Cape Town 03 (South Africa) - Arctic 05 (Norway) - Johannesburg 07 (South Africa)- Hyde Park 08 (UK)
"The AIDS epidemic is the biggest humanitarian challenge of our time. It is an honour to be asked to act as an ambassador for 46664 and join other artists in assisting Nelson Mandela in this enormous task. The valuable work 46664 does, shows that it is possible for people to work together to make a difference. What happens in Africa affects us all.”
When Queen were invited to be 46664 ambassadors and appear at the first Nelson Mandela Concert for Aids in Cape Town, they called upon the help of their keyboard player and musical director Spike Edney to provide MD services and organize a house band to back the stellar line-up of featured artists. Since that memorable occasion, Spike and his House Band have supported 46664 in both Tromsø and Johannesburg.
In addition to his work with Queen and 46664, British multi-instrumentalist Spike Edney has toured, recorded and performed with the living and late legends of our time. His career began in the mid 70’s as keyboard player and musical director for Soul & Motown legends Ben E King and Edwin Starr.
In the 80’s, after tours with Bob Geldof’s Boomtown Rats, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Haircut 100 and Duran Duran, Spike commenced his 23 year career with Queen.
The 90’s also saw the launch of Spike’s All-Star Band a.k.a. The SAS Band, featuring an ever-growing collection of some of the world’s greatest Rock and Pop performers. See www.sasband.com.
In between other Queen and SAS Band commitments, Spike has also recorded, toured and/or performed with other legendary artists such as Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, David Bowie, Roger Daltrey, George Michael, George Benson, Elton John, Robert Plant, Guns ‘N Roses, Joe Cocker, Paul Stanley, Jack Bruce, Joe Walsh and Luciano Pavarotti, to name a few.
