JULIO IGLESIAS, THE MOST SUCCESSFUL LATIN ARTIST OF ALL TIME
London, Monday 12 May 2014: One of the ten biggest selling artists in the world, Julio Iglesias was today presented with a unique award by Sony Music to celebrate his status as The Most Successful Latin Artist of All Time at a press conference in front of the world's media at The Dorchester Hotel, London.
The award, in recognition of sales of over 300 million records, was presented by Doug Morris, CEO Sony Music, Edgar Berger, Chairman & CEO, Sony Music International, and Afo Verde, Chairman & CEO Sony Music Latin Iberia. The presentation took place ahead of two performances by Julio Iglesias at the Royal Albert Hall, the London venue where he first appeared over 30 years ago in 1982.
Julio Iglesias said, “I'm so glad to be receiving this award, and especially in London, a place that has so many memories for me, where I’m surrounded by so many friends. I would like to take this opportunity and say a big thank you to all the people who have bought my albums over the years, as well as to all those who have come to see me in concert. They made this award possible. Although I admit that the most important prize I´ve ever got is people´s love.”
Doug Morris, CEO, Sony Music, said: “Dear Julio, without question you are one of the most beloved and successful recording artists of all time. You are a talent like no other who continues to thrill fans around the world. I couldn't think of a worthier recipient for this special award.”
Julio Iglesias, the legendary singer The Guardian called “a master of silver-tongued charm” when he last performed in Britain in 2003, belongs to an elite of international superstars whose popularity transcends frontiers and cultural barriers. Indeed, he is the only vocalist to sing in 14 languages, ranging from his native Spanish and other romantic languages including French, Italian and Portuguese, but also spanning German and English as well as Japanese, Indonesian and Tagalog. The Guinness Book Of World Records recognized this unique achievement and acknowledged his status as the best-selling Latin male artist in the world with a special award presented to him in China last year.
By the time he topped the UK and Irish charts with his sublime adaptation of the Cole Porter standard Begin The Beguine (Volver A Embezar) in 1981, Julio Iglesias had been singing professionally for 13 years. In 1970, he represented Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest in Amsterdam with the self-penned ballad Gwendolyne, an ode to the French girl he met when he was keeping goal for Real Madrid's reserve team, before the dreadful car crash that put an end to his football career in 1963. Given a guitar by a nurse while recovering in hospital, he began writing songs but spent three months studying English in Cambridge and completed a law degree before launching his career in Spain. Following unparalleled success throughout continental Europe, South America and Japan, he triumphed at New York's Carnegie Hall and Madison Square Garden in the mid-seventies and subsequently moved his base of operation to Miami.
In the early eighties, Julio Iglesias became a truly global phenomenon with hits like Quiereme Mucho (Love Me A Lot), Amor and Hey!. In 1982, he sold out fourteen concerts in Las Vegas and followed this the next year with five nights at the Royal Albert Hall, the famed London venue he will return to this week. Over the years, he has recorded a succession of wonderful duets with Willie Nelson – the irresistible To All The Girls I've Loved Before – Diana Ross – the dreamy All Of You – Stevie Wonder – the wistful My Love – Frank Sinatra – a gorgeous arrangement of Summer Wind for Sinatra's Duets album in 1993 – and Dolly Parton – the touching When You Tell Me That You Love Me. As well as a songwriter in his own right, he is a supreme interpreter of other people's material, including Don McLean's Vincent – on the 1990 album Starry Night – Crazy, the Willie Nelson composition previously associated with Patsy Cline, and Fragile, duetting with the song's author Sting; both tracks were highlights of the 1994 Crazy album. In the nineties, he appeared as himself in both the sitcom Golden Girls and the soap opera General Hospital.
Julio Iglesias has remained a mainstay of the charts with the superlative studio albums La Carretera, Tango and Noche de Cuatro Lunas and the treasured compilations My Life: The Greatest Hits, Love Songs, and his most recent release, the appropriately-titled 1 The Collection. This album includes remastered versions of many of the aforementioned songs, as well as re-recordings of 99 Miles From L.A., And I Love Her, Always On My Mind, Caruso and As Time Goes By, from the motion picture Casablanca, that have long been staples of his repertoire. 1 The Collection also features a duet with the American vocal group All-4-One on another timeless classic, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.
Julio Iglesias is truly is in a league of his own, an incomparable talent whose love songs have soundtracked the lives of hundreds of millions for over 45 years.