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John Giddings (born 1 May 1953 in St Albans, Hertfordshire) is an English music agent and promoter who has run the Isle of Wight Festival since its revival in 2002.
Giddings graduated from Exeter University [1] with a Philosophy & Sociology degree. He worked booking bands at the university as social secretary and later entertainment chairman. [2] [3]
After forming Solo, Giddings was employed as the agent responsible for David Bowie's concert at Wembley Stadium [4] followed soon afterwards by a stadium tour with Genesis. [5] In 1990 The Rolling Stones took on Giddings as European promoter and the likes of U2, Madonna and Celine Dion [6] were soon added to his roster of clients.
Over the past 30 years Giddings has represented artists such as The Corrs, [7] The Police, Lady Gaga, Westlife, [8] Boyzone, N*E*R*D and Pharrell Williams, Simple Minds and Spandau Ballet. [9]
In 2008, Solo Agency & Promotions managed three of the five top-selling concert tours around the world. The Sticky & Sweet Tour by Madonna ranked highest, grossing $281.6 million. The second-highest tour was by Celine Dion, at $236.6 million, and the fifth-highest tour was by The Police, at $120.6 million. [10]
In 2009 Giddings was recruited as the global agent and promoter of Universal Music's Formula 1 live music event, F1 Rocks. [11]
Also in 2009, Billboard named three of Giddings' clients as the top-grossing tours of the previous decade - The Rolling Stones at number 1 with $869m, U2 at number 2 with $844m and Madonna at number 3 with $801m. [12]
In 2002 the 1971 Isle Of Wight Act [13] (which banned events on the island with more than 5000 attendees) was overturned in time for the Queen's Golden Jubilee [14] and Giddings was recruited to revive the Isle Of Wight Festival [15] - a festival that he first attended as a teenager in 1970. [16]
The first Isle of Wight Festival since 1970 was called Rock Island 2002 and it took place on 3 June 2002 with Giddings and Solo acting as promoter rather than organiser. It was headlined by The Charlatans and featured appearances from the likes of Robert Plant, Starsailor and Ash. It was single day festival attended by around 8-10,000 but the event reportedly lost the Isle Of Wight Council around £380,000. [17]
Giddings took over the running of the festival from the council in 2003 and, despite losing an estimated £500,000 that year, [18] the festival has become a multi-day event that currently has an annual attendance of between 50,000 and 60,000 and contributes between £10-15m to the local economy. [19] In this time Giddings has been responsible for booking headliners such as Bruce Springsteen, [20] Pearl Jam, Coldplay, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and David Bowie.
On 5 November 2007, the Isle of Wight Festival was named 'Best Major Festival' at the UK Festival Awards. At the same event Giddings won the award for 'Outstanding Contribution to UK festivals'. [21]
Giddings has three daughters from his relationship with his first wife (who he met whilst at Exeter University - where he studied Philiosphy and Sociology), and has one stepdaughter resulting from his marriage to his second wife, Caroline who has a daughter from her first marriage.
Céline Marie Claudette Dion is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her music has incorporated genres such as pop, rock, R&B, gospel, and classical music. Her recordings since have been mainly in English and French although she has also sung in Spanish, Italian, German, Latin, Japanese, and Chinese.
The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970.
"My Heart Will Go On" is a 1997 song recorded by the Canadian singer Celine Dion. It is the main theme of James Cameron's blockbuster film Titanic. The music was composed by James Horner and the lyrics were written by Will Jennings. It was produced by Horner, Walter Afanasieff and Simon Franglen. "My Heart Will Go On" was released as a single internationally on November 24, 1997, and was included on Dion's album Let's Talk About Love (1997) and the Titanic soundtrack.
A concert tour is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific tour with a particular album or product. Especially in the popular music world, such tours can become large-scale enterprises that last for several months or even years, are seen by hundreds of thousands or millions of people, and bring in millions of dollars in ticket revenues. A performer who embarks on a concert tour is called a touring artist.
Celine Dion is the eleventh studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and her second English-language album. It was originally released by Columbia Records on 30 March 1992, and features the Grammy and Academy Award-winning song "Beauty and the Beast", and other hits like "If You Asked Me To" and "Love Can Move Mountains". The album was produced by Walter Afanasieff, Ric Wake, Guy Roche and Humberto Gatica. It reached number one in Quebec, number three in Canada and was certified Diamond there, denoting shipments of over one million copies in this country. At the 35th Annual Grammy Awards, Celine Dion was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The album has sold over five million copies worldwide. To support it, Dion toured as the opening act for Michael Bolton on his "Time, Love and Tenderness Tour" in the summer of 1992 through the United States. From August 1992 till March 1993, she toured Canada with her Celine Dion in Concert tour.
