Paul Young and Tony Hadley kick off NZ tour

20 October 2008

Paul Young and Tony Hadley kick off NZ tour at Auckland Zoo

Eighties fans can "lay their hat" at Auckland Zoo on Sunday 2 November when Paul Young and Tony Hadley kick off their New Zealand tour.

With a career spanning nearly 30 years, Paul Young has delivered 24 singles, 10 albums and had number one singles in both the United Kingdom and United States. He is most famous for his hit singles Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home), Everytime You Go Away and Come Back and Stay.

Joining Paul Young on stage is ex Spandau Ballet lead singer Tony Hadley. During Spandau Ballet's reign in the eighties, the band notched up 20 hit singles, including True and Gold, nine of which were in the top 10, and spent a combined total of nearly eight years in the charts.

Young and Hadley's backing band includes impressive names with Sharon O'Neill on backing vocals, Alan Mansfield (Dragon) on keyboards, and Warren Trout (Jimmy Barnes, Men at Work) on drums.

Rikki Morris will open the concert at 6.30pm before the headline act takes to the stage at 7.45pm. Morris shot to fame in 1988 with his number one hit single Nobody Else for which he was awarded the RIANZ Songwriter of the Year. In 1991 Morris won the APRA Silver Scroll with Heartbroke.

While the concert will celebrate the music of the past, the future of wildlife will also be a focus of the evening. Proceeds from the concert will help fund a Wildlife Protection Unit in Bukit Tigapuluh National Park, Sumatra. These units help to protect the flora and fauna, including elephants, inside the national park, and prevent wildlife crime. Appropriately, the concert marks the start of celebrations for one of the zoo's most iconic animals, elephant Kashin, who turns 40 later in the month and Paul Young is promising a birthday tribute. "This concert will be different for us, we don't normally do a concert for elephants!" says Paul Young. "It's great to know that money raised will support such an important project and we look forward to meeting Kashin in person." Paul Young & Tony Hadley is presented by ASB and Auckland Zoo in association with Classic Hits.

ENDS

Notes to the editor About Bukit Tigapuluh National Park and Wildlife Protection Units Located in Jambi province, Bukit Tiguapuluh National Park contains one of the most important areas of remaining lowland forest in Sumatra. These forests represent a biologically rich habitat type, and are among the most threatened. This biological 'hotspot' is home to 660 plant species, 192 species of birds, 98 species of fish, 59 species of mammals, and is the last refuge to a number of critically endangered species including tiger, rhino, orang utan and golden cat. The main threats to the area are illegal logging, deforestation for planting of palm oil and animal poaching.

Wildlife Protection Units (WPU) were established in 2004 to tackle small-scale illegal logging operations along the Manggatal river in the north of an orang utan reintroduction station. This task was achieved quickly, and three months after WPU started its active patrol scheme, all illegal activities stopped along the Manggatal river. Primary objectives of WPU's operating in Bukit Tigapuluh are to:

* control the park's boundaries to prevent encroachment of the national park

* monitor the elephant population outside the national park to prevent poisoning of elephants

* mitigate human and elephant conflicts

* recapture and translocate orang utans from the conversion areas

* conduct anti-poaching patrols

* investigate wildlife crimes

Event Details:

* Auckland Zoo and ASB present Paul Young and Tony Hadley on Sunday 2 November, 6pm to 9pm

* Entry to the concert is also zoo entry to come earlier, however the Band Rotunda area will be closed from noon for setup

* Tickets available from Auckland Zoo www.aucklandzoo.co.nz (09) 360 3805, or Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.co.nz (09) 970 9700. Service fee applies.

* Limited capacity venue. Tickets are expected to sell fast - advance booking recommended Prices: Adults $45, Children (4 - 15yrs) $15 and $110 for family pass (2 adults, 2 children). Friends of the Zoo discount applies

* This is a licensed event and no BYO is permitted.

ENDS

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