(ANSA) - Rome, July 31 - American pop balladeer Billy Joel is promising to do his best Russel Crowe imitation Monday evening when he plays at the Colosseum with Canadian rocker Bryan Adams .

“It’s a great honour for me to meet my public at a magical setting like the Colosseum,” said Joel, a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame who has sold over 110 million records .

“Maybe I’ll imagine being like Russel Crowe in the Gladiator and I’ll hear the crowd shouting “Maximus, Maximus, Maximus” to help me meet the biggest challenge” .

The free concert is being organized by Telecom Progetto Italia, Telecom Italia’s culture association .

As a result, it has been dubbed the “Telecomcerto” .
“I’m pleased that my great colleague and friend Bryan Adams will be there with me,” the 57-year-old said .

“There are very few places in the world where we can breathe the magic of history and one of the these is the heart of Rome, especially the Colosseum .

“Playing the Telecomcerto will be an unforgettable experience for me. We’ll keep going until someone tells us to stop” .

On television Adams modestly quipped that, if Joel is the Gladiator, he’ll be the slave The 46-year-old Canadian will kick things off at about 9pm .

He will play a range of hits from his 30-year-long career, like Run To You, Summer of ‘69, Everything I Do, It’s Only Love and pieces from his latest album, Room Service .

Then Joel will come on and the pair will perform a few duets before the American takes over the stage .

His repertoire includes famous songs like Honesty, Innocent Man, Piano Man, Uptown Girl and New York State of Mind .

Joel is a six-time Grammy winner and is considered one of the finest rock-and-roll pianists in music history .

Monday’s performance comes at the end of his first real tour of Europe in 15 years .

The singer quit recording pop music in 1993 to concentrate on writing and recording classical music .

He has had to fight battles with depression, alcoholism and drug-abuse following his divorce from his second wife, model Christie Brinkley, in 1994 .

The musician married his third wife, broadcast journalist Katie Lee, in 2004 and he has been on the wagon for over a year after doing a course of therapy at the Betty Ford rehabilitation centre .

Joel is Italophile and speaks the language respectably well. “This concert gives me an opportunity to reinforce the strong bond with one of my favourite countries,” he wrote in a letter to Rome-based daily, Il Messaggero .

“There are marvellous places here, excellent food, friendly people and an atmosphere that you can only feel in Italy. I love this country’s culture and its traditions” .

His description of the capital was “Wow!” .

Joel said he is also a big admirer of Italian music, and that film-score composers Ennio Morricone and Nino Rota are major influences on his work. The Joel-Adams show is the latest in a string of concerts with music greats played in the shadow of the ancient Roman monument .

Telecom Progetto Italia brought Paul McCartney to the Colosseum in 2003, Simon & Garfunkel in 2004 and Elton John last year .

“Bryan and I will make sure you don’t miss my dear friend, Elton John, who played here in my place a year ago,” Joel promised. The concert is flanked by an exhibition of Adams’ photography, entitled Porfolio, which is on at the city’s Tempio di Adriano (Temple of Hadrian) until August 5 .

This features 33 portraits of famous figures ranging from Queen Elizabeth II and Pope John Paul II to Baywatch star Pamela Anderson. Adams is an accomplished photographer and his shots have been published in magazines like Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar .

Source: http://ansa.it/

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Comment:

1. Trimi Says:
   October 7th, 2006 at 1:55 am

   Hello everybody……..I just want to say: Bryan come to Kosovo we are here like in each place in the world and we are man like everybody, and we love your music………….

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