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Todd
Rundgren is universally regarded as one of the most influential
and innovative music artists of his generation. For the past 35
years, as a musician, singer/songwriter, record producer and multimedia
artist, he has consistently been on the cutting edge. Rundgren's
achievements are a series of 'firsts' he has pioneered, among them
the release of the world's first commercial music video and the
world's first interactive audio CD.
Rundgren
scored his first taste of national success in America in 1971, with
the top-20 hit single 'We Gotta Get You A Woman.' During the same
year, in addition to writing songs and performing them, Rundgren
became heavily involved in the production and engineering aspects
of making records.
Shortly
thereafter, he went on to produce albums for Badfinger, The Band,
Paul Butterfield, James Cotton, Fanny, and Grand Funk Railroad.
By '72 he embarked on a solo career and released the milestone double
album 'Something/Anything'; on this groundbreaking debut, he played
all the instruments! The album spawned two top-20 hit singles
in America, 'I Saw The Light' and the seminal 'Hello, It's Me.'
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| Todd
Live in banana yellow. |
Rundgren
followed up 'Something/Anything' with two more psychedelic albums
'A Wizard / A True Star' (1973), which at the time proved to be
the longest running rock album ever released (it clocked in over
60 minutes on vinyl) and the self-titled masterpiece 'Todd' (1974).
As
a record producer in his own right, Rundgren has a rich 35-year
history of production credits under his belt. He has delivered albums
like Meatloaf's multi-million selling 'Bat Out Of Hell' (1977),
XTC's 'Skylarking', Hall & Oates' 'War Babies' and Grand Funk
Railroad's 'We're An American Band.'
When
the 1980s rolled around, Rundgren became heavily involved in video
technology and began creating enhanced music videos with the aid
of a computer. As a live solo artist, he relentlessly toured North
America, often backed by videos and pre-taped musical arrangements,
which in those days was totally unheard of.
In
1992, under the moniker of TR-i (Todd Rundgren Interactive) he released
the album 'No World Order' - the first interactive music CD-ROM
that allowed listeners to reconfigure the song tracks into alternative
versions. By 1994 he released the album The Individualist - the
first interactive 'enhanced' CD; the latter even included a video
game.
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| Todd
on stage. |
Todd
Rundgren is the acknowledged godfather of the multimedia in music.
In 1998, Rundgren launched PatroNet technology, the Internet's first
direct artist subscription service. Originally conceived for Todd
Rundgren enthusiasts, it was a subscription service that enabled
fans to download his recordings directly from his website.
Here's
a list of some of the innovations from Rundgren's career in music
and multimedia which validates him as rock's first true multimedia
visionary:
1978:
The first interactive television concert, broadcast live over the
Warner/QUBE system in Columbus, Ohio.
1978: The first live nationally broadcast stereo radio concert
(by microwave), linking 40 cities around the country.
1979: The opening of Utopia Video Studios, a multi-million
dollar state-of-the-art facility. The first project produced by
Todd there is Gustav Holst's The Planets, commissioned by RCA SelctaVision
as the first demonstration software for their new Videodisc format,
the precursor to the DVD.
1980: Creation of the first color graphics tablet, which
was licensed to Apple and released as The Utopia Graphics Tablet.
1981: Time Heals, the first music video to utilize state-of-the-art
compositing of live action and computer graphics (produced and directed
by Todd), becomes the second video ever to be played on MTV (after
Video Killed the Radio Star).
1982: The first live national cablecast of a rock concert
(on the USA Network), simulcast in stereo to over 120 radio stations.
1982: The first two commercially released music videos ever,
one of which was nominated for the first-ever Grammy awarded for
"Best Short Form Video" in 1983.
1992: The release of "No World Order", the world's
first interactive record album.
1994: The release of "The Individualist", the world's
first full-length Enhanced CD.
1995: The world's first interactive concert tour.
1998: Launches PatroNet, the world's first direct artist
subscription service.
On
April 5th, Sanctuary Records released 'Liars' - Rundgren's 18th
solo effort, and his first album of all new material in over 10
years. Win
a copy of 'Liars' HERE!
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| Todd
singing. |
Now
Todd Rundgren has announced his first U.K.tour for 10 years. Apparently
he's going to carry the whole production in a trailer that's hitched
to the tour bus!
Rundgren
is not taking amplifiers either; the guitars, bass and keyboards
will be plugged into notebook computers that sit on a podium and
run directly to the PA.
Todd
Rundgren and the Liars features the same musicians who performed
on Rundgren's 1997 bosa nova album 'With A Twist'; former Utopia
bass guitarist Kasim Sulton (keyboards, bass), Jesse Gress (guitar,
keyboards), John Ferenzik (keyboards) and the Tube's Prairie Prince
(drums, percussion).
A legend
not to be missed!
TOUR
DATES
Bristol
Carling Academy- Monday July 12, 2004 Tickets: £17.50.
Box Office/ Credit Card Hotline Number: 0870 771 2000.
Birmingham
Symphony Hall - Wednesday July 14, 2004. Tickets: £24.50,
£22.50 & £19.50
Box Office/ Credit Card Hotline Number: 0121 607 8888 / 0121-780-3333.
London
Royal Festival Hall - Thursday July 15, 2004. Tickets: £20.00
£22.50 £25.00, and £27.50. Box Office / Credit
Card Hotline Number: 08703-800-400.
Glasgow
Carling Academy - July 17, 2004
Tickets: £18.50. Box Office/ Credit Card Hotline Number: 0871
220 0260 / 0870 220 1116.
Manchester
Bridgewater Hall - July 18, 2004
Tickets: £24.50, £22.50 & £19.50
Box Office/ Credit Card Hotline Number: 0161-832-1111 / 0161-907-9000.
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