Zu & Co with dvd/RAH concert on tv/ Austrian music awards April 28, 2004
It looks as though Zu & Co will also be released in a special edition with an additional dvd: both a Dutch and an Italian online cd store are mentioning a special edition with dvd on their website. Zu & Co will go on sale on may 14th, for more info check our special Zu & Co section (which you can enter through the opening screen or through our discography).
Zucchero's big Royal Albert Hall concert in London next week will be on Italian tv the same night; Rai 2 has it scheduled for thursday night between 22:30 and 00:30 so it's not live (the show starts at 7 or 8 UK time) but semi-live.
Zucchero will appear during the Austrian Music Awards tonight playing "Everybody's got to learn sometime" with Sharon Corr on violin. The show will be on Austrian tv tomorrow but you can watch it online live on this website http://www.aon.at/Magazine/FE/Layouts/magHomePage/0,5058,14295-0-0-0-0,00.html.
Beautiful Night/ Spanish charts/ Pav & Friends April 26, 2004
Zucchero is one of the artists scheduled to appear during the Beautiful Night concert in Belfast, Northern-Ireland on may 1st to welcome the new countries to the European Union and the show will be broadcast live on BBC 1. The show will start at 22:00 (UK time, Central European time 23:00) and will go on untill midnight (1:00 CET), comedian Patrick Kielty will host the show. Other artists scheduled to show up are Ronan Keating, Jamie Collum, Alanais Morissette and possibly Dolores O'Riordan.
El grande baboomba, the Spanish version of Il grande baboomba has entered the Spanish charts on number 39 (presumebly based on airplay), the single has been on the air in Italy since friday and you can listen to part of the song on Zucch's official site (click on Map and then on new single-new album).
Correction on the Pav & Friends part: it now looks as though they'll be replacing it to another country. The show could end up being in London, New York or Rio de Janeiro. Rumoured guests for this year include Alicia Keys, Solomon Burke and Zucchero, when the show will take place is unknown.
Il Grande Baboomba/ Livecity/ Tina Arena/ Zucch in Austria/ Pavarotti and Friends April 23, 2004
A lot of small news stories today:
The first single of Zu & Co, Il grande baboomba, will be played on (Italian) radiostations from today, according to people (or as we call them 'lucky bastards' :D) who've already heard it, the song's a bit of a baila-esque bluesy song with a nice guitar riff. The single is scheduled for release on may 3d.
Our friend Federico Armeni has an article on Zu & Co and the new single on Livecity (http://www.livecity.it/critica/charts/).
The official Zucchero site has said that Australian singer Tina Arena (with whom Zucch recorded a new version of Ahum) will also be present during the Royal Albert Hall concert on may 6th. The song however won't be on Zu & Co.
Zucchero is scheduled to appear during the Amadeus Austrian Music Awards 2004 next week. The show will be recorded next wednesday and shown on ORF 1 at 22:00 on thursday. Zucch is scheduled to perform "Everybody's got to learn sometime" with Sharon Corr (the Corrs are performing during the same show)
And some sad news; it appears that last years Pavarotti and Friends concert in Modena was the last in it's kind. Luciano Pavarotti's wife Nicoletta Mantovani has said that there would be no more due to problems with the RAI that used to broadcast the show live. Last year there were already problems and there was even talk of cancelling the show last minute but the parties worked out their differences. Some of the biggest names in music have appeared during the concerts including people like B.B. King, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton and Barry White. Zucchero has been a regular at the Pav & Friends shows missing only 2 editions (1994 and 2001)
Il Grande Baboomba to debut on radio's friday April 21, 2004
The first single (in Italy anyway) of Zu & Co "Il Grande Baboomba" (featuring Mousse T) will be played by Italian radiostations from friday. The single will be in (Italian) stores on may 7.
