Ira Losco and her band recently set off for what was to be one of the biggest highlights of her tour to date. This is the second part of her promotion tour in Germany, following the excell-ent performances she gave in the summer festivals on the same stage as, among others, Ronan Keating, Nena, Jimmy Sommerville, Fragma and Nova Space.

Ira was booked as the only supporting act for Elton John, in his only stadium concert in Germany this year. She was also scheduled to perform an acoustic set, again, as the only supporting act for Katie Melua.

The party set off on a Lufthansa flight to Berlin and on arrival were whisked off in the tour van to Wolfsburg to perform in one of the Radio SAW’s Hit Arena events. “The Radio SAW tour is very important for Ira Losco’s promo campaign”, said Paul Zammit Cutajar. “It takes her to various cities in Germany where she can share her music with wide audiences in each city, that average 2,500 to 3,500. This enables her to build a good solid fan-base”.

Radio SAW is one of Germany’s largest radio stations.

After a tight performance and a good night’s rest, the band set off early in the morning on a three-and-a-half hour drive to Bielefeld, the venue of Elton John’s concert.

“When we arrived at the venue, we were awestruck at how big this event was”, said Ira. “There were over 150 people working for this music legend and to be a part of his show was a great honour”.

The Bielefeld area was enjoying a hot, bright and sunny spell. Nicely settled in and sound-check completed, everything was running smoothly until ten minutes before show-time. Out of nowhere a thunder-cloud settled over the stadium and it literally poured for nearly five minutes.

Panic ensued. The equipment got wet and so did the crowd but they didn’t really seem to mind. With the stage crew frantically trying to dry out the desk, Ira recognised that there could be a problem.

She calmly walked onto the stage and started talking to the 17,000 audience, getting them to put their hands in the air. The crowd immediately warmed to her and within minutes the show started, for Ira and her band to give one of the best performances to date.

“The performance was amazing and I am so proud of my band which consists of Nadienne Sacco on bass, Alex Mallia on acoustic guitar, Ben Galea on drums and Jamie Hickey on electric guitar. We showed that an all-Maltese product can really deliver. It was such a great adrenalin rush”.

John Vella of Sound System was on the front of house desk.

“ The competition out there is extremely tough but after a lot of hard work and dedication, I must say that Ira and her band have managed to surpass all expectations and we can now truly say a Maltese star is being born in a foreign territory”, said Howard Keith.

After the show, everyone tucked into a sumptuous meal and went on to enjoy watching Elton John perform live with his band.

The concert was followed by the world press who were impressed with Ira’s performance.

With most of the band returning to Malta, Ira, together with Howard, Alex and Paul, set off for Stuttgart for the Katie Melua concert. Staged in an amphi-theatre, in the middle of a park, the event was a 4,500 sell-out. Ira had met Katie Melua last year on a television show where both of them were performing.

Katie Melua, who has topped the UK charts for the past six weeks, went on to win an Echo Award in Germany. Her band includes, among others, Henry Spinetti (ex Eric Clapton drummer) and Jimmy Greamon (ex Rod Stewart

guitarist).

“It’s really great for Katie and Ira to be performing on the same stage again. This really was a challenge, as it was our first-ever acoustic set in Germany. Nothing like being thrown in at the deep end”, said Paul Zammit Cutajar. “I’m really proud of their performance. They played fantastically and immediately won the crowd. With Howard on piano and percussion, and Alex on acoustic guitar, Ira’s voice cut through to awe the crowd. We have been inundated with emails asking about Ira’s album release in Germany”.

He went on to say: “The technical direction by Howard has really made a huge difference to the way Ira and her band are performing”.

Ira also caught the attention of Radio SWR3, which is arguably Germany’s largest radio station.

The single Get Out is receiving high rotation on radio in Germany and is expected to be released in the first week of September.

On her return to Malta, Ira released the first new single Everyday from her forthcoming album, by the same name. The album is scheduled for release in late October 2005.

The single, together with other songs on her new album, was co-written in Sweden with well-known songwriters who also write for chart-topping stars. But more about that at a later date.

Ira will be performing some of the new songs from her next album live with her band, at The Farsons Great Beer Festival tonight.

And then, Ira will be setting off for Germany once again, for four weeks. The tour continues….

Ira Losco is supported by Vodafone, Revlon, Guess, Olympus and The Global Group.

Catch up with her events and activities on www.iralosco.com