Adams: Better

Adams: Better

Sitting relaxed after attending the Final between Spain and the Netherlands on Sunday evening, Bryan Adams was happy to open up to FIFA.com about his experiences in Soccer City.

The rock legend is currently midway through his ‘Bare Bones Tour’, playing dates in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban and even Nambia before travelling back to Johannesburg next Sunday for a date at the Coca-Cola Dome; the venue where he wowed the crowds last Friday for during the ‘Celebrate Africa – The Grand Finale’ concert with Andrea Bocelli.

But the self-confessed Chelsea fan was eager to talk about his experiences of the game, as well as his admiration for sportsmen and why he feels that football’s better with a vuvuzela.

FIFA.com: Bryan, what did you make of the Final?
Bryan Adams: It was a real surprise, I thought the vuvuzelas were going to be quite overpowering but once you get inside the stadium it’s only the occasional person around you that blows them so it was fun – I’m just wondering whether it will become an international thing now? I’ve heard they are going to ban it in European matches, which is too bad as its kind of fun.

Do you think Spain were worthy winners?
I do think they were worthy winners. I also thought Germany were worthy of a place in the final too. I don’t know what happened to them against Spain, they just didn’t play like they had been throughout the tournament, it was really surprising. It was a great competition though and Spain were very worthy to be crowned champions.

In comparison to Germany, which you were at four years ago, do you notice any differences?
There was a much better atmosphere here.

What did you think of Soccer City?
I liked this stadium quite a bit, it was quite enclosed. The Olympiastadion was good but it was very open, but it’s an amazing piece of architecture. They’re both different in many ways, but both good.

Is Soccer City an arena you’d like to perform at yourself in the future?
Sure, why not!
I was thinking in fact, when the players were coming out on to the field, what the pressure must have been like.
Bryan Adams, rock legend.

In terms of your music, your ‘Bare Bones Tour’ really is ‘bare bones’, have you enjoyed getting back to basics with an acoustic set?
I have, in fact so much so that we’re releasing a little record that comes out this year. We’re just figuring out how we are going to put it out as it’s not as easy as it used to be. It used to be you’d make a record and you’d release it through a record company, but who knows now with how the music industry is.

In terms of your musicianship, why did you choose to do this kind of tour?
I did a concert back in 1996 called MTV Unplugged and since then it’s been interesting to see how you could reinvent some of the older songs so it’s always been in the back of my mind to do something. But towards the end of the last decade I’ve been thinking more seriously about making a concert which was just a smaller thing to see how it came off. It started out as just a half hour show to promote a record but it evolved into an hour concert and now it’s a full-on tour.

Do you admire sportsmen, because like you they have to fulfil the expectations of thousands of people?
Oh absolutely. I was thinking in fact, when the players were coming out on to the field, what the pressure must have been like. I’ve been in a similar when I played the Olympics recently and walking on stage you suddenly realise there’s a billion people watching you. Imagine how many people were watching the final, untold millions of people, so the pressure must have been extraordinary for them. Once it got underway and they started thinking about the game it maybe gets better, but I reckon there was a lot of pressure on those guys. You really have to overcome the mental obstacles and just concentrate, and that’s where real sportsmanship comes in.

If you were a coach, which one of your tracks would you play to a team prior to a match?
I don’t know I’ve never thought about it, something uplifting obviously. How about ‘We’re Gonna Win’?