Italian superstar Zucchero will be bringing his acclaimed Black Cat World Tour to New Zealand for one date only at Auckland’s Town Hall on Friday 19 May 2017.  

Zucchero (born Adelmo Fornaciari) is widely regarded as one of the world’s top blues & roots performers.  Best known for his hit single Senza Una Dona with Paul Young (1990) – a track that went top 5 across the world, including the US where it peaked at #5 on the Billboard charts and #4 in the UK - Zucchero is often described as Italy’s Santana. 

His international breakthrough was in 1988 when he recorded the million+ seller Blue and featured performances by Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and The Memphis Horns. 

Influenced by artists such as Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones, his music collaborations read as a who’s who in music royalty; Bryan Adams, The Blues Brothers, 2 Cellos, Bono, Jeff Beck, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, Elvis Costello, Miles Davis, Peter Gabriel, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Mark Knopfler, Brian May, Luciano Pavarotti, Iggy Pop, Alejandro Sanz, Sting and many others.

His current album Black Cat was released in April 2016 and features the song Streets Of Surrender (S.O.S) – with lyrics written by Bono and guest appearance on guitar by Mark Knopfler and is dedicated to the victims of the November 2015 Paris attacks.  The single Turn The World Down was written by Elvis Costello.  Both songs are performed in English.

In his native Italy, across Europe and Latin America he is a superstar.  He has sold more than 60 million albums and the album Oro, incenso e birra sold more than eight million copies.

He was the first Western artist to perform at the Kremlin after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the only Italian artist to participate at the 1994 Woodstock Festival, at the Freddie Mercury Tribute in 1992, at all the Nelson Mandela 46664 events and the only Italian artist to be nominated in 2006 for the Grammy Awards, alongside Billy Preston and Eric Clapton (Best R&B Traditional Vocal Collaboration).

His December 2012 concert, held at the Higher Institute of Art in Havana, is considered to be the biggest concert ever held by a foreign singer in Cuba.

The Black Cat World Tour has seen him perform across Europe this year with two sold out shows at London’s prestigious Royal Albert Hall in October 2016 and a record breaking 11 shows in Verona, Italy.  

“I am so happy to be bringing my Black Cat World Tour to New Zealand for the first time. I have such great fans and good friends in New Zealand and I can’t wait to visit your beautiful country.  I look forward to playing fans some of my big hits and also new songs from my new album. See you in May 2017!” said Zucchero about his upcoming tour.   

Zucchero

Friday 19 May: Town Hall, Auckland

Tickets via Ticketmaster