Canuck rocker Bryan Adams says he reached out to troubled Winehouse
Cassandra Szklarski, THE CANADIAN PRESSTORONTO - Canadian rock icon Bryan Adams says he rang in the new year with troubled soul singer Amy Winehouse and believes that a strong support system is key to handling the pressures of fame.
Adams was in Toronto on Wednesday to promote his new album, “11,” being released in Canada on March 18. The frequent philanthropist, whose pet causes include animal welfare and children’s issues, was also in town to perform at a hospital fundraiser Thursday with singing stars Josh Groban and Sarah McLachlan.
Mingling with such superstars is just a day in the life for the jet-setting performer, who said he just flew in from New York where he was photographing pal Mick Jagger for a Rolling Stones concert film being shot by director Martin Scorsese.
Adams said he and Jagger became friends when he opened for the Stones on their “No Security” tour in 1999, and marvelled at the road his life has travelled since his childhood in Kingston, Ont.
The 48-year-old’s creative pursuits have led to Oscar nominations for best song and a successful photography career, as well as musical collaborations with industry legends Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand and Tina Turner and a closely guarded friendship with the late Princess Diana.
“It totally amazes me,” Adams said of his whirlwind lifestyle, which he said is largely lived out of hotels around the world these days.
“You can never have imagined doing the things that you do as your life goes on… but I kind of believe that you make your own luck.”
Adams’ latest album of 11 guitar-driven tracks sticks largely to the romantic themes he’s become known for, and was written during travels to the Caribbean, Germany, Italy, France and Portugal.
Although it lands in stores in mid-March in Canada, Adams said it’s been a chore to find the right distributor in the United States.
“We haven’t really got a record company in America, so my management has to be clever about how they get the record to everybody,” he said of the delayed release, adding that talks are ongoing with an independent company rather than a big-name firm.
“It’s not that it didn’t find a home, it’s that we didn’t want it to find a home right away. We wanted to make sure we did it our way.”
Adams said a Canadian tour may come at the end of the year, but immediate plans involve visits to South America, the United States and European festivals.
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On the Net: http://www.bryanadams.com
Source: The Canadian Press, 2008
Picture of Bryan Adams above : Musician Bryan Adams in this, Jan. 15, 2007, file photo. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Mark J. Terrill