Adams aims to hit high note in SA
FAMED rocker Bryan Adams will be in South Africa for four concerts as part of his Get Up World Tour and he’s happy to get some recommendations on a great bush getaway.
Adams confir med this week that he would be giving concerts across the country next month, and when asked whether he’d be taking time out while here, he affirmed: “You mean have some time to go into the bush? I hope so. There are a few days off while we are in South Africa and I’m looking for recommendations.”
Adams revealed he had family in the country and looked forward to spending quality time with them. He has visited South Africa a number of times.
This world tour sees him performing many of his biggest hits, including Summer of 69, Cuts Like a Knife, Please Forgive Me, (Everything I Do) I Do It For you and Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman.
Adams’ career in the world of rock ’n’ roll started in the late 1970s when, at the age of 15, he became a temporary vocalist for the band Sweeney Todd.
In 1978, he met Jim Vallance in a music store in Vancouver.
The duo then met a few days later at Vallance’s house and started a formidable partnership and friendship that lasted more than three decades.
The album Cuts Like a Knife was released at the beginning of 1983 and marked Adams’ break into the big time with his hit Straight From the Heart. In 1986, 18 Till I Die was released, taking the top spot on the UK charts and making it his third No 1 in a row
The next 20 years saw a prolific number of mega-hits establishing Adams as one of the greatest songwriters of our time.
He also collaborated with many artists, including the likes of Roger Daltrey, co-writing tracks for Under A Raging Moon, a tribute to The Who’s former drummer Keith Moon, and in 2013, he wrote and sang with Michael Buble from his album To Be Loved.
Proof of his never-ending popularity was set when, in 1996, he perfor med to a 70 000-strong crowd for a second time at Wembley Stadium.
Adams wrote and perfor med songs for a number of movies such as Never Let Go for The Guardian, starring Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher, Never Gonna Break My Faith for the film Bobby, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination and You’ve Been A Friend To Me for Old Dogs, produced by Disney.
In 2010, he released One World, One Flame and the same year performed a duet with Nelly Furtado called Bang The Drum, which was co-written with Jim Vallance for the opening ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.
While Adams released a new album, Tracks of My Tears, in 2014 which reached No 1 on the Canadian charts, it contained cover songs and only one new song written with Vallance.
He produced his first new material in seven years for the album, Get Up, which also saw him reunited with Vallance. The album was released in 2015 and at the beginning of this month, he released two new songs, Please Stay and Ultimate Love.
Commenting on how the new releases had been received on this tour, Adams said: “I love them and they seem to have gone over really well. It’s always tricky adding songs that haven’t been tested.”
For his South African fans, Adams said: “I’m really looking forward to the gigs; we’ve always loved playing here. We’ll be playing all the songs you know and love and have possibly heard before, plus we’ll be featuring some new songs from the Get Up album. Come and see the show, we rock.”
Also known for his activist and humanitarian work, Adams’ first big charity appearance came when he opened the US Live Aid concert in 1985. He also performed at the Nelson Mandela birthday party concert at Wembley Stadium in 1988. The South African dates for the Get Up World Tour are:
Ticketpro
December 9:
Dome, Joburg Sun Arena, Time Square, Pretoria Durban ICC. Grand Arena, GrandWest, Cape Town.
December 10: December 12: December 14: