Michele Zarrillo, who placed second in this year’s San Remo, will be giving a concert in Malta on 30 April at the Grand Master’s Theatre at the Hilton. The theatre takes 1,500 people and everyone will be seated.
Zarrillo will be accompanied by his band for two and a half hours performing such hits such as Cinque Giorni, Una Rosa Blu, La Notte dei Pensieri, L’Acrobata, Gli Angeli and of course, his latest L’Alfabeto degli Amanti .
The organiser of this event, Mario Camilleri from Pres-Malta explained to the press that after their plans to bring over Amadeo Minghi fell through due to circumstances beyond their control, it was decided to try and book Zarrillo, who has a large fan base on the island.
“We didn’t think we would have much luck especially after he did so well at San Remo which he almost won. However, much to our surprise, he said yes immediately and Malta will now be part of his tour named after his San Remo song L’Alfabeto degli Amanti.”
During the whole San Remo week, this song was in the lead in the male category and was considered the favourite. It was only the jury’s vote which placed it second, Mr Camilleri pointed out.
Zarrillo’s gifts as a songwriter have seen him pen songs for such artists as Renato Zero, Antonello Venditti and Ornella Vanoni.
Music critic Eric Montfort described the singer as one who has retained the uniqueness of emotional Italian love songs, and that it is to the credit of Pres-Malta that after bringing over several successful tribute bands, they are now also actively promoting original artists.
Representatives from Capital Radio and Super One Radio also spoke about the singer and his contribution to Italian pop music. Andrea Bocelli was recently quoted as saying that love songs are dying out, blaming music producers for this. However, Zarrillo and his beautifully written songs are reviving the tradition of the romantic Italian ballad.
It was also pointed out that in countries such as Japan and Canada, as soon as word gets out that there is a Zarrillo concert, the only poster which is put up is one that says “sold out”.
Bookings for the concert are being accepted either by e-mail on [email protected] or on ticket hotlines 21232288, 99800100, 79232288. Tickets are on sale now at the following prices:
Lm15 – for the first 250 seats, after which they will be Lm18
Lm 25 – VIP area
Lm30 – Golden Circle with complimentary drinks
For more information
visit the website at www.pres-malta.com.
Australian Pink Floyd to return this summer
At this same press conference it was also announced that due to popular demand both locally and from other countries, Pres-Malta would once again be bringing over the Australian Pink Floyd tribute band for a summer concert.
Mario Camilleri assured the public that the problems which had cropped up last year would be ironed out. He pointed out that the long queues causing delays to the start of the show were due to bomb threats which led the police to carry out extensive searches. There were also problems with false tickets which had been sold at Lm6. As for the complaints that the bars had run out of drinks, he stressed that so much alcohol was consumed that the organisers were worried for the safety of the concert goers, which is why they felt they had to clamp down on the sale of beer.
“I think people should show more moderation when it comes to drinking at such events. After all, if all you want to do is get drunk you can stay at home and not come to a concert where people have come to enjoy the music,” Mr Camilleri added.
Asked whether they have ever considered inviting original Pink Floyd member David Gilmour to give a show in Malta, Mr Camilleri said that he has shown interest in coming but will only perform in an indoor venue of a certain standard, something which the organisers are not yet in a position to provide.