Parody of Pop

Mark Mayhey Editorials

A British journalist who worked in Istanbul, writing under the pseudonym of Mark Mayhey at Tarkan Deluxe, has contributed his own views on Tarkan in light of news events current at the time of writing. His views are his own and do not necessarily reflect mainstream thought.

• A Definition of Success
  
• On the Fringes of Fame
  
• The Celebrity Game
  
• Death of a Dream
  
• Chocolate, Sex and Tarkan
  
• Singing in the Changes
  
• Tarkan: Ertegun's Last Legacy?
  
• Diplomatic Licence
  
• Taking the Heat Off?
  
• An Anniversary to Sing About?
  
• Tarkan's PR War
  
• Coming Closer
  
• The Way to Win
  
• Holding Value: From Idol to Icon
  
• Losing the Plot
  
• Breaking Down Walls
  
• Tricks of the Tube
  
• Letting Go of the Dream
  
• The Magical Five Percent
  
• Against All Odds
  
• No Russian Roulette
  
• Future Imperfect
  
• Drawing the Line
  
• Turkish Double Standards
  
• The Popularity of Pop
  
• Can We Have Some Sex, Please?
  
• A Generation of Bad Press
  
• Pop Getting Intimate?
  
• A Dark Knight
  
• Who Wants to Live Forever?
  
• The Summer of 2008
  
• Can Tarkan Swing Both Ways?
  
• Tarkan Goes Forth
  
• Critical Overtures
  
• Tarkan Pushed Out of Berlin?
  
• Writing the Next Chapter
  
• Rock the New Year
  
• Taking a Chance
  
• Taking Another Chance
  
• On Being Tarkan
  
• The Day the Music Died
  
• The Man Buried Behind the Music
  
• Playing a Young Man's Game?
  
• The Politics of Pop
  
• Pop Perceptions
  
• Unchaining Thoughts
  
• Pop Comebacks
  
• Musical Wonderlands?
  
• The Greatest Love of All
  
• A Matter of Taste
  
• A New Musical World
  
• The Theft of Intelligence
  
• The Bitch of Celebrity
  
• Musical Lessons from Twitter
  
• Life Lessons from...Well, Life Really
  
• Ricky Martin Said It, Now Who'll Follow?
  
• Piecing Together the Tarkan Jigsaw
  
• The Curse of the Dancing Men
  
• Will Tarkan Face the Axe?
  
• First Reactions to Tarkan's Last Strike
  
• More Reactions to Tarkan's Last Strike
  
• Is It a Wrap for Tarkan?
• The Miracle Cure: Tarkan
• Tarkan is Still a Winner
• Quitting the Throne
• The Pitfalls of Poptimism
• Tarkan: A Freak of Nature
• Viable Vibes: The Future of Music

Tarkan Interviews

You can find newspaper and magazine interviews with the artist transcribed or translated into English by me here:

• Tarkan's Vaybee! Live Chat (2006)
• İlke Gürman Interviews Tarkan in Russia (3 part serial/2006)
• Rahşan Gülşan Chats to Tarkan on His Second Day at the Harbiye (2006)
• Mesut Zeyrek Talks to Tarkan about his German Upbringing (2006)
• Mark Dumfris Chats to Tarkan Before Dubai Concert (2006)
• Tarkan Speaks to Hello! Magazine (2007)
• Tarkan Interviewed by Dutch Radio Station (2007)
• HaberTurk's Airport Report with Tarkan (2007)
• Tarkan Writes For Nature Magazine (2007)
• Bulletin About Tarkan's TRT Evening News Appearance (2007)
• Newspaper Excerpts of TRT Magazine Interview (2008)
• Tarkan's Phone Call to Sema Denker (2008)
• Tarkan Chats to Youth Paper During Signing Day (2008)
• Tarkan Talks to DJ Ritu for BBC London Radio (2008) 1 | 2 | 3
• Tarkan Chats to Russian Tabloid (2008)
• Tarkan Talks Health with Didem Seymen (2009)
• PETA Germany Chats to Tarkan (2010)
• Tarkan Translations (Magazine & News Archives)

Tarkan TV Interviews & Reports You can watch magazine TV interviews and reports with the artist transcribed or translated into English by me here:

