Raggamuffin Concert Tour (NZ&Aust) - 5th Feb 2008

Posted on November 7th, 2007 by Positive Tonga

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Andrew McManus Presents

UB40

THE WAILERS

MAXI PRIEST

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT

& KATCHAFIRE!

Media Release

Put UB40, The Wailers, Maxi Priest, Arrested Development and Katchafire together and what do you get? Well, first up, six hours of fantastic music! And that’s exactly the musical feast on offer at Raggamuffin, an innovative new event showcasing the best in reggae music, with a healthy dose of funk, dub, hip hop and soul!

Raggamuffin will tour Australia and New Zealand performing at outdoor and indoor venues through February 2008. It’s reggae King Bob Marley’s birthday in February (February 6 1945 to be exact), so what better month to celebrate!

Promoter Andrew McManus said: “I’ve toured UB40 three times through Australia and New Zealand and they never cease to amaze me with just how good they are and how much their fans love them. That’s where the idea of Raggamuffin came from. Reggae lovers rarely get a chance to see the music they love and that’s really the driving force behind putting this event together. We hope we can do it annually.”

Headlining the very first Raggamuffin will be UB40, arguably the world’s most popular reggae band. Their combined single and album sales are in excess of 70 million, which puts them in that elite category populated by the likes of The Police & Robbie Williams. They’ve had a staggering 51 hit singles, which is more than ANY other British outfit apart from Status Quo (and, yes, that includes The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, U2 and everyone else); and they’ve had Number 1 smash hits in virtually every chart on the planet.

There’s no doubt the eight boyhood friends of English, Scottish, Irish, Yemeni and Jamaican parentage from the inner-city areas of Birmingham, have done as much to popularise reggae globally as Bob Marley himself.

UB40’s best-known songs – ‘One In Ten’, ‘Many Rivers To Cross’, ‘Cherry Oh Baby’, ‘I Got You Babe’, ‘Don’t Break My Heart’, ‘Rat In Mi Kitchen’, ‘Kingston Town’, ‘Red Red Wine’ – always have audiences in fine voice.

Their last album, the acclaimed ‘Who You Fighting For’ was nominated for a Grammy as 2006’s Best Reggae Album. The band are currently in the studio in the UK recording their new album, which will be out in time for the Australian tour.

UB40 are pleased to have the extraordinary THE WAILERS join them on the bill for Raggamuffin.

Famed for co-starring with Bob Marley on all of his hit records and stage shows, THE WAILERS are the most celebrated reggae outfit of all time. Their live show consists of classic hits like ‘Buffalo Soldier’, ‘I Shot the Sheriff’, ‘Is This Love’, ‘No Woman No Cry’, ‘Exodus’, ‘Jamming’, ‘One Love’, ‘Get Up Stand Up’ and the list goes on and on….

Replacing Bob Marley hasn’t been easy, and after his death, Junior Marvin took up lead vocals. In 1997, THE WAILERS’ band leader (and Bob’s right hand man) Aston “Family Man” Barrett recruited a young Jamaican singer named Elan to front the band.

Elan had never performed with a band onstage before he did his first show, but believed the spirituality of Bob’s music and lyrics helped him find himself. His presence in the Wailers has brought freshness and vitality to the already celebrated line-up, including original members Aston “Family Man” Barrett (the king of reggae bass players and Bob’s Musical director), and Al Anderson, who’s played and recorded with Lauryn Hill, Ben Harper, and James Brown, as well as Marley and Tosh. After leaving for a few years to pursue a solo career, Elan reunited with THE WAILERS in early 2007.

Raggamuffin is pleased to welcome veteran recording artist MAXI PRIEST to the line-up.

Born in Jamaica, and raised in the UK, Maxi first gained worldwide recognition with the release of ‘Maxi’ (1988). Recorded in Jamaica with legendary musicians Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, and Willie Lindo, it contained the hit singles ‘Some Guys Have All the Luck’ and a cover of the Cat Steven’s classic ‘Wild World’.

Maxi followed up this success with 1990’s gold album release ‘Bonafide’. The single ‘Close To You’, hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and #2 on the Hot R&B Singles chart solidifying Maxi’s title as the “King of Lover’s Rock”.

Maxi’s reputation for balancing hard-core reggae vibes with mainstream pop was firmly cemented by the mid nineties, leading to widespread critical acclaim and massive growth in popularity as a recording and touring artist.

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT lit up audiences when they were last in Australia supporting INXS and Simple Minds in March this year. The two-time Grammy winners are back in action with a great new album ‘Since The Last Time’. The eight-piece band’s music shook the bootys, hearts and minds of listeners across the planet with hits like ‘Mr Wendal’, ‘Miracles’, ‘Everyday People’ and ‘Tennessee’ along the way to selling five million albums - it’s good to have them back!

Fronted by the charismatic Speech, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT are known for rockin’ samples, live instruments, bold scratching, organic sounds & amazing vocals to form their unique and irresistible blend of Hip Hop. They are an amazing band to experience live, and are sure to be popular with Raggamuffin crowds.

KATCHAFIRE, a 6 piece all-Maori group from Hamilton, are New Zealand’s premier reggae outfit. Their 2003 debut album ‘Revival’ yielded the country’s biggest selling single ‘Giddy Up’. Since then they have continued to release high selling albums, supported bands such as Michael Franti and Spearhead and The Wailers on their 05 NZ tour and played to great acclaim at concerts and reggae festivals around the world.

2007 has seen the band with a busy international calendar taking the stage at highly regarded festivals such as Roskilde in Denmark, Rototomsplash in Italy, SummerJam in Germany, Larmer Tree and Rhythms of the World in England to estimated crowds of around 300,000.

KATCHAFIRE have toured Australia four times and are the only Australasian band on the Raggamuffin bill.

So there you have it …. five great bands providing a veritable musical reggae feast, welcome to Raggamuffin! Check out the website www.raggamuffin.com.au for all the details.

TOUR DATES ARE:

February 5 HORDERN PAVILION, SYDNEY

www.ticketek.com.au & 132 849

Doors Open 5pm, music from 5.55pm.

February 9 WACA PERTH

ticketmaster.com.au & 136 100

Gates open 4pm, music from 5.20pm.

February 12 VODAFONE ARENA, MELBOURNE

www.ticketek.com.au & 132 849

Doors Open 5pm, music from 5.55pm.

February 15 THE RIVERSTAGE, BRISBANE

ticketmaster.com.au & 136 100