Tracklist Zu & Co released on official Queen site April 21, 2004
The official Queen site (www.queenonline.com) has released the tracklist of Zucchero's new album Zu & Co. We already knew most songs that would end up on the album, the only surprise is that not only Macy Gray worked on a new version of Come il sole all'imrpovviso (called Like the sun out of nowhere on the cd), guitarman Jeff Beck has also added a solo. Two complete new songs will end up on the album: Mama get real, a collaboration with Mousse T. and Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime recorded with Vanessa Carlton and Haylie Ecker (Bond). Of the Zucch-classics a few of the duets have been released before (Senza una Donna with Paul Young, Wonderful World with Eric Clapton, Ali D'Oro with John Lee Hooker, etc.) and some are completely new (Pure Love (Puro Amore) with Dolores O'Riordan, Dune Mosse with Miles Davis, Like the sun out of nowhere with Macy Gray and Jeff Beck). Here's the tracklist for the Italian version as listed on the German Polydor site:
1 Dune Mosse feat. Miles Davis
2 Muoio Per Te feat. Sting
3 Indaco Dagli Occhi Del Cielo feat. Vanessa Carlton&Haylie Ecker
4 Il Grande Baboomba feat. Mousse T
5 Like The Sun - From Out Of Nowhere feat. Jeff Beck&Macy Grey
6 Baila Morena feat. Mana
7 Ali D'Oro feat. John Lee Hooker
8 Blue feat. Sheryl Crow
9 Pure Love feat. Dolores O'Riordan #
10 A Wonderful World feat. Eric Clapton
11 Pippo - Nasty Guy feat. Tom Jones
12 Hey man - Remixed Vocals (Not listed on the site but: feat. B.B. King)
13 Il Volo - The Flight feat. Ronan Keating
14 Cosi Celeste feat. Cheb Mami
15 Diavolo In Me - A Devil In Me feat. Solomon Burke
16 Senza Una Donna - Without A Woman feat. Paul Young
17 Il Mare feat. Brian May
18 Miserere feat. Luciano Pavarotti&Andrea Bocelli
Here's the complete tracklist for the UK version:
1)Dune Mosse feat. Miles Davis
2)Muoio Per Te (Mad About You) feat. Sting
3)Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime feat. Vanessa Carlton and Haylie Ecker (Bond)
4)Pure Love feat. Dolores O’Riordan (Cranberries)
5)Mama Get Real feat. Mousse T
6)Baila Morena feat. Maná
7)I Lay Down feat. John Lee Hooker
8)Blue feat. Sheryl Crow
9)Senza una Donna (without a woman) feat. Paul Young
10)Wonderful World feat. Eric Clapton
11)Nasty Guy (Pippo) feat. Tom Jones
12)Hey Man (Sing A Song) feat. BB King
13)The Flight (Il Volo) feat. Ronan Keating
14)Cosi Celeste feat. Cheb Mami
15)Diavolo In Me feat. Solomon Burke
16)Il Mare Impetuoso Al Tramonto.feat. Brian May
17)Miserere feat.Pavarotti and Bocelli
18(Like the Sun (From Out Of Nowhere) feat. Macy Gray and Jeff Beck
Again, we got this list from the Official Queen site, Eil.com and Polydor.de (so don't kill the messenger).
First single? April 20, 2004
It looks like there are two options for the first single of "Zu & Co": the duet with Vanessa Carlton, 'Everybody's got to learn sometime', which is listed as a single on the Austrian Universal Music site or 'Il grande baboomba', the song German DJ Mousse-T supposedly worked on, which is listed on the Swiss Directmedia.ch and on the Spanish Universal Music site (as El Grande Baboomba). Either way; the single(s) will come out on may 3d!
Beautiful Night in Belfast / European tour dates official! April 19, 2004
Zucchero is one of the performers scheduled to appear during a special concert in Northern-Ireland on may 1st. The concert is planned to welcome the new members of the European Union and artists that are supposed to appear include Jamie Cullom, Allanis Morissete, Bob Geldof and two people scheduled to appear with Zucch in the Royal Albert Hall 5 days later: Ronan Keating and Dolores O'Riordan. The concert will be broadcast live on BBC 1 and BBC 1 NI.