• Riga Reports 1 | 2 (2007)
• İlke Gürman Interviews Tarkan in Istanbul (2007)
• Kanal D September Interview (2007)
• Kanal 1 Report (2007)
• NTV Report on Tarkan (2007)
• Wembley Arena Concert TV Reports 1 | 2 (2008)
• Tarkan on MTV's Making the Video (2008)
• NR1TV's Tarkan Weekend Special (2008)
• Tarkan & Bilge Öztürk Talk About Split (2008)
• Tarkan Chats to Magazine Reporter (2008)
• Tarkan Talks to Show TV (2009)
• Kanal D's Airport Report with Tarkan (2009)
• Joshua Katcher's Interview with Tarkan at NYC Fashion Week (2009)

Press Reviews

• Latest Developments (Tolga Akyıldız, Hürriyet Newspaper, 2005)
• Tarkan Takes Istanbul by Storm (Ebru Drew, Vatan Newspaper, 2006)
• Tarkan: Turkey's Last Greatest Star (Mehmet Tez, Sabah Newspaper, 2007)
• The History of Tarkan's Image (Onur Baştürk, Hürriyet Newspaper, 2007)
• Reporter Terror (Bilal Özcan, Bugün Newspaper, 2007)
• Tarkan's Metamorphosis (Tolga Akyıldız, Hürriyet Newspaper, 2008)
• If Only We Could Have Listened to Tarkan's Album Too (Mehmet Tez, Milliyet Newspaper, 2009)
• Tarkan and a Chorus of Society Girls (Gül Erçetingöz, Gecce Portal, 2009)
• A Captain With No Sense of Direction (Öncel Öziçer, Sabah Newspaper, 2009)
• They Were Disappointed This Time (Aykut Tayfur, Odatv, 2017)
• America and Anti-Turkish Sentiment (Hıncal Uluç, Sabah Newspaper, 2017)
• Is it Unpatriotic to Criticise Tarkan? (Oray Eğin, Habertürk Newspaper, 2017)

Tarkan News

Tarkan Deluxe posts current news about Tarkan. It is difficult to get proper newsworthy information about Tarkan from reliable sources, so the blog is not held accountable for any news that is posted which subsequently turns out not to be valid. However, I do try to keep a high standard. News received is corroborated with independent research before its published and the blog only prints what I feel is suitable.

So, if you're looking for sensational gossip you probably won't find a lot of it here, unless it's in summary form to highlight the reaction of the Turkish entertainment press to Tarkan at that particular moment in time.

Check out the Tarkan News Index for more.

Also see the Tarkan Concert Calendar Archive for concert news.

Tarkan Pick Of The Day

This section holds some Tarkan pictures of interest, mostly shared by readers. More pictures are archived at our sister site Tarkan Visual.

• Pick of the Day
  
• Love wants to be Heard
  
• Sing Your Heart Out
  
• Tyger Tyger Burning Bright
  
• Oriental
  
• Tarkan vs Elvis
  
• Through A Fan's Eyes
  
• Inner Storms
  
• In Berlin
  
• Music Feast
  
• Simulated Pop Star
  
• Born Free
  
• Front Cover Gloss
  
• Fandemonium
  
• Designer Tarkan
  
• Who Do You Think You Are?
  
• Naked Out-takes
  
• Strike a Pose
  
• Eastern Spice
  
• Western Flava
  
• Turkish Tsar
  
• Puppy Love
  
• Live in Istanbul
  
• Kiss
  
• Big Love
  
• Country Boy
  
• Tarkan Calling
  
• Feeding the Five Thousand
  
• Tarkan Cosmetics
  
• Super Singer '99
  
• Portrait in Pencil
  
• Shades of Shake
  
• Tarkan Ahoy!
  
• Tarkan Promos
  
• Eye Rendezvous
  
• The Tarkan Effect
  
• Dining Out in London
  
• In the Public Eye
  
• Hide and Seek
  
• Hip Hoppin' da Homeys
  
• After the Show
  
• Nostalgia
  
• Viva Tarkan!
  
