Attie van Wyk

Attie van Wyk
Born Adriaan Hendrik van Wyk
(1952-07-26) July 26, 1952
Vanderbijlpark, South Africa
Residence Cape Town, South Africa
Nationality South African
Alma mater University of Pretoria
Occupation Concert promoter, Executive Chairman Big Concerts International
Website bigconcerts.co.za

Attie van Wyk (born July 26, 1952) is a South African Concert promoter and ex record producer, arranger, musician, songwriter. He is the founder and Executive Chairman of Big Concerts International, A Live Nation Company.

Early life

van Wyk was born in Vanderbijlpark, South Africa. After matriculating in 1969, he did a compulsory year of military training in the South African Navy. He attended the University of Pretoria and graduated with a B-Comm degree in 1973. He also studied classical music part time at the Conservatoire of Music in Pretoria and completed a correspondence course in arranging at the Berklee School of Music.

Career

van Wyk's career as a keyboard player/songwriter/arranger spanned 12 years from 1970 to 1982 as a member of the following bands: Natures Conception, Brotherlove, The Dave Mills Band, Riksja, The Blarney Show Band, and he was a co-founder of Ballyhoo in 1974.[1] As a member of Ballyhoo he penned the number one hit “Man on the Moon” in 1980 and received six of Springbok Radio's SARIE awards in 1981 and 82 including “Song and Album of the Year” followed by a SARIE award for “Producer/Arranger of the Year” in 1983.[2]

In the next 10 years (1983 to 1992) van Wyk produced more than 50 albums (of which 15 achieved platinum status and 20 gold status) for artists including Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Chicco, Ricardo & Friends, Steve Hofmeyr, Soft Shoes,[3] Leon Schuster and Karin Hougaard and he composed in excess of 70 songs, seven of which were number one hits including “I'm In Love With a DJ”, “I'm Burning Up”, “Thank You Mr DJ”, “Motherland”, “From Me to You”, “Let Him Go”, “I Love You Daddy” and “Children of the World”. During 1986 Attie started a sound and stage hiring company (PA Sound and SA Stages) and these businesses were sold in 1995.

Cape Town based Big Concerts International, founded by van Wyk in 1989.[4] Amongst many past accomplishments, Attie staged the first international concert tour featuring Paul Simon,[5] which was held to celebrate the lifting of the cultural boycott in South Africa in 1992.

Since then Big Concerts International has promoted more than 1600 concerts (attended by more than 10 million fans) for almost 200 different artists such as Michael Jackson, U2,[6] Robbie Williams,[7] Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, Bon Jovi, Coldplay,[8] Neil Diamond,[9] The Eagles,[10] Lionel Richie,[11] Elton John,[12] Sting,[13] Rod Steward,[14] Jay Z, Usher, Red Hot Chili Peppers,[15] Rihanna,[16] Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Linkin Park, Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, The Foo Fighters and One Direction. Big Concerts have over the years promoted major international theater productions such as Mamma Mia, Cirque du Soleil, Lord of The Dance and Riverdance, and various other global live entertainment events including World Wrestling Entertainment, and the Dunhill Symphony of Fire. Big Concerts is the only African promoter to feature on the Pollstar list of Top 100 promoters,[17] consistently under the Top 30 and highest ranking position of number 8 as of June 2011.

Attie van Wyk was named 2013 Business Leader of the Year by the Kaapstad Sakekamer (Cape Town Chamber of Commerce) and Die Burger.

References

  1. ↑ "Big Concerts: Attie Van Wyk | Entrepreneur". Entrepreneur magazine. Retrieved 2015-11-02.
  2. ↑ "Springbok Radio Revisited". South African Broadcasting Corporation.
  3. ↑ "The Soft Shoes". Last.FM.
  4. ↑ "Stage Magic: A look at South Africa’s live entertainment market". Retrieved 2015-11-02.
  5. ↑ "Paul Simon Begins South Africa Concerts". The New York Times. 13 January 1992.
  6. ↑ "U2 Live in Cape Town". CapeTownMagazine.com.
  7. ↑ "Robbie Williams Live in South Africa". Upfront With Robbie Williams.
  8. ↑ "Coldplay in Concert". CapeTownMagazine.com.
  9. ↑ "Neil Diamond to tour SA". News24. 6 October 2010.
  10. ↑ "The Eagles Tour to South Africa | Sun City Events | South Africa". suncity.hotel.co.za. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
  11. ↑ "Lionel Richie Concerts in Cape Town | Events in Cape Town 13-October-2015". www.capetownmagazine.com. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
  12. ↑ "Elton John Concerts". Eltonography.com. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
  13. ↑ "Summoner's Tales, Good Hope Centre, Capetown". sting.com. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
  14. ↑ "Dates Set for Rod Stewart's SA Tour | South Africa Portfolio Travel Blog". www.portfoliocollection.com. Retrieved 2015-10-13.
  15. ↑ "Red Hot Chili Peppers head to South Africa". Times LIVE. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
  16. ↑ "Rihanna heading to South Africa with her 'Diamonds World Tour'". Times LIVE. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
  17. ↑ "Top 100 Promoters" (PDF). PollstarPro. 7 October 2015 – via ATRL - Chart Listings.

External links

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