The Concerts In China (concert)
The Concerts in China was a concert tour by Jean Michel Jarre, notable for marking the opening of post-Mao Zedong China to live Western music, in 1981. Five concerts were held in the two biggest cities, for an estimated audience of 120,000 spectators, on October 21 and 22 in Beijing, and on October 26 through 28 in Shanghai.
The concerts were filmed and recorded for commercial releases. Due to the low quality of the recorded sound, the tracks were enhanced (overdubbed) for the release of the double album The Concerts in China.
An 80-minute documentary entitled 'Jean-Michel Jarre - China Concerts 1981' was made by producer/director Andrew Piddington for Central Television in the UK. It was shown once in 1982 on the ITV network in the UK, and did not receive a video release until 1989, when a VHS-video was released. The film was partially released by Shock DVD in Australia in 2008, but they were prevented from selling it by Jarre and record label Disques Dreyfus. The release was not from the master tapes, but from an 'off-air' Australian TV showing, so the quality was imperfect. The film has yet to receive an authorised, high-quality DVD release.
The concert featured the first use of a laser harp.
Read more about The Concerts In China (concert): Set Lists
Famous quotes containing the words concerts and/or china:
“The concerts you enjoy together
Neighbors you annoy together
Children you destroy together
That make marriage a joy”
—Stephen Sondheim (b. 1930)
“It all ended with the circuslike whump of a monstrous box on the ear with which I knocked down the traitress who rolled up in a ball where she had collapsed, her eyes glistening at me through her spread fingers—all in all quite flattered, I think. Automatically, I searched for something to throw at her, saw the china sugar bowl I had given her for Easter, took the thing under my arm and went out, slamming the door.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)