Real Concerts, headed up by Roddy Quin, is one of South Africa's foremost concert promoters. Since Real Concerts' inception in 1994, Quin has gained a reputation as South Africa's most adventurous promoter and has successfully brought to the country many heavyweight music acts, among them Massive Attack, Garbage, Placebo, Skunk Anansie, Spin Doctors, Hootie and the Blowfish, Tevin Campbell, Yousso
u N 'Dour and Tracy Chapman. The highly-competitive dance music scene has also not eluded Real Concert's imaginative eye and the first half of 2001 has seen the company stage two exceptionally successful events in both the rave and urban house markets, with more planned in the future. Real Concerts is always keen to explore fresh terrain, establishing Real Comedy in 2000 and unleashing a number of events that have captured the imagination of a growing number of comedy fans throughout the country. Quin and his team have also entered the contemporary theatre arena and successfully produced a 12-week run of the Ben Elton play, Popcorn, in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Quin and his skilled Real Concerts team draw on 18 years experience in the industry to ensure high production values and absolute attention to detail when promoting any event. It's this commitment combined with a deep appreciation and understanding of the global entertainment arena that ensures Real Concerts remains ahead of the crowd. Real Concerts incorporates into its vision a commitment to the development and evolution of a democratic and culturally viable South Africa. To this end, it is Real Concerts' policy to promote training and development in the field of culture and entertainment. SOME NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS:
Real Concerts was responsible for promoting South Africa's largest single concert ever. In October 1996, Real Concerts brought eager music fans an all day festival that featured Tracy Chapman, Youssou N'Dour, Spin Doctors, The Mission, Yothu Yindi, Johnny Clegg, Lucky Dube and 25 premier South African acts split over two stages. One of the most successful of these was Bill Cosby's private fund raising performance on Robben Island, on behalf of President Mandela's office, which drew 80 top South African politicians and businesspeople. Cosby's show then moved to Johannesburg for two sell out dates. WOMAD SOUTH AFRICA: Roots and World music has no bigger brand than WOMAD (World Of Music, Arts And Dance) and it is Real Concerts who staged the first ever festival in South Africa in February 1999, showcasing the talents of close to 30 international and domestic acts. A three-day event that took place in Benoni's Bluegum Creek estate, outside Johannesburg, more than 20 000 South Africans streamed through the turnstiles at South Africa's inaugural WOMAD, which was declared a resounding success. Among the artists appearing at WOMAD were Jackson Browne, Baaba Maal, Funmental, Johnny Clegg and Juluka, Brenda Fassie, Drummers of Burundi and many, many more. In April 2000, the WOMAD festival was staged again, once more providing a dazzling array of 25 homegrown and global acts, among them Joan Armatrading, Heather Nova and Afro Celt Sound System. The third WOMAD SA is scheduled for September 2001. Heavyweight Comedy Jam: Under the auspices of the Real Comedy division, the company has blazed a hugely successful comedy trail, (starting with Steven Wright's 1998 SA shows) proving that South Africans really love to laugh. In 2000, five of SA's top comedians played to a sold out audience (3 500) at Gauteng's Gallagher Estate before moving onto sold out shows in Port Elizabeth (PE Opera House), Cape Town (3 Arts Theatre) and Durban (ICC). December 2000 saw another jam-packed show at Cape Town's 3 Arts Theatre in which Gauteng's best slugged it out verbally against a clutch of Cape Town comedians. More recently, the Sandton Convention Centre played host to another round of the Heavyweight Comedy Jam, which was, like every other Real Comedy event, sold-out! Vinyl Experience: March 2001 saw Real Concerts stage the Vinyl Experience, which brought the hugely popular Frankie Knuckles and a host of SA DJs to Johannesburg (in an event promoted with YFM) and Cape Town where Metro FM was the Vinyl Experience's broadcast partner. Dance Experience: The freshest talent on the UK circuit - FC Kahuna, Matt Lawes and Mark Wilkinson (Problem Kids) - along with SA hottest DJs played Johannesburg (Club Illusions June1st) and Cape Town (The Fez June 2nd) in events promoted with 5FM. ABOUT RODDY QUIN:
Roddy has been involved in concert promotion and artist management for the past 18 years, working with both international and South African events and artists. In the culturally isolated 1980s, Roddy was intimately involved in the careers of (amongst others) two of South Africa's hottest acts - Johnny Clegg and Mango Groove, whom he toured both at home and abroad. During this decade, Roddy staged two of the biggest concert tours and the first stadium tour of South Africa with a South African artist (Mango Groove) - breaking all attendance records and winning the highly coveted SA TV1 Toyota Top 20 Award for the "Most Successful and Best Promoted Concert in South Africa". In 1989, Roddy staged the Human Rainbow Concert, which joined black and white South African artists on the same state. The concert was banned by the South African government, resulting in a year-long court battle, which finally saw the ruling overturned. That landmark decision meant mixed concerts were allowed in South Africa, without having to apply for government approval. A firm supporter of the cultural boycott, Roddy only entered the international arena when it was lifted. Having successfully promoted numerous South African concerts, moving in this terrain was a natural progression that saw Roddy successfully promoting 31 international concerts in South Africa, including Phil Collins, Sting, Midnight Oil, Simple Minds, Depeche Mode, Joe Cocker, Bryan Adams, Crowded House and Whitney Houston. In 1994 Real Concerts was formed and since then the list of international artists Roddy has worked with, as well as the areas he has moved into, have expanded rapidly. The company has staged Tracy Chapman, Youssou N'Dour, Spin Doctors, The Mission, Yothu Yindi, Johnny Clegg, Lucky Dube, Shaggy, Tevin Campbell, Bill Cosby, the Crash Test Dummies, Skunk Anansie, Michael Learns to Rock, the Storm Fashion show, President Mandela's 80th Birthday Concert, Massive Attack, Steven Wright, Hootie & The Blowfish, Womad '99, Garbage & Placebo, Joan Armatrading, Heather Nova, Smashing Pumpkins, and James, among others. A SAMPLING OF THE SHOWS AND EVENTS RODDY QUIN HAS PRODUCED:
Faithless
Whitney Houston
Phil Collins
Sting
Midnight Oil
Simple Minds
Joe Cocker
Bryan Adams
Crowded House
Tracy Chapman
Tevin Campbell
Dr Alban
Art Garfunkel
Storm Fashion show, featuring Kate Moss and Georgianna Robertson
Human Rainbow Concert
Tribute Magazine's 10th Anniversary Jazz concert
Radio 5FM's birthday concerts
Radio Metro's birthday concerts
Youssou N'Dour
Spin Doctors
The Mission
Yothu Yindi
Shaggy
Bill Cosby
Crash Test Dummies
Skunk Anansie - 1997 & 2000 tours
Michael Learns To Rock
Depeche Mode
State of The Nation music festivals - 1998, 1999 & 2000
Massive Attack
President Mandela's 80th Birthday Concert, with Stevie Wonder, Kenny Lattimore, Chaka Khan, and Dru Hill
Womad '99
Hootie & The Blowfish
Steven Wright
Garbage
Placebo
Ben Elton's Popcorn (a theatre production)
Womad 2000
Joan Armatrading
Heather Nova
Afro Celt Sound System
Camel 1-Triple-9
Camel Ibiza Experience 2000
5FM 25th Birthday Concert with Smashing Pumpkins & James
Vinyl Experience
Dance Experience
Heavy Weight Comedy Jam
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