ROCK giants the Red Hot Chili Peppers are to play a huge concert in the North East, it has been announced.
The Los Angeles four-piece, one of the world’s most successful bands, are coming to Sunderland’s Stadium of Light next summer.
The performance, on June 24, is expected to give the region’s economy a shot in the arm, and follows on from the huge success of recent concerts from Take That and Kings of Leon.
Margaret Byrne, Sunderland AFC’s chief executive, said: “This is a fantastic coup for the club and the city and we are delighted to welcome another act of such immense stature in the music world to our stadium.”
A spokesman for the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative said the Take That and Kings of Leon dates pulled in around £18m for the region, and similar benefits are expected to come from the Chili Peppers’ gig.
The band made their name with a unique ‘funk punk’ style in the 1990s, and have since sold more than 60m albums, won six Grammy awards and released five multi-platinum LPs.
The show will be their first major performance in the region, their only previous being at the 400 capacity Newcastle Riverside in 1990.
In a recent interview, singer Anthony Kiedis said of the band’s relationship with the UK: “Yeah we love it there, it’s kind of a strange home away from home.
“It’s so weird because we started off with the most antagonistic relationship possible with the UK. Yeah in the early 80s.
“We were just adversarial, and confrontational, for no good reason.
“So much beautiful music has been born in the country of England over the years, really we admire the hell out of it. But as youths we felt compelled to contest everybody, and everything. That’s how we started off, as little haters. Then the more we went, the more we realised this place is pretty magical, the reception has been phenomenal over the years, we like it there.”
A limited number of tickets, costing £45, will be available at the stadium from 9am on Friday.
These tickets, for general admission in unreserved seating and standing areas, cannot be purchased over the phone.
Queues are expected, and the club said in the interests of safety anyone under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult and no children under five can attend.
Purchasers of tickets from Friday will get a voucher which can be redeemed for an actual concert ticket nearer the time of the show.
Other UK ticket outlets are online via kililive.com/rhcp, seetickets.com, or ticketmaster.com, while the tour credit card hotlines are 0844-871 8803 or 0871-989 1601.
Hospitality packages are available in the stadium’s various luxury suites.
The Chili Peppers will also play at Knebworth in Hertfordshire next year.
