4 world legends to attend the traditional festival in Biržai District

Bonnie Tyler, Suzi Quatro, Samantha Fox and, for the first time in Lithuania, Nik Kershaw!

The dream continues and perhaps the music lovers of the village of Kilučiai, with a population of less than 300 people, need no introduction now. Before the echoes of the second concert of the legendary musicians that played there this summer have even died down, news has just arrived: On 15 June 2024, four more world-renowned stars – Bonnie Tyler, Samantha Fox, Suzi Quatro and, making his debut in Lithuania, Nik Kershaw – will take to the stage on the peninsula in Biržai District!

 The queen of rock 'n' roll

The pioneer to break the ice for women to reach the top of the rock world. The first woman to rock a “male” musical instrument, the bass guitar – a fundamental part of rock since the beginning of the rock era.

Born in Detroit, USA, Suzi Quatro or Susan Kay Quatro (her real name) probably needs no introduction, even to those who have little to do with music.

With a musical background gained from playing piano and percussion instruments at a music school, Suzi quickly mastered the first bass guitar her father gave her in 1957.

Born into a family of musicians, the future queen of rock ‘n’ roll made her first public appearance in her dad’s jazz band, the Art Quatro Trio. Suzi was eight years old at the time and already playing the bongos. At the age of 14, she and her sisters formed the girl rock band, the Pleasure Seekers, which recorded three singles.

In 1971, Suzi moved to England to work with producer Mickie Most, and soon she was supporting Thin Lizzy and Slade on their first big tour.

Rock classics

Suzi’s stepping stone to the musical Olympus was her introduction to the creative duo N. Chinn and M. Chapman, whose single “Can the Can” shot straight to the top of the charts in the UK, Japan and Australia.

In America, her duet “Stumblin’ In”, recorded in 1978 with Chris Norman, who has also performed in Kilučiai since, was a huge success and reached number four on the US charts.

During her career, Quatro has released 15 studio albums, 10 collections and one live concert album, selling more than 55 million copies.

In addition to being a musician and songwriter, she is also an actress and a poet, having published a collection of her poetry and memoirs, Through My Eyes.

Suzi Quatro is one of the first females in the history of rock music to have a male band around her.

“I became the first successful woman in rock ‘n’ roll to lead men and play an instrument seriously. That didn’t happen before or after me...”, she told the British publication Express.

The queen of rock ‘n’ roll, who has already announced a concert in Biržai on her official website, is still regarded as a role model for almost all women playing electric guitars and living in the glamorous world of rock, and her renditions of “Stumblin’ In”, “She’s in Love With You”, “Can the Can”, “If You Can’t Give Me Love”, and countless others, have long been considered world classics of rock music.

Sought-after and rebellious

Another star of the Kilučiai scene is the British singer Samantha Fox. Her first hour of stardom came when her racy photographs graced the covers of numerous publications. First she sent the photos to the People, and then to the famous tabloid, the Sun.

She became sought-after and... rebellious. While studying in a Catholic school, she began to break the various taboos that existed there at the time. “You can’t do this, you can’t do that, and you have to pay money for it”, she recalls. Her looks and her breasts, which she insured to the tune of 250,000 dollars, soon made her the star of Page Three and the most popular model for three years in a row.

However, soon it wasn’t only her good looks that made her famous. Her song “Touch Me” made her instantly famous: millions of people wanted to touch her that summer, and her album of the same name went to number one in fifteen countries, including the USA.

“I’ve become a real star,” sighs Samantha Fox.

After dreaming of becoming an actress as a child, and even studying for a while at an acting school, she is now excelling in her role as an inspiration to millions of fans around the world with her easy fantasies and her enduring youth.

“Touch Me” became a green card that helped the young girl gather 30,000 spectators in stadiums. In Colombia, the young singer was greeted by as many as 50,000, and in India, a crowd of 70,000 fans gathered for a concert! In one year, she sang to more than one million fans.

