BIG WORLD PARTY

Mango Groove, Oppikoppi Productions and EMI Music South Africa are delighted to announce the 2010 Mango Groove Big World Party Tour.
Sub-titled “20 Years of Hits and Memories, 20 Years of Mango Magic”, the April and May trek is a celebration of the inimitable legacy of this special South African act, as well as a showcasing of Mango Groove’s critically-acclaimed brand new album, ‘Bang The Drum’.

The tour rolls out across the country in April and May, and will take in the following venues:

5th April: The Port Elizabeth ‘’Splash Festival’’, PE Beachfront 2pm (doors 12pm)

11th April: Old Mutual Music at the Lake Series, Durban Botanic Gardens, Durban (R80/R100) 2.30pm (doors 12.30pm)
Book here for Durban

17th April: Spier Wine Estate, Cape Town (R80/R100) 3pm (doors 1pm)
Book here for Spier

18th April: Old Mutual Encounters Series, Emmarentia Dam, Johannesburg Botanic Gardens (R80/R100) 4.30pm Gates open at 1pm and guest artists start at 2pm
Book here for Emmarentia

1st of May: Thabazimbi, Thabazimbi Expo 7pm (R120 for the whole weekend/ R70 for the day / R30 for kids and pensioners), all day event

29th May: Big Top Arena, Carnival City, Johannesburg (R110/R130/R150) 9pm (doors 8pm)

Tickets will be available from the week commencing 09/03 on webtickets and computicket. Direct links to tickets will be available on this site.

Says the band’s lead vocalist, Claire Johnston: ’We’re really excited about this: It’s been a long time coming, and a lot of preparation and thought has gone into it, but we are now raring to get out and hit the road!’’

 “We loved the idea of a ‘’Big World Party’’ (taken from one of the tracks on the new album), because this year more than any, South Africa will be at the heart of the world,” says Mduduzi Magwaza, Mango Groove’s legendary penny whistler. “In addition to the South African shows, the next year will also see Mango Groove getting back in touch with their fans in the UK, Australia and the US, so it will certainly be a Big World Party all round!’’

In founder member John Leyden’s words ‘’the notion of a ‘’Big World Party’’ is a nice, big, open-skies one: we will be expanding the tour as the year progresses, and the itinerary will also take in shows outside of our borders.’’

The past six months have proved a busy time for Mango Groove.
September 2009 saw the release of ‘Bang The Drum’, the first, all-new Mango Groove album in 14 years and a record that is being enthusiastically received by the band’s fans around the world. As Mango Groove founding member John Leyden puts it, ‘’we have been absolutely blown away by the response to the album from both the media and the public. The airplay and TV support has been amazing, and the album is already flying off the shelves. The new video, (‘’This is Not a Party’’) has just been shot, and the band is currently busy with a host of promotional appearances around the new release.’’

2009 also saw the release of two very significant new Mango Groove compilations:

• ‘’The Essential Mango Groove’’ CD, a double CD compilation featuring  all the Mango Hits of the last 20 years, as well as a host of previously unreleased and bonus  tracks from the band’s archives.
• ‘’The Essential Mango Groove’’ DVD, a collection of over 20 of Mango Groove’s most loved videos from the last 25 years.

With all these new products on the shelves, a national tour seemed absolutely right. “As much as 2009 saw us celebrating the release of an all-new Mango Groove album, it equally saw us consolidating our history. The tour will very much reflect all of this,” says Leyden.

Mango Groove’s live show has always been a key part of its success, with the band still holding several SA acts live attendance records including:

• Over 20 000 people at Greenpoint Stadium, Cape Town
• 7 Consecutive sold-out shows at the Standard Bank arena (at over 6 000 people per show)
• 6 sold-out shows at the Sun City Superbowl

In keeping with what they have always delivered to fans, the 2010 Mango Groove Big World Party Tour will see the 11-piece band performing all the hits and new songs in a show that features high production values.
Says Johnston, “The Mango Groove show has always been about familiarity and having a good time: The band is more at ease with itself than it’s ever been, and we really just enjoy ourselves on stage’’.  Fans can expect to hear selections from Mango Groove’s hit-filled catalogue which includes the likes of ‘’Special Star’’, ‘’Hellfire’’, ‘’Dance Some More’’, ‘’Hometalk’’, ‘’Moments Away’’ and ‘’Another Country’’, and more recent album chart-toppers, ‘’Bang the Drum’’, ‘’This is Not a Party’ and the all-new single ‘’Hey!’’

The choice of venue was also very important to Mango Groove which sought out safe, family offering excellent acoustics and celebrating SA’s beautiful natural environment.

.Media partnership on the 2010 Mango Groove Big World Party Tour will come fromYou Magazine and Drum Magazine (official sponsors) as well as Algoa FM (Eastern Cape), Highveld Stereo and 702 (Johannesburg), KFM and Cape Talk (Cape Town), East Coast Radio (Durban), and Jacaranda (Big Top Arena, Carnival City).