The official Zucchero site has published a list of tourdates for this summer, some of those we already figured out, some are new including a few dates in Spain, France and an appearance on the Belgium Suikerrock festival (where he seems right in place; suiker means sugar). For the entire list check the Tour Section!
"Everybody's got to learn sometime" w. Vanessa Carlton first single / Tourdates April 14, 2004
"Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime" the song Zucchero performed during the 46664 concert with Brian May, Roger Taylor and Sharon Corr will be the first single of the new album in a version with Vanessa Carlton. The Austrian Universal Music site has the single scheduled for release on may 3d, 3 days before the RAH concert and almost 2 weeks before the release of the album. The Spanish Universal Music site claims the first single will be "El Gran Baboomba", the track recorded with Mousse T. (possibly a Spanish version).
Meanwhile "ZU" seems to be the title of that album; a Swiss online cd store already had that name online last week and now the Universal Music Denmark site has "ZU" as the name for the upcomming album. The Spanish Universal music site however claims the title will be "ZU & CO".
And finally 2 more tourdates are in: on july 14th Zucchero will perform at the Clam festival and on july 15th Zucchero will perform at the Jazzfest in Wiesen, both Austria. On the same day Zucchero will play the Jazzfestival Seal is also scheduled to appear.
Zucchero at Bospop (the Netherlands) April 9, 2004
Zucchero is one of the headliners of this years Bospop festival in Weert, the Netherlands. Other bands appearing are Status Quo, Deep Purple and the Doors of the 21st Century. Solomon Burke, who will also be present during the 6 may Royal Albert Hall show, is also scheduled to appear on july 10 so there will most likely be a duet happening. Tickets are 45 euro and are already on sale. For more info check www.bospop.nl.
New title duet cd: ZU / Told ya so / new tourdate April 7, 2004
Swiss cd store Directmedia.ch has changed the title of Zucchero's upcomming duet cd from "TBA (to be announced)" to "ZU" which (see above) is also mentioned on the poster for the Royal Albert Hall concert. So far the working title for the cd was "Made of stars" but it looks like it has changed now. The cd will be released on May 14.
The entire Un po'di Zucchero remake story (see below) was indeed an Aprilfoolsday joke (and thank god for that!).
We've found ANOTHER new tourdate: on july 16th Zucchero will perform in Hamburg, Germany at the Stadtpark Freilichtbühne. Tickets are €35,90 and can be bought through this website: http://www.karsten-jahnke.de/konzertehh.php3.
New tourdate! - 46664 cds/dvd released April 5, 2004
Another new tourdate has come up: on July 18 Zucchero will give an openair concert at the Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in Bonn, Germany. The concert is one in a series of shows by artists, including Santana, Bryan Adams, Van Morrison and Ronan Keating. Tickets are 41,20 euro and have already gone on sale. Zucchero will also be performing in Germany on july 20 so it looks like there will be a European tour this summer.
The three different cd's and the double dvd of the 46664 concert last year have been released. During the concert Zucchero played "Everybody's got to learn sometime" together with Brian May, Roger Taylor and Sharon Corr and "I want it all" during the Queen medley. On the cd's only "I want it all" is included (on the third cd "Amandla"), on the double dvd both songs are present. To celebrate the release Zucchero's official website has put three backstage videos of the event online (http://www.zucchero.it/biografia/46664/).
Un po' di Zucchero remake? April 2nd, 2004
Although I'm considering an April foolsday joke, yesterday the official Zucchero fanclub announced that after releasing his duetalbum Zucchero will re-record his first album "Un po' di Zucchero". It's common knowledge that Zucchero isn't particulary fond of that album (it's not listed in his official discography) although he did once say he liked the songs, just not the way they turned out. If this is indeed happening the title of the album supposedly should be "Pesca di Perle".
Hohentwiel Festival March 29, 2004
Zucchero will give a concert during the Hohentwiel Festival in the German town Singen. The show will be one of a series of concerts by German and International artists (among others B.B. King). Zucchero's concert will take place on july 20. Tickets are 40 euro and you can order them through this website: http://www.koko.de/new/events/artist.php?P_ServerID=11&P_DatabaseID=0&P_PerformanceID=465. Looks like a European summer tour!