In 2014, she gave a spectacular concert in London’s Trafalgar Square, and she is actively performing in different countries and is delighted that people still listen to her songs.

“I’m still busy, I love all my fans, I sing in many different conditions.

For example, in Romania, I performed live when the thermometer read 18 degrees below zero. All the spectators were wearing fur coats and fur hats, and me and the dancers were wearing concert clothes. But they are my biggest judges and I always want to make a big boom and I would love to come back to Lithuania to perform again,” says Samantha Fox.

A “no” from Deep Purple and a “yes” from Tony Banks, Elton John and other stars

Another delightful addition to the Kilučiai concert line-up is Nik Kershaw, making his debut in Lithuania after extensive negotiations!

The Bristol-born British musician, producer, composer, Nik Kershaw, became famous in 1984 when his song stayed on the top of the UK singles chart for 62 weeks, overtaking all other solo artists of that time!

Nik has more than one or two hits: “The Riddle”, “I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”, “Wouldn’t It Be Good”, “Dancing Girls” and others are still on the lips of his fans today. He is also the writer of many hits, including the 1991 UK number one song “The One and Only”, performed by Chesney Lee Hawkes.

The singer attributes the beginning of his career to his parents, who spotted his musical talent when he was ten years old and took him to sing in a choir. After that, he performed in a children’s theatre group, and at the age of 14 he received a guitar as a gift from his parents.

Soon after, Nik Kershaw joined Half Pint Hog, which broke up after three shows. However, this didn’t stop the self-confident boy from offering his talents as a guitarist to Deep Purple. And even though he got a negative response, he was determined to make music his life.

His star shone when Nik signed to MCA Records, released the singles “I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” and “Wouldn’t It Be Good”, which jumped to number four on the UK charts, and instantly made him a household name in more than just his native England.

Soon after, Nik released his debut album, Human Racing, which included the singles “Dancing Girls”, the song of the same name “Human Racing” and a cover of “I Won’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”.

His voice, songs, extremely stylish videos and attractive looks have helped Nick achieve huge popularity across Europe. Soon he was touring the world, not only on the Old Continent but also in Canada, Australia, Japan and the USA.

He has collaborated with Cliff Richard, Lulu, Ronan Keating, Jason Donovan, Nick Carter, Michael W. Smith, Sia, Gary Barlow, as well as Bonnie Tyler and many other famous musicians, and has also recorded songs with Tony Banks of Genesis and Elton John as a featured artist.

His popularity continues to grow in many countries around the world, and Nik has written songs for films, received a doctorate for his contributions to the music industry a few years ago, and he has released a mini-album, These Little Things, and a full-length album, Oxymoron.

Disaster-turned-happiness

And for many, perhaps the most delicious of the four flavours of the musical dessert, the “icing on the cake” is UK-born Bonnie Tyler.

Bonnie rose to fame in 1976 with the hit “Lost in France”, but a year later she underwent a vocal cord operation that required six weeks of silence. Unfortunately, a mishap once caused Gaynor Hopkins, Bonnie Tyler’s real name, to faint and lose her voice for a while.

The shocked singer believed that her music career, which had just begun, was over. But, to her surprise, her new husky voice was even more popular with her fans. This was evidenced by the song “It’s a Heartache”, which soon topped the charts, and a contract with CBS.

Her album, Faster Than the Speed of Night, was added to the Guinness Book of World Records as the first record by a woman to debut at the top of the UK’s best-selling albums list.

Bonnie’s songs were written by multi-award-winning lyricist Jim Steinman. Their collaboration led to the album Faster Than the Speed of Night, which gave the world the legendary ballad “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, the best-selling single in almost 20 countries, and knocked Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” off the top of the charts.

Bonnie Tyler’s energy is boundless. Two years ago she released her 18th studio album, The Best Is Yet to Come, and the new hits, and of course all the superhits of the Welsh singer and the other three stars, will grace the stage on 15 June 2024 at a spectacular 6-hour concert in Kilučiai!