Neil Diamond to take Mission stage at last

Neil Diamond will headline the Mission Concert in March. Photo / Greg Bowker

Neil Diamond - the singer/songwriter who has sold more than 135 million records since setting out on his remarkable career in the 1960s - is set to take the Mission Concert stage in March.

For the concert organisers Sports and Entertainment Ltd (SEL) and the Mission hosts it is the successful result of what was effectively a long-term ambition to get him signed up.

"To be able to finally secure Neil Diamond is very exciting as Neil is an artist we have been trying to get to the Mission for many years," SEL chairman James Erskine said.

"To see him perform the songs that have been the soundtrack of our lives will be an incredible live concert experience and there is no better venue in the world to experience this but at the Mission."

Mr Erskine said the lead-up artists during the afternoon at what he described as being "a very special day" are expected to be announced over the next few weeks.

The announcement was being made at a special breakfast staged at the Mission Estate this morning with about 50 guests attending.

Diamond will take the stage for the 23rd Mission Concert on March 17, with Concert Club pre-sale tickets available from Friday and general sales from Saturday.

Events manager Garry Craft said it was an event that people would not want to miss and described what they had put together as "the headline event of New Zealand's 2018 summer entertainment calendar".

SEL had to work around the fact that Neil Diamond generally chooses not to have a support act or acts, preferring to go straight on for his more than two-hour shows.

But he and his management had agreed and it had all come together.
"It is going to be quite an event."

He will be arriving with about 70 in his touring party of musicians and back-up singers.
Diamond has become one of the best-selling artists of all time and has a huge number of entertainment accolades.

He has had 38 songs in the US Billboard Top 10 charts through the years and his songs have been covered internationally by dozens of performers.

During the 1960s he helped spark the career of the Monkees, penning smash hits for them.

Among his top 10 list have been 11 number ones.

His hit songs include Cracklin' Rosie, Song Sung Blue, Longfellow Serenade, Desiree, You Don't Bring Me Flowers and Sweet Caroline - the latter played frequently at major sporting events and which has also become an anthem for the Boston Red Sox baseball team.

He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011.

Diamond has also received the Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award and is a Grammy Award winner.

He was last in New Zealand in October 2015 and the then 74-year-old made a huge impression on the sell-out Vector Arena crowd in Auckland, turning in a show which featured more than 25 songs.

"Neil Diamond was simply stunning," one fan posted.

"Enjoyed every moment and all his songs - watching him live was a dream come true."
Another happy member of the crowd described Diamond's voice as "awesome".

Diamond has just performed two big concerts in England and Ireland as part of his 50th Anniversary Tour which has also taken in more than 40 shows across the United States.

He put the tour together to celebrate his 50th anniversary since releasing his first album.
He will add to an impressive list of performers at Mission Estate Winery through the years.

Mission Concert history

1993: Kiri Te Kanawa
1994: Ray Charles
1995: Dionne Warwick
1996: Shirley Bassey
1997: Kenny Rogers
1998: Julio Iglesias
1999: Beach Boys
2000: Boney M
2001: Lulu and The Hollies
2002: Engelbert Humperdinck and The Seekers
2003: Cliff Richard
2004: John Farnham, B52s, Belinda Carlisle
2005: Rod Stewart
2006: Chris de Burgh, Olivia Newton-John
2007: Eric Clapton
2008: Tom Jones
2010: Motown Concert
2011: Sting
2012: Rod Stewart
2013: Barry Gibb and Carole King
2014: Ronan Keating, Melanie C, Leo Sayer, Billy Ocean
2017: Dixie Chicks
2018: Neil Diamond