Veteran soul brother and ex-Drifter, BEN E. KING – who celebrates his 75th birthday next year – is visiting the UK in April and will be performing at The Jazz Café in London for three nights (from Thursday 14th to Saturday 16th April) and at The Arches in Glasgow (Sunday 15th April).
It’s 51 years since North Carolina-born King (born Benjamin Nelson) scored his first US chart-topper, the immortal ‘Stand By Me,’ which followed his first solo hit for Atlantic Records, ‘Spanish Harlem,’ in 1961. Before that, King had been a member of the ’50s doo-wop group, The Five Crowns, whose personnel replaced the original line-up of The Drifters in 1958. King’s tenure with The Drifters was relatively short-lived but he sang lead vocal on the group’s fifth US #1, ‘Save The Last Dance For Me’ and other hits. He went solo in 1961 and racked up 24 entries on Billboard’s R&B chart between then and 1980, including the 1975 chart topper, ‘Supernatural Thing.’
Atlantic Records’ co-founder, the late Ahmet Ertegun, summed up King’s talent best. He said: “Ben E. King is one of the greatest singers in the history of rock and roll and rhythm and blues. His style and the tempo of his voice have a magic all their own.”
To experience that magic live catch Ben E. King at the following venues:
The Jazz Café
5 Parkway Camden, NW1 7PG
Doors 7pm / Tickets £30
Tickets: Ticketmaster 0844 847 2514 / boxoffice@jazzcafe.co.uk
The Arches
253 Argyle Street Glasgow G2 8DL
Doors 7pm / Tickets £22.50
Tickets: 0141 565 1000 / www.thearches.co.uk
