Rock in Rio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rock in Rio is a series of rock festivals held in Brazil and later in Portugal. Three incarnations of the festival were in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991 and 2001 and three in Lisbon, in 2004, 2006 and 2008. The shows were organized by entrepreneur Roberto Medina. The next festival will be in Madrid (Spain) also in 2008.
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[edit] Rock in Rio
The first edition of the festival was held from January 11-20, 1985. Queen, George Benson, Rod Stewart, AC/DC and Yes were the headliners, each occupying top spot for two nights (Benson, however, ceded it to James Taylor for their second night in the same bill, due to the huge delay Taylor's extended performance had caused to his concert two days before). About 1.4 million people attended the 10-day-long festival.
The full list of acts who performed at Rock in Rio:
| International Artists | Brazilian Artists |
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- Both Queen shows were filmed (on January 11 and January 18) and broadcast throughout Brazil by Globo. Each show was watched by nearly 200 million people in over 60 countries. It was later broadcast in the United States on MTV as "Queen: Rock in Rio." The estimated audience of the Queen shows was of 325,000 for each show. The festival had been the world record for largest paying audience up until 2003 (since replaced by Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto, which drew an audience of 490,000 paying guests).
- Iron Maiden's own performance began at exactly two minutes to midnight.[citation needed] This was in celebration and promotion of their latest release, Powerslave, which featured the song 2 Minutes to Midnight. A widely known event occurred during the song "Revelations", when lead singer Bruce Dickinson, playing the guitar, threw his instrument up in the air, which proceeded to hit him on the forehead, opening a deep cut and soaking his face with blood.[citation needed] Dickinson went on as if nothing had happened. The British group was the only non-Brazilian act to play just one concert at the festival (at its opening night, headlined by Queen), since they were already booked for the days ahead and couldn't stay in Rio for longer. All the other international acts performed twice.
- The Go-Go's broke up after their two Rock in Rio performances, though they would later reunite in the 1990s. The two Rock in Rio shows were the debut and swansong for short-tenured Go-Go's member Paula Jean Brown, who had replaced Jane Wiedlin. (Wiedlin would return to the reuinted 1990s lineup.)
- Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, at the time Talking Heads drummer and bass player, respectively, took part at the B-52's' concert. They joined the band from the third song on and played along with them for the remainder of the performance.
- Nina Hagen was paid nothing for her two performances, since she had approached Roberto Medina, the festival's mentor herself, requesting a place in its bill. Queen were the highest-paid act, commanding US$ 600.000 for its two headlining performances, on January 11 and 18.
- Initially, Def Leppard were scoped to join the festival. However, they dropped out about two months before the event, due to delays on the recording process of the album that came to be Hysteria. They were replaced by Whitesnake. The situation's turnaround would prove sadly fortunate for the festival's organizers, as Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen suffered the famous accident that cost him his left arm on New Year's Eve, a mere 11 days before the beginning of the festival.
- There's a video on YouTube of Os Paralamas do Sucesso lead singer Herbert Vianna advising the crowd to attend only to the performances of the artists they enjoy. Vianna said that because rocks were thrown on the stage during Kid Abelha's performance on the event a day earlier. Around that time, Kid Abelha's lead singer Paula Toller was reportedly Vianna's love interest. [1]
[edit] Rock in Rio 2
The second edition was held from January 18-27, 1991 at the Maracanã stadium. Headliners were Guns N' Roses, Prince and George Michael, each being top billed for two of the event's nine nights. INXS, New Kids on the Block and a-ha also got top billing, for one night each.
Full list of artists who performed at Rock in Rio 2:
| International Artists | Brazilian Artists |
|---|---|
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Guns N' Roses's January 20 concert was their first ever with then new drummer Matt Sorum and keyboard player Dizzy Reed. George Michael's second concert, on January 27, the festival's closing day, featured his ex-Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley, who joined Michael for a few songs at the encore.
a-ha's performance is stated in the Guinness Book of Records as having the biggest paying audience for a single concert, approximately 195 000. [2] [3]
[edit] Rock in Rio 3
The third Rock in Rio festival took place in 2001 and its seven nights were headlined, respectively, by Sting, R.E.M., Guns N' Roses, 'N Sync, Iron Maiden, Neil Young and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Iron Maiden recorded their set and released it as the live album Rock in Rio. The profits from the sale of the album were donated to the Clive Burr fund, which would help the former drummer pay mounting medical bills for treatment of his multiple sclerosis.
Another notable appearance at Rock in Rio 3 was that of American hard-rock band Guns N' Roses, with a new line-up featuring guitarist Buckethead, original member Axl Rose (vocals), and longtime member Dizzy Reed (keyboards). Nick Oliveri, the bass player for Queens of the Stone Age performed in the nude for part of their set and was arrested for indecent exposure after the concert. Oliveri was released soon after.
Full list of artists who performed at Rock in Rio 3:
| International Artists | Brazilian Artists |
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[edit] Rock in Rio Lisboa
After the huge success of Rock in Rio 3 in Brazil, Roberto Medina decided to organize a festival of the same stature in Lisbon. The decision to maintain the name Rock in Rio was controversial, and detractors of the idea in Brazil started calling it Rock in Rio Tejo [4] [5], after the Tagus (Tejo in Portuguese) river (rio, in Portuguese) which runs through the Portuguese capital. The first edition of Rock in Rio Lisboa, as the festival was officially called, took place in 2004. Although the festival had a slight change of name, it kept the same structure as the Brazilian editions. An entire City of Rock, with an area of over 200,000 m² was erected at the Bela Vista park, with a large centre stage and several tents where different artists would perform, simultaneously.
[edit] Artists
- Paul McCartney
- Gilberto Gil
- Rui Veloso
- Jet
- Ben Harper
- Peter Gabriel
- Seether
- Xutos e Pontapés
- Charlie Brown Jr.
- Kings Of Leon
- Evanescence
- Foo Fighters
- Moonspell
- Sepultura
- Slipknot
- Incubus
- Metallica
- Nuno Norte
- João Pedro Pais
- Sugababes
- Britney Spears
- The Black Eyed Peas
- Daniela Mercury
- Luís Represas
- Ivete Sangalo
- Alejandro Sanz
- Alicia Keys
- Sting
- Pedro Abrunhosa
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[edit] Rock in Rio Lisboa 2
The second edition of Rock in Rio Lisboa was held in 2006, on 26/27 May and 2/3/4 June.
[edit] Artists
- Shakira
- Jamiroquai
- Ivete Sangalo
- D'ZRT
- Guns N' Roses
- The Darkness
- Xutos e Pontapés
- Pitty
- Roger Waters
- Carlos Santana
- Rui Veloso
- Jota Quest
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Da Weasel
- Kasabian
- Orishas
- Sting
- Anastacia
- Corinne Bailey Rae
- Marcelo D2
[edit] Rock In Rio Lisboa & Madrid
The third edition of Rock in Rio is taking place in Lisbon, Portugal, May 30-31 and June 1-5-6 and will be taking place in Arganda del Rey, Madrid, on the June 27-28 and July 4-5-6 in Madrid.
- Confirmed artists at Rock In Rio Lisbon
May 30
- James Morrison (canceled)
- Paulo Gonzo
- Ivete Sangalo
- Amy Winehouse
- Lenny Kravitz (and Daniel R.)
May 31
June 1
June 5
June 6
- Confirmed artists at Rock In Rio Madrid
June 27
June 28
July 4
July 5
July 6
[edit] External links
- Official Rock in Rio Lisboa website
- Official Rock in Rio Madrid website
- Videos from the 2006 edition of Rock in Rio Lisboa
