Rod Stewart on his way to Israel
Veteran British singer's official website reports that Stewart, who already performed in Holy Land at height of his career in 1983, will return on July 1
Will the summer of 2010 manage to overshadow 2009 with an aerial traffic of foreign musicians? The chances are pretty good. Rod Stewart will perform at the Ramat Gan Stadium on July 1, the veteran British singer's official website confirmed Friday.
Fellow British singer Elton John and American heavy metal band Metallica are also expected to perform in the same stadium this summer. Canadian musician Leonard Cohen gave a long-anticipated concert to his Israeli fans in the same place last September.
According to Stewart's website, tickets for the concert will go on sale on January 26. The Israeli production has yet to make an official announcement on the matter, but sources in the music industry said several weeks ago that the negotiations with with Stewart were being held by producer Marcel Avraham.
Avraham's representative in Israel, Attorney Hagai Strevis, confirmed earlier this month that "Stewart is holding talks with us, as are the additional names you mentioned. We hope everything turns out fine and so that everyone in Israel can enjoy a hot summer of entertainment performances."
This will be Stewart's second concert in Israel. His previous one was also held at the Ramat Gan Stadium in July 1983, when he was at the peak of his career. Before arriving in Israel, he is scheduled to perform in Romania, Austria and Hungary, as part of his current world tour.
Stewart, 65, is considered one of the most popular singers in the history of the British music industry. He has sold 300 million albums so far, making him one of the most successful singers in the world.
Stewart launched his career in the 1960s. In 1967 he joined the Jeff Beck Group, and two years later he became part of the Faces band, which was looking for a new lead singer.
At the same time, he released his first two solo albums and was very successful in the United States. His first big hit, "Maggie May," was released in the early 1970s and topped the charts across the world.
From this point, Stewart's career took off until the late 1980s with dozens of hit singles.
Following a relative slump in his career in the 1990s, his latest album, "Soulbook", released in October 2009, has sold some 400,000 copies so far.
There's only one thing which cannot be counted: The number of women in the life of the wild boy of British rock.
Raz Shechnik contributed to this report