MCD Productions is an Irish concert promotion company. Established in 1980, and headquartered in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin.
Canadian singer Celine Dion has released 27 studio albums, seven live albums, 19 compilation albums, and 25 box sets. Recognized as the "Priestess of Pop", she has sold 53.2 million albums in the United States according to Neilsen SoundScan, making her the second best-selling female artists in the country since Nielsen began tracking sales in 1991. In 2003, Dion was honored by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for selling 50 million albums in Europe. Guinness World Records recognises her as the Top Selling Album Act in Europe with 33 million certified album sales since 1996. Billboard ranked her as the second best-selling female album artist of the 2000s Decade in the United States with 17.3 million sold via Soundscan. In 2008, Dion was recognized as the Best-selling International Artist in South Africa. Billboard ranked Dion as the 6th Greatest Billboard 200 female solo artist of all time & the 8th Greatest female solo artist of all time. Dion is also the best-selling Canadian artist of all time and the best-selling artist in the Nielsen SoundScan era in Canada.
The Isle of Wight Festival 2007 was the sixth revived Isle of Wight Festival on the Seaclose Park site in Newport on the Isle of Wight. It took place between 8–10 June 2007. Tickets went on sale at 9am on Thursday 22 February and were sold out by Monday 26 February. It was the first festival since 2003 with no official sponsor.
Taking Chances is the tenth English-language and twenty-third studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Columbia Records on 7 November 2007. Dion returned to the music scene after almost five years of performing A New Day... in Las Vegas. She collaborated on Taking Chances with various rock and pop producers, including John Shanks, Linda Perry, ex-Evanescence members Ben Moody and David Hodges, Kristian Lundin, Ne-Yo, Chuck Harmony, Tricky Stewart, Eurythmics' David A. Stewart, Kara DioGuardi, Emanuel Kiriakou, Anders Bagge, Peer Åström, Aldo Nova, Christopher Neil and Guy Roche. The album garnered mixed reviews from music critics, who noticed that "not many chances were taken after all".
The Colosseum at Caesars Palace is a theater located on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. The theater is the main entertainment venue for Caesars Palace. Deemed the Home of the Greatest Entertainers in the World, the theater has hosted numerous concert residencies by Madonna, Celine Dion, Elton John, Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn, Usher, Rod Stewart, Cher, Bette Midler, Shania Twain, Mariah Carey, and Adele. Celine Dion has had the longest residency at the venue grossing a total of $650 million since her arrival in 2003. She also performed her record-breaking 1000th show at the venue on October 8, 2016. The venue has an estimated seating capacity of 4,100 and is inspired by the architecture of ancient Rome along with aspects of contemporary architecture. The cost of the theater was $108 million, becoming the most expensive entertainment venue in Las Vegas, beating the "O" Theater at the Bellagio Las Vegas.
The Isle of Wight Festival 2003 was the second revived Isle of Wight Festival to take place on the Seaclose Park site in Newport on the Isle of Wight. It was the first to take place on the second weekend in June, which would be then set as the Festival's annual date.
The Billboard Live Music Awards is an annual meeting sponsored by Billboard magazine that honors the top international live entertainment industry artists and professionals. Established in 2004, it has thus been described as "part industry conference, part awards show".
The Isle of Wight Festival 2012 was the eleventh revived Isle of Wight Festival, held at Seaclose Park in Newport on the Isle of Wight. The event ran from 21 to 24 June 2012.
A concert residency is a series of concerts, similar to a concert tour, but only performed at one location. Pollstar Awards defined residency as a run of 10 or more shows at a single venue. An artist who performs on a concert residency is called a resident performer. Concert residencies have been the staple of the Las Vegas Strip for decades, pioneered by singer-pianist Liberace in the 1940s and Frank Sinatra with the Rat Pack in the 1950s.
Raymond Foulk MA, Dip Arch, ARB, is an English architect, author, environmentalist, art collector, exhibition curator and rock music festival promoter/organiser. Foulk founded the Isle of Wight Festivals of Music in 1968 with his brothers Ronald Anthony (Ron) and John Philip Foulk. Born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire Foulk was brought up in the Isle of Wight from the age of 10 with his younger sister and three brothers by their recently widowed mother. Ray Foulk is best known as the promoter who negotiated for and signed Bob Dylan for the 2nd Isle of Wight Festival 1969 - the artist's first full concert, pre-announced, advertised or paid performance since May 1966 and his only such performance in nearly eight years. Foulk is also well known for provoking an Act of Parliament. {{Parliamentary debates (Hansard) House of Commons. Isle of Wight County Council Act. Royal assent 05 August 1971 col. 1900-1 1900#23}}
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