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SYNTH PIONEER THOMAS DOLBY TO PLAY FIRST EUROPEAN GIGS SINCE 1984
(London, England May 8th 2012) Thomas Dolby, the renowned synthesist/songwriter whose hits such as ‘Europa And The Pirate Twins’, ‘Windpower’, ‘Hyperactive’, ‘She Blinded Me With Science’ lit up the worldwide pop charts in the 1980s, returns to key European cities this Spring to play his first live concert dates in Europe since 1984.
The 53-year-old Englishman spent nearly two decades away from the music business altogether, living in the USA where he founded his Silicon Valley high tech company Beatnik Inc. While at Beatnik he co-designed the software synthesiser integrated in every Nokia mobile phone since 1999. During the peak of the ringtone craze of the last decade, the tiny Beatnik Audio Engine was embedded in two thirds of the world’s mobile phones, totalling over three billion units shipped—making it by far the most successful synthesiser ever. Thomas Dolby is named on multiple patents relating to the BAE and polyphonic ringtone formats.
Retiring from Beatnik in 2007, Thomas returned to music and, working in his solar-powered lifeboat studio in the east of England, has recorded his first solo studio album in ninteen years, ‘A Map Of The Floating City’ (EMI Distribution). Fresh from a sellout tour of the USA, Canada, Japan and Australia, Dolby and his band embark on a short series of European dates commencing May 16th in Brussels, taking in Amsterdam, Berlin, Frankfurt and ending in Paris on May 21st.
Thomas Dolby’s last live appearance of any sort in mainland Europe was in front of 350,000 people at Berlin’s Potzdamer Platz as part of Roger Waters’ massive production of ‘The Wall’ in 1990, in which he starred as the sinister Scottish teacher. Dolby was also a member of David Bowie’s backing band at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium in 1985.
The five-time Grammy™ nominated performer is respected for his legendary keyboard work with acts as varied as Foreigner (‘Waiting For a Girl Like You’), Def Lepperd (‘Photograph’), Malcolm McClaren (‘Buffalo Gals’), Joan Armatrading [‘Walk Under Ladders’), Thompson Twins (‘In The Name Of Love’), and Belinda Carlisle (‘Heaven Is A Place On Earth.’) In addition, Dolby wrote Lene Lovich’s hit single ‘New Toy’ and has been a featured record producer for Prefab Sprout, Joni Mitchell, and George Clinton.
The full dates are listed below:
May 16th—Brussels, Belgium AB Club
May 17th—Amsterdam, NL Bitterzoet
May 18th--Berlin, Germany Frannz Club
May 20th—Frankfurt, Germany Zoom
May 21st—Paris, France Café De La Danse
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