Zucchero will perform together with Cheb Mami in Paris on March 31 (this wednesday). The concert will take place in Grand Rex and some other special guests will be present too. Zucchero and Cheb Mami have recorded a new version of Cosi Celeste for Cheb Mami's album Du Sud au Nord. The song will also be on the new duet cd and Cheb Mami is one of the artists playing with Zucch in the Royal Albert Hall.
According to a post on the Zucchero forum soul singer Anastacia has also been asked to appear on the new duet album but had to decline since at the time she was too sick (Anastacia recently suffered cancer) to record. Maybe some later...
And finally: our friend Alex (from the Cranberries site Zombieguide, see Links) send us the following article from the Italian magazine Leggo:
RAH concert - Clapton added to list March 26, 2004
Eric Clapton has been added to the list of artists that will appear with Zucchero during the may 6 show in London. It was already expected that Clapton would join since he himself was playing in the Royal Albert Hall during the days before and after may 6th. Zucchero and Clapton have worked together several times before: Clapton plays guitar on "A Wonderful World" from the Oro incenso e birra album, Zucchero was the opening act for Clapton's 1990 European tour and during Pavarotti and Friends 1996 they performed "Un Piccolo Aiuto" together. Clapton will also be on the new album but wether this is a new song or one of the older ones is unclear.
RAH concert - new album March 25, 2004
Rumour is that the RAH concert might be aired on (Italian) tv but no news is in on that yet. Tickets are still available for the concert on may 6 in London but only on the upper balconies or behind them (with restricted views). It looks like there will also be a soundcheck open for the official fanclub members (www.zucchero.it/fanclub). Through the official fanclub you can join a competition for two plane tickets to London (from Verona, Italy), a nice hotelroom, great seats and transport to and from the RAH, only problem is we have no idea how to actually join the thing :)). The new cd will be released on may 14th and will contain 18 songs, all duets.
ROYAL ALBERT HALL CONCERT - CD TO BE RELEASED MAY 14 March 15, 2004
BIG news in Zucchero land today! Zucchero's official website released the following news:
On may 6th (a thursday) Zucchero and a couple of special guests (so far Luciano Pavarotti, Solomon Burke, Ronan Keating, Cheb Mami, Mousse T, Dolores O Riordan and Paul Young have been confirmed) will be performing in the Royal Albert Hall in London to celebrate the release of Zucchero's new duet album. The duet album is scheduled to be released on May 14th. Tickets will go on sale today on www.bookingsdirect.com.!
46664 cd - dvd March 4, 2004
The cd and dvd versions of the 46664 concert in South Africa last year will be released on April 5th. The audio version has been cut up in three different cd's, although you can also buy them together, the third cd (Amandla) includes Zucchero doing "I want it all" with Queen. The dvd version is a double dvd that also includes Zucch singing "Everybody's got to learn sometime" with Roger Taylor, Brian May and Sharon Corr. You can now pre-order the cd's on the 46664 site (www.46664.com).
We also nicked some pics from a German U2 site (www.u2tour.de) of Zucchero and the band rehearsing in the week before the concert with the following story (translation from one of the 46664 boards):
"The band was rehearsing a song of the Corgys that used to be a hit in the 70ies:"Everybody Loves Sometimes", the new single by Zucchero. When Zucchero arrived he arranged his keyboard, discussed some fine tuning with Spike Edney and started playing. First take. Zucchero is sitting at the keyboard, plays the first chords, and suddenly Chris Thompson's voice strikes up to his left. I had to force myself not to burst out laughing when I noticed Zucchero's head of a sudden moving to the man that was obviously singing there and when I saw the admiring look in Zucchero's eyes. There was no sign of envy at all. A little later the two were completely lost in deep conversation and singing, rehearsing the song again by themselves. Without a band, just so. Absorbed by the moment."
