Paul Simon will bring his classic 1986 album ‘Graceland‘ to this year’s Hard Rock Calling for a headline appearance at the festival.
As the 25th anniversary of his first ‘Graceland’ UK tour approaches, Simon will perform the album in its entirety at the London event on July 15th, the day after Bruce Springsteen is due to top the bill in Hyde Park. He will be joined by the South African male choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo at the show, who were a prominent part of the original ‘Graceland’ sessions.
When Paul Simon first toured the ‘Graceland’ album in the UK in April 1987 with six gigs at the Royal Albert Hall, he was met with protests from prominent Eighties musical figures including Billy Bragg and Jerry Dammers, who believed Simon had broken the ANC’s boycott of South Africa during the Apartheid era by recording in the country.
Despite the controversy, ‘Graceland’ would become Paul Simon’s most successful solo release, and won the 1986 Grammy for Album Of The Year.