BASE Hologram reveals Buddy Holly-gram
BASE Hologram has released a first look at its new Buddy Holly hologram, which hits the road alongside the tried-and-tested holographic Roy Orbison this autumn.
The Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly: The Rock’n’Roll Dream tour, announced in March, kicks off in North America in September, with UK and European dates running parallel in October. The joint headlining trek follows a successful solo BASE Orbison show, In Dreams: Roy Orbison in Concert, which played theatres in North America and arenas in Europe throughout 2018.
A statement from the Brian Becker-led company, announcing the Holly-gram, reads: “In 1957, Buddy Holly had just had success with his hit song ‘That’ll Be the Day’, and soon his fans would be treated to his next hit, ‘Peggy Sue’. That’s the version of Buddy Holly that we at BASE Hologram chose to feature on the Rock’n’Roll Dream tour, which fans across the globe can buy tickets to starting this week. This was when Buddy was in his prime, where he was on top of the charts and charming audiences across the country with his catchy tracks and trademark ‘geek chic’ look.
“In fact, one of the things that really makes this particular hologram tour stand out is that a new generation of fans will finally get to see what Buddy Holly really looked like. What people may not have realised is most of the colour shots of him had been retouched over the years and the video is in grainy black and white. What you are going to see here is true Buddy at his finest and exactly how he would have looked if you saw him on tour.
“What you are going to see here is true Buddy at his finest”
“As we’ve always said, our productions are meant to be a tribute to these musical legends and to do that we have to be authentic. The main goal in these types of shows is to preserve the legacy of one-of-a-kind musicians and, using their actual master recordings, give fans the chance to see them perform, many for the first time. That’s the promise we make the families and the estates, as well as the public. We are honoured to have been entrusted us with this privilege and we look forward to sharing this project with you in the fall.
“What we are showing today is just a small sample of the full show, which will also feature a live band, backup singers, dancers and cinematic special effects that is choreographed and fully produced by the best in the industry. […] Our hope is that audiences will feel like they are being drawn into an experience where fantasy becomes reality, the magic of which never fades away.”
Tickets for the UK dates, promoted by Kennedy Street Enterprises, are on sale now, priced starting from £45.
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BASE Hologram announces Orbison, Holly world tour
BASE Hologram, the holographic division of BASE Entertainment, has announced a world tour featuring music icons Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly.
Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly: The Rock ’N’ Roll Dream Tour will see the holographic versions of Orbison and Holly perform together concurrently in Europe and North America.
The tour follows on from the success of BASE Hologram’s In Dreams: Roy Orbison in Concert. Eric Schaeffer, the director of the solo Orbison hologram tour, returns to direct the rock and roll duo.
“Both Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly set the stage for what was to come down the road in the music industry,” says Brian Becker, chairman and chief executive of BASE Hologram, who told IQ recently he sees holographic technology as a “whole new sector in live entertainment.”
“These two men were forward-thinkers who understood what new forms of technology could do for their craft. They defined the genre of rock and roll and influenced everyone from Elvis to the Beatles,” comments Becker.
“Now to be able to recapture that magic on a grand scale and let their fans see them together will be something truly special,” adds the BASE Hologram chief executive.
The duo will be accompanied by a live band and back-up singers, using BASE’s holographic technology and remastered audio.
“These two men were forward-thinkers who understood what new forms of technology could do for their craft, they defined the genre of rock and roll”
“Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly shared many similarities in both their musical and personal lives,” says BASE Hologram chief executive of production Marty Tudor. “It is only fitting to continue pushing the envelope in this type of way.”
Roy Orbison junior, the music icon’s son and president of Roy Orbison Music, echoes the sentiment saying, “how beyond cool and special that these two great friends now get to tour the world together.”
The tour will pull from Orbison and Holly’s combined 16 platinum records, 19 gold records, and almost two dozen top 40 hits. The pair have ten Grammy awards between them.
BASE Hologram is also responsible for the Callas in Concert tour featuring opera singer Maria Callas, who died in 1977. A scheduled Amy Winehouse hologram tour has been postponed following “unique challenges and sensitivities”.
Rival outfit Eyellusion has produced a holographic tour of Ronnie James Dio across Europe. The company is now working on The Bizarre World of Frank Zappa tour, in conjunction with Zappa’s son Ahmet Zappa, which kicks off in the United states in April.
Tickets for the UK dates of Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly: The Rock ’N’ Roll Dream Tour go on sale on Friday 29 March. Tickets start from £45 and are available to buy on Ticketline or directly through venues. Fans can purchase tickets and find out more information about the tour here.
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