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Bryan Adams’ concert in Limassol, Cyprus > Summer of ’07 May 13, 2007

Bryan Adams’ concert next month promises to be one of the largest events the island has ever hosted

Some women find him undeniably sexy, others melt at the mere sound of his voice, and even though some say they don’t like his music they can’t help singing along if one of his tunes begins to play on the radio. If it wasn’t for Bryan Adams, we wouldn’t have been able to gaze endlessly at Johnny Depp in Don Juan De Marco to the sound of ‘Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?’ He has made females around the globe swoon with the sound of ‘The Only Thing That Looks Good On Me is You,’ and has made it impossible to utter ‘Everything I Do’ without following it up with ‘I do it for you…’

Adams started his current world tour in March, travelling to South America and touching down for concerts in Brazil and Argentina. Just a few days ago, he was playing at Wembley Arena in London to thousands of screaming and adoring fans. Most times that we hear about stars performing at concert halls abroad, we’re merely left wishing that they would arrive on our shores. But now is the Cypriot’s chance to be part of the fun as the legendary singer will play the Tsirion Stadium in Limassol on June 29. Set to be one of the biggest musical extravaganzas to hit Cyprus, it promises to be a magical trip into 20 fabulous years of rock and pop history.

Many of us probably wondered the same thing when news spread like hot fire that Adams was to arrive: why did he decide to come here? His choice couldn’t have been financial. After all, elsewhere in Europe he attracts audiences of over 40,000. The truth is he decided to come and play in Limassol as a chance to visit a new place. “I haven’t been to Cyprus before and I always wanted to see it, I think it’s about time! We’ve been all around the Mediterranean and flown over Cyprus so many times, it’s now time to land down and come play,” he said.

Interestingly, because the upcoming show is forming part of his European tour, fans will be arriving from all over to catch a glimpse of him on stage. Back in March, when ticket sales began, people from as far away as Iceland, Canada and America were booking to see the star in Cyprus. Brought here by Moonlight Endless Productions, organisers were stunned by how fast sales rocketed.

Adams’ timeless rock and roll music has been popular for over 20 years and he’s still winning awards and legions of new fans every day. The singer was born in Ontario in 1959 to English diplomat parents who eventually settled in Canada in the 1970s. As a teenager, he pursued his rock goals and began to play in nightclubs as well as washing dishes, selling pet food and working in record stores to make a bit of extra money. It was a serendipitous meeting with drummer Jim Vallance in a Vancouver music store that led to a partnership that continues to this day, as the pair instantly began writing successful songs together and making demo tapes.

His solo career was launched with the release of his self-titled album, Bryan Adams, in February 1980. Then followed a string of records until the release of one of his most successful albums, Waking up the Neighbours, in 1991 and featuring the single ‘Everything I Do’ used in the film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. The album and the song shot to number one everywhere in the world, spending a record-breaking 16 weeks at number one in the UK Singles Chart and 17 weeks on top of the US Hot 100 Single Sales.

In 1993 came the unforgettable single ‘All for Love’, sung with Sting and Rod Stewart for the film The Three Musketeers. In the period between 1996 and 1999, Adams was on a roll and released an album each year. 18 Till I Die featured the flamenco flavoured hit ‘Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman?’ with Spanish guitarist Paco De Lucia. Adams was rewarded with yet another number one hit, as well as a Grammy nomination for Best Male Vocal Performance and his second Oscar nomination for best song.

In the autumn of 2005, Adams celebrated his 25th anniversary as a recording artist with his first two CD-collection, Anthology, standing as the biggest retrospective of his multi-platinum career to date. Spanning from the 1980s through to today, it offers the very best works of one of the most popular singers to don a t-shirt and jeans.

Recently, Adams has even made hit film soundtracks with his song, ‘Never Gonna Break My Faith’ featured in Bobby, earning him a Golden Globe nomination in 2004.
Set to be one of the biggest concerts ever to be staged in Cyprus, the upcoming summer show will definitely be full of great surprises. As for all females out there who love the star, you should start learning the lyrics to ‘When You’re Gone’ off by heart. Why? Because Adams always chooses one lovely lady out of the crowd to sing the famous song on stage together. Better get practicing those vocal skills!

You may remember spending countless nights out dancing and singing along to ‘Summer of 69’, but it’s now time to forget about the past as the countdown begins to the summer of 2007 with the superstar by our side. “It’s going to be a really great pleasure to be in Cyprus and I’m really looking forward to it,” says Adams. “See you in June for a night to remember.”

Bryan Adams > International singer live in concert. June 29. Tsirion Stadium, Limassol. 9pm. For ticket information, group booking and sponsorship packages visit www.moonlightshow.com, www.bryanadamsliveincyprus.com. £25 arena and £30 seats. Tel: 77772939.

50 Cent and Akon head for Nicosia, Cyprus May 13, 2007

Multi platinum selling hip-hop superstars 50 Cent and Akon have been booked to give a one-off performance at Nicosia GSP this summer.

The headline acts are due to perform at the launch of Medfest, the first international music festival organised by AP Entertainment and One Events, on Saturday July 28. Hip Hop mogul 50 Cent, who sits comfortably alongside the likes of Tom Cruise and Oprah at No. 8 on the Forbes Power List, will be performing an exclusive set showcasing tracks from his forthcoming album Curtis, as well as previous smash hits including Candy Shop, Just a little bit and In da club.

Also, fresh off his successful US tour with Gwen Stefani, Akon is set to perform hits from his current album Konvicted, which has sold over three million copies to date since its December release.

AP Entertainment Managing Director Philip Stavrou said the purpose of the festival was to give Cypriots the opportunity to experience a concert of such a grand scale firsthand. “We think Cyprus is ready for this. Everyone in Cyprus knows about concerts that are held in other places but they don’t go to them. We thought it would be nice to have something of their own,” Stavrou said. Based on the success of this year’s festival and the response from the public and businesses, Stavrou said the organisers hoped to host the festival for at least another five years. “This is not just a one-off thing,” he said.

Stavrou said booking the two superstars had been made possible through contacts that members on the organisers’ team had made during their years in the industry working for Warner Brothers and MTV Europe. He added there would be two or three more big names due to join the festival, whose names would be announced in the following weeks. “We might have a well known reggae artist just to mix it up a bit,” Stavrou said.

Tickets for Medfest went on sale yesterday via Ticketweb and are also available directly from the GSP Stadium box office, and all other usual ticket agents. Tickets are priced from £30. Standard booking fees apply. www.ticketweb.co.uk or www.medfest2007.com; Ticketweb, 0044 8700 600 100 (24hr); GSP Stadium, Nicosia, tel 22 874050.