Eurythmics star Dave Stewart has followed up his recent visit to Sunderland with news that he will be hosting a very special birthday show there in September when he will be both performing and talking about his 40-plus year music career.
The Sunderland -born musician - who was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with his Eurythmics co-star Annie Lennox - is to celebrate his upcoming 70th birthday with a gig at The Fire Station, saying his home city is a fitting place to mark the milestone. Tickets will go on sale this Friday, July 22 for the one-off event, called Sweet Dreams Are Made of This: My Life in Music, which will take place on the actual date of his birthday: September 9.
Named after one of the band's most famous hits, the show will also feature music from Stewart's post-Eurythmics career as well as some special guests, whose identities are currently under wraps, plus never-before-seen images from his own archive. He said: “I’ve lived such an adventurous life and have often filmed or photographed what was happening around me.
Read more: Dave Stewart discusses his new album, Sunderland and Annie Lennox
"I also have a massive archive of very special recordings and will share some of these on the night, as well as performing some of my well-known songs with some friends. I see it as a story of survival in a cut-throat business as well as a celebration of music and the love of songwriting and how it all began in my hometown of Sunderland.”
Stewart, who now lives between homes in Nashville and the Caribbean, was in Sunderland just in May when during an interview with Chroniclelive he spoke about growing up in the Barnes area of the city and of his plans to make a film here later in the year. It was during that visit that he also looked around the city's newest performance venue The Fire Station.
"I was very impressed with the whole set-up," he says now. “I thought it was fitting to have this evening in Sunderland on my 70th birthday - as Dylan said I'm Bringing it all Back Home - and The Fire Station is a perfect venue for the intimate storytelling and music I want to share."
The venue's director Tamsin Austin said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be hosting this special event with such a legendary artist. Dave is a global superstar who has never forgotten his roots.
“We’re especially honoured that he will be playing our venue on his 70th birthday." Stewart, who also celebrated his 65th birthday in the city, with a gig at Sunderland Empire, will this time share with fans several stories about his major influences and his collaborations with stars such as Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Mick Jagger, Katy Perry and Joss Stone.
The award-winning artist, who has sold more than 100m albums, has also worked on films and musicals, including writing the score for Alfie with Mick Jagger and a new musical, The Time Traveller’s Wife, which he has co-written with Joss Stone and which will make its premiere later this year. Tickets for Sweet Dreams Are Made of This: My Life in Music will go on sale on July 22 from noon: see here.
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