STATUS QUO LEGEND FRANCIS ROSSI JOINS ROCK MEETS CLASSIC LINE-UP
16th June 2017



rock meets classic

The ninth annual Rock Meets Classic European tour promises to be as spectacular as anything that's gone before. Backed once again by the Mat Sinner Band and his RMC Symphony Orchestra Prague, some of the biggest names in rock come together for a musical extravaganza unlike any other show in mainland Europe this year.

For this year's event, it's the very first appearance of Francis Rossi, sole remaining founding member and current frontman of Status Quo, whose band mate Rick Parfitt previously featured in the 2015 version of the tour. To date, Status Quo have released thirty studio albums, over 100 singles and have sold a total of nearly 120 million records as well as performing over live concerts in front of over twenty-five million fans. Rossi is a charismatic, world-class entertainer, which he will prove once again at Rock Meets Classic during the band's best of Quo set.

Joining him will be Leo Leoni and Nic Maeder, guitarist and singer respectively from the Swiss rock band Gotthard. Twenty-five years ago, the band broke out from their native Ticino to conquer the world with pure, unbridled rock and massive power ballads. Still the masters of their craft, they've had fifteen number one albums and have walls covered with multi-platinum awards. Gotthard are not only the most successful band in Switzerland, but are rarely out of the global spotlight, featuring in the charts for twenty-five years.

John Helliwell (saxophone) and Jesse Siebenberg (singer) from Supertramp have also signed up this year. In case you don't know, Supertramp made their international breakthrough with their 1979 album 'Breakfast In America', which catapulted them into a circuit of international stadium gigs. They've written their own page of music history with classics like 'Logical Song', 'It's Raining Again' and the unforgettable 'Give A Little Bit'. The fantastic sax playing of John Helliwell gives the band its distinctive feel while Jesse Siebenberg has been the lead singer since 2009, and takes the Supertramp sound into a different dimension.

Eric Bazilian is the musical director of the Hooters, and essentially responsible for their characteristic sound. The Hooters gained prominence after their appearance at the Live Aid concert in Philadelphia on 13th July 1985, and went on to top the charts with songs like 'All You Zombies', 'Johnny B' and 'Satellite'. Bazilian has also written songs for Cyndi Lauper, Bon Jovi, Patty Smith, Robbie Williams and Billy Idol. Eric was the unbelievably positive and lovely surprise in the Rock meets Classic Tour 2013, and all the RMC fans were demanding to have him back, so they've listened to the feedback and Brazilian has agreed to come back and play.

The final artist in the announcement is Michael Sadler, singer and multi-instrumentalist from Canadian rock legends, Saga. With over 1,000 shows in twenty countries and eight million records sold, Saga have written rock history. In January 2017 Sander announced that Saga will split up, by mutual agreement, at the end of the 2017 sell-out tour. The Rock Meets Classic team are thrilled to confirm that Sadler will perform on the 2018 Rock Meets Classic tour.

Rock Meets Classic tour promoter Manfred Hertlein said of the upcoming tour:

"Every year we increase our ticket sales but this year's presale beats all previous records. We want to say thank you to all our fans. It makes us very proud that we're able to deliver such a high-quality show.

"Rock Meets Classic has a terrific vibe and the legendary cross-over-project combines emotional classic with world-famous rock songs and turns it into a three-hour program."

Rock Meets Classic 2018 features:
Francis Rossi (Status Quo)
Leo Leoni (Gotthard)
Nic Maeder (Gotthard)
John Helliwell (Supertramp)
Jesse Siebenberg (Suertramp)
Eric Bazilian (The Hooters)
Michael Sadler (Saga)

You can see Rock Meets Classic 2018 here:
Wednesday 4th April: Dreiländerhalle, Passau
Thursday 5th April: Saturn Arena, Ingolstadt
Friday 6th April: Oliver Arena, Wurzburg
Saturday 7th April: Arena Nürnberger Versicherung, Nuremberg
Sunday 8th April: BigBOX Allgäu, Kempten
Wednesday 11th April: Tempodrom, Berlin
Thursday 12th April: Jahrhunderthalle, Frankfurt
Friday 13th April: St. Jakobshalle, Basel
Saturday 14th April: Donau-Arena, Regensburg
Sunday 15th April: Olympiahalle, Munich
Wednesday 18th April: Ratiopharm Arena, Neu-Ulm
Thursday 19th April: Rosengarten, Mannheim







 
metal talk