Bryan Adams: 'Excited about India tour'

Canadian pop icon Bryan Adams talks about his forthcoming India tour, new album and the pressures of playing old hits.

From being a paper delivery boy to working at a pet shop handling dog food and washing dishes to digging ditches, pop star Bryan Adams has surely come a long way indeed.

The Canadian artiste will first perform in Mumbai on February 12 and will then travel to Bengaluru, Delhi and Hyderabad for a series of concerts.

51-year-old Adams has surprisingly struck a cord with at least two generations of Indians if not more -- his Summer of '69 is still one of the most popular numbers in nightclubs across the country -- and confesses that he's been looking forward to performing here since his first concert in Mumbai back in the '90s.

Bryan Adams answers a round of rapid-fire questions about his new album, his music, influences and the pressure of playing the old hits over and over again.

What brings you back to India for your fourth tour?

Ever since we played in India, I've noticed more and more people from India attending and requesting shows. My twitter page for example has requests from all over India and people are excited that we are coming for another concert tour.

What's your favourite thing about coming to India?

Well, I'm quite biased as my band and I were the first to do a big outdoor concert in Mumbai back in the 1990s and we are proud of this. We have always had such an overwhelming response.
 
What's been your best concert here so far?

The first one was amazing as it was so different to anything I'd ever done. The cricket ground was divided in half for the show, and to my knowledge they haven't allowed many concerts there since, which is a shame.

How did your new album Bare Bones come about?

I made that record for the acoustic tour, so people could have something different coming away from the shows. Again, I went to my twitter page and asked the fans to suggest songs and this was the result. Quite a fun record to make...
 
What was the inspiration behind stripping down your old hits and singing them acoustically for your new album as well as adding in new songs?

I started doing shows on my own, chatting a bit about the songs, playing things I don't play with the band and generally trying things out, it was more or less an experiment to see if the songs stood up without all the orchestrations, and they do.

What can fans expect at your concerts here?

Full band show, with all the songs you know and love, maybe a few others for good measure.

Do you think your music has evolved over the years?

I hope so, you can't help but try things it's the nature of music.

Is there a lot of pressure to produce new music when people still hum to the likes of 'Summer of 69', 'Cloud No. 9' ?

If there is any pressure, it's internal, self-imposed pressure, and it's normal to feel this. Old songs are inspirations that push new songs to be better.

With the music business booming with youngsters, do you think it has become even more competitive?

It's always been competitive, that will never change thankfully. What is different now is that there are more musicians than ever all exposed on the Internet, which is fantastic, however the record companies are holding on to the old model that people want CD's and most people just don't.

This desperate control will eventually take the music business down and with it will go the great songwriters, purely because they will not be able to afford to make music and make a living.

It could turn around if all the people in the music business got together, that includes the artists and the big corporations that run the music business, but it will never happen sadly, at least I can't imagine it.

Who do you consider your musical icons?

I'm always drawn to voices, so the great blues and R+B singers influenced me, who also influenced the singers I grew up listening to, Robert Plant, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Joe Cocker, Rod Stewart, all influenced by American soul music, they in turn inspired me.

I'm also drawn to singer songwriters like Jackson Browne, Elton John, Bob Dylan and many more.

What's your all time favourite song?

18 Till I Die
 
What do you reckon will be different about this tour than when you toured in India before?

I'm bringing an extra pair of socks this time! One pair wasn't enough for the last tour!