Phil Collins' open-air concert in Ancol Saturday

Phil Collins' open-air concert in Ancol Saturday

JAKARTA (JP): Whether you like the music of Phil Collins or
not, there is no denying that he is one of the world's most
prominent and prolific musicians of the last two decades.

For Indonesian music lovers, ardent fans of British rock band
Genesis in particular, Collins' music seems to sound more in the
pop genre rather than the rock most would expect from the lead
vocalist of such a great rock band.

But the coming concert of this superstar, renowned also as Mr.
Nice Guy for his charity activities, in Jakarta tomorrow night
may prove otherwise. Tickets for Collins' concert are almost sold
out. "All VIP and first class tickets sold at between Rp 150,000
(approximately US$75) and Rp 100,000 ($50)," an official of PT
Adissagraha Citra stated yesterday. About 40,000 fans are
expected to attend Phil Collins' concert, scheduled to take place
at the former site of the Ancol Circuit in the Ancol Dreamland
Park, North Jakarta on Saturday, March 25. The Jakarta show is
part of Collins' world tour promoting his latest solo album Both
Sides of the Story.

This is the first open-air concert by an international rock
musician since the Metallica concert which turned into a serious
riot in l993, said Gladys Suwandi, president of PT Adissagraha
which organized Collins' concert.

"This is really a test case for a local music impresario to
again hold an open-air concert. If we are successful, we will
create a good image in the international music scene," added
Gladys.

Many world superstars have excluded Indonesia from their world
tours because of mouth-to-mouth information regarding riots
following a number of international-scale music concerts held in
Jakarta, including Mick Jagger's in l987 and Metallica's in l993.

A reliable source from Singapore's largest music impresario
told The Jakarta Post recently, "The power of word is so strong
among superstars. They will not take any risk of performing in a
country which cannot guarantee their safety."

Besides, Indonesia has only a small number of professional
music organizers who are able to handle international-scale
concerts, he explained.

Gladys, also known as a model and a movie star, however, said
her company will do its best to make Collins' concert a success.

PT Adissagraha will collaborate with the management of the
Ancol Dreamland Park and the City Police for security. They plan
to employ 5,000 personnel to safeguard the concert's venue and
its surrounding area. The main road, Jl. R.E. Martadinata, will
be closed to trailer trucks and public transit vehicles coming
from the Tanjung Priok harbor.

"We have already anticipated that there will be serious
traffic jams along the main road in the hours preceding the
concert which starts at 8 p.m.," one of the city police officers
said.

In order to avoid traffic jams, many Jakartan music lovers
have opted to spend the weekend at nearby hotels and motels.

Siti Nurbaya, a public relations officer of Horison Hotel, a
hotel in the Dreamland park complex, told the Post that the hotel
will be offering no discounted rates over the weekend.

"Most guests will be people attending the Phil Collins
Concert," Nurbaya explained.

Collins' group will be staying in the hotel's penthouse and
several other rooms, she said.

On his tour, Collins will be accompanied by his tour manager
and 50 other members. The stage for his performance will be
constructed by the members.

"This was one of Collins' terms of performing in Jakarta,"
Gladys said.

Career

Starting as the drummer of Genesis in l970, Collins' music
career shot to stardom when the band's lead vocalist, Peter
Gabriel, left in l975 and Collins was chosen to replace him.

With Collins as lead vocalist, Genesis proceeded to produce
platinum albums including A Trick of the Tail (released in l976),
Wind and Wuthering and And Then There Were Three (l978).

By 1981, Collins also embarked on a solo career with his
platinum debut LP, Face Value (released by Atlantic), from which
I Missed Again and In the Air Tonight were in the 20 top singles.
His next solo album Hello I Must be Going, produced by Atlantic
in late l982, also became a best-seller. The first song on the
LP, a cover of the Supremes' You Can't Hurry Love, reached number
one on U.K. charts and on the Top 10 in the United States. In
l984, he wrote and recorded the theme for the movie Against All
Odds (Take a Look at Me Now) which was number one on the
Billboard's top charts and was nominated for an Oscar in the best
theme song category.

He also produced a solo album for Frida, a former member of
Sweden's famous quartet ABBA, and played drums for Robert Plant's
Pictures at an Exhibition.

In l985, Atlantic Records issued another Collins' hit One More
Night.

Despite his successful solo career, Collins still works with
other Genesis members, Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks. In l981,
they released a platinum album Abacap for Atlantic.

As the l980s went by, all three remaining Genesis members
found plenty of other projects to fill their time. Beside writing
new songs for their own recordings, they produced sessions by
other artists and worked on movie soundtracks.

Collins and Genesis produced another platinum album Genesis in
l983. The Invisible Touch album released in l986 was even more
successful, staying on the Billboard Top 10 much of l986 and
going well past multi-platinum levels in l987.

The band's latest album We Can't Dance celebrates Genesis'
final transformation from hairy, progressive Seventies rock gurus
to snappy, successful radio-friendly pin-ups -- a change that
drummer/lead vocalist Phil Collins' burgeoning solo career
probably hastened.(raw)