Oh, baby, baby… in the new issue of Music Week, we deliver a huge 20 Years Of Britney Spears special. This month, the pop titan finally brings her blockbusting Piece Of Me Las Vegas residency show to the UK, part of her first European tour since 2011. And with the 20th anniversary of her debut single …Baby One More Time just around the corner, it was the perfect time to gather a host of top names in the biz to salute a popstar, career, and business empire like no other…
In the feature we speak to a host of elite hitmakers – including Rami Yacoub, Justin Tranter, Christian Karlsson, Carla Marie Williams and more to find out about the art (and joy) of writing a Britney song, while Revlon reveal more about her ever-expanding moves in the fragrance world. But when it came to addressing the Britney-mania currently gripping the nation in light of her epic set at Brighton Pride, what better place to start than by speaking to Britney’s tour promoter?
Cuffe & Taylor founder and co-director Peter Taylor was quick to stress that the UK has something very special in store. He should know, he saw it in Vegas.
“It was an incredible show,” offers Taylor. “A lot of people say Britney is quite camp, but the show isn’t like that. The show is more a pop spectacular. There’s definitely a nod to everything that she’s done in her career, but it’s also got new stuff in there, she’s rocked it up a bit, made it a bit more contemporary. There’s nothing cheesy pop about that show. It’s very, very current and very, very spectacular. We’re really pleased we’re actually bringing that Vegas show to Europe and the UK. It’s not like we’re just doing the Britney Spears greatest hits, you can see the Vegas show – the set, lighting, video, everything on tour. We’re really excited.”
There’s nothing cheesy pop about this show. It’s very, very current and very, very spectacular
Peter Taylor, Cuffe & Taylor
While it has been a long time since Britney Spears' last full UK tour, Taylor told Music Week that it was obvious from social media that the public had an insatiable appetite for her return.
“When you look at the reaction when she puts something on Instagram, you see this real sense of people wanting to access her and there was literally no other way than going to Vegas,” said Taylor. “In hindsight, I’m sure we could have sold a Wembley Stadium out – the demand has been incredible. We could have kept adding and adding dates, but we just had that one window and we’re really pleased with how it was met when we brought it into the market.”
Taylor also praised Spears for redefining the very concept of what a Vegas residency constitutes, blazing a path for a host of other more current artists to follow.
“Britney did pave the way for this more contemporary act, there’s no doubt about it,” said Taylor. “Take Backstreet Boys, for example: who would have thought they would be a Vegas act? She’s always been known for setting the trends, and look how incredibly successful it was – it was the success of the Vegas show that has driven demand for her in the UK. Let me tell you, I’ve never promoted an act that I’ve had so many requests from the industry for tickets... To me, her coming to the UK is an event, it’s not a concert. I’ve been lucky enough to promote some incredible artists over the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever had such a reaction as when we announced that Britney was coming back to the UK.”
Subscribers can read the full Britney Spears tour cover feature here.
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