• Working Out
  
• Painting Tarkan
  
• Tarkan's Baby Lawyer
  
• Charity Dinner
  
• Tarkan Interview
  
• Site-Crashing Video
  
• The Man in Red
  
• Tarkan's Metamorphosis
  
• Presentations
  
• Stage Lights Up
  
• Tarkan-made Events
  
• A Shining Star
  
• Of Mind & Soul
  
• Star Boulevard
  
• Patron of Music
  
• Totally Tarkan
  
• Take a Closer Look
  
• Open Your Heart
  
• King of the World
  
• On Show
  
• Visual Art
  
• Lost in the Moment
  
• The Best of Tarkan
  
• An Istanbul Eatery
  
• Fan Snapshot
  
• Eau de Cologne
  
• Window Shopping
  
• In Miami
  
• Before the Show
  
• Look This Way
  
• In the Back
  
• Matching Hairdos
  
• In Sofia
  
• Silk and Steel
  
• Return of the Tiger
  
• Tarkan Pop Covers
  
• Live in Vienna '08
  
• Open Air Fire
  
• Smoke and Fire
  
• On the Island of the Danube
  
• Taking a Café Break
  
• Best of the Mohicans
  
• Stage of Enlightenment
  
• The Big Boss
  
• Stop for Tarkan
  
• Star Signings
  
• A Pole Star
  
• Tarkan's Angel Entourage
  
• Dance-Sweat-Rock
  
• Flirty Fandango
  
• In Memoriam: Müzeyyen Senar
• With Love, Tarkan
• Caped Crusader

A Portal of Tarkan Links

I sometimes post links of interest and obscure links regarding Tarkan. Fans also share their sites or their links of interest here, too. Please note that Tarkan Deluxe is not responsible for broken links over time or for the content of external internet sites.

• Perfume
  
• Look What I've Found Ma
  
• Buzzword 1 | 2
  
• Did You Know
  
• Ten Tarkan Things
  
• Ten Things on Tarkan: Did You Know...?
  
• Selections From My Inbox
  
• You've Got Mail (from Across the World)
  
• Tarkan Message Forum at Istanbul.com
  
• Thank You
  
• Origins of Tarkan's Name
  
• Tour of Tarkan Links
  
• List of Tarkan Fan Community Links
  
• TarkanInternational (A fan forum collective)
  
• TarkanPLUS (Turkish media blog)
  
• Tarkan Venezuela (Spanish fan blog)
  
• Tarkan Link Mosaic (Links to all things Tarkan)

Your Comments

Questions and comments from readers on the Tarkan posts:

• A Day in the Life...of My Inbox
  
• Selections from My Inbox
  
• You've Got Mail [From Across the World]
  
• Kara Gözler [Dark Eyes]
  
• The Difference between Sharing and Stealing
  
• Tarkan in English
  
• A Wonderful Letter
  
• Is There Joy in Tarkan's Bounce?
  
• An Angel Writes
  
• Amendment to a Thank You
  
• Theories of Relativity
  
• Backlog [Part One]
  
• Backlog [Part Two]
  
• Tarkan Tour
  
• Truth vs Perception
  
• Salmagundi Thoughts
  
• Email Extracts
  
• Illegal Write-ins
  
• Tarkan in Disney's Hercules
  
• Email Extracts [2]
  
• Email Extracts [3]
  
• A Letter from Bucharest
  
• Your Say, Again
  
• Reader Requests
  
• Reader Request Extra
  
• Tarkan Talk
  
• Tarkan Deluxe Talk
  
• More Tarkan Deluxe Talk
  
• Open Letters
  
• Private Lives
  
• Metamorfoz: What Do You Think?
  
• Tarkan Questions and Comments
  
• Loving Words
  
• The Fire of Creative Diversity
  
• For the 1000th Time
  
• Your Congratulations
  
• Lovespeak/Fanspeak
  
• Getting Heard
  
• In the Buzz Box
  
• In the Buzz Box [2]
  
• Tarkan Fans at Wembley
  
• Tarkan: Looking Behind the Name
  
• Tarkan's Wembley Show: The Other Story
  
• Wembley's Other Story: Feedback
  
• Letters from America
  
• Letters from the Faithful
  
• Letters from Readers
  
• Letter of Request
  
• Your Comments and Letters
  
• Four Questions from the Box

And finally...

Spotlight

• Learn about the origins of kissing;
  
• Read some feedback from Tarkan fans;
  
• Discover Tarkan's affection for children;
  
• Show Tarkan your support and take part in the Love Experiment;
  
• Sign the Tarkan petition;
  
• Get to know other fans and become a part of the Tarkan community.

For other Turkish music artists click here.

Summary of Links About Tarkan Any Tarkan questions? Check Q & A Articles on Tarkan: Read Tarkan Concerts: Reports Tarkan News: Index Tarkan Video News: Archive Tarkan Pick Of The Day: List The Tarkan Projects Tarkan Translations [Flash] Tarkan Documentary [Flash] Tarkan Visual (Photoblog) Development: 1 | 2 | 3 Related Internet Links Tarkan.com | HITT (Official sites) Tarkan International (Official fan club) TarkanPlusINT (Media blog in English) Tarkancoll (Multi-lingual fan forum) MegaSTarkaN (Fan site in Turkish) Tarkan Deluxe Link Portal Tdlx is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

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