New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Until earlier this week, it was clear that iconic producer, composer, and performer Alan Parsons had no intentions of slowing down anytime soon and was looking forward to a long-awaited concert tour of Europe. During the two years of Covid-related tour cancellations and postponements, Parsons was quite busy recording a new studio album as well as mixing a number of projects including two of his live concerts and various surround sound updates of his classic albums. And throughout the first half of this year, the 73-year-young Parsons and his band of highly skilled musicians, known as The Alan Parsons Live Project, found themselves on the road all over the US which included a stint on the progressive music themed Cruise to the Edge in May.
Additional performances were scheduled to begin in
Europe later this June; that is until Parsons had a serious spinal issue suddenly flare up, drastically affecting his mobility. His doctors ordered him to cancel the upcoming tour and undergo much-needed surgery. Parsons adds, "There is no way I could have made it through the travel for the tour and performing on stage in my current condition. I'll get this problem fixed, and it will then be 'back to work' and business as usual."
Parsons is deeply saddened about the tour postponement and realizes that his fans will be disappointed by the news. However, it should be noted that he has no intention of slowing down or hanging things up for the long term. After all, Parsons was able to keep his previous tour commitments earlier this year even though he had suffered a broken elbow and rib just before the tour began.
All of us are wishing him a full and speedy recovery.
Just last month, Parsons traveled to the UK to accept one of his country's highest honors for his contributions to the arts over the last few decades. Parsons had been awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) back in June of 2021 and in a prestigious ceremony at Windsor Castle on May 17th, 2022, received the medal itself directly from
Prince William.
Following the OBE ceremony, Parsons and his wife Lisa, swung by his old stomping grounds, Abbey Road Studios, the studio made famous by the
Beatles and where Alan had not only made his start as a trainee but over the years progressed to Vice President in the late nineties. Those on hand for the impromptu visit were delighted to see that Parsons had finally received the recognition he deserved from the
Queen for his many years of commitment in furthering the art and science of music in the UK.
From London, Parsons traveled to Munich, Germany to take part in the High End Society's International Audio Trade Show where he represented the Society as Ambassador, delighting manufacturers and audiophiles alike on the show floor. Managing
Director Stefan Dreischarf was thrilled to have Parsons participate in this year's event and believes he was the perfect choice to represent to the world the message of High End's symbiosis of music and technology.
Following the worldwide success of two consecutive Alan Parsons Live Project Blu-ray, DVD, CD and LP releases (The NeverEnding Show: Live In The Netherlands in late 2021 and One Note Symphony: Live In Tel Aviv with the
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in early 2022), Parsons was now set to release an all new studio recording called From The New World. The first single from the album, "Uroboros" was released at the end of May and features Tommy Shaw of STYX as a special guest lead vocalist.
A second single from the album titled "I Won't Be Led Astray" will feature noted Alan Parsons alumni
David Pack, formerly of Ambrosia on vocals, as well as world-renowned blues legend
Joe Bonamassa on guitar. The IM3Global producing team of
Trinity Houston and
David Minasian, who were responsible for putting together Parsons' two previous live video releases as well as the music video for the song The NeverEnding Show, were on hand to capture on film the historic re-teaming of Parsons and Pack at the Parsonics Studios in
Santa Barbara, CA this past week. Parsons had engineered the first Ambrosia album and produced their second back in the mid 1970s, both of which went on to receive Grammy nominations. The new single is a joint composition between Minasian,
Elton John keyboardist Kim Bullard and Parsons. From the New World is being released by Frontiers Records and will hit the streets on July 15. For further information or to order the new album visit:
www.alanparsons.com
