Wednesday, May 3, 2000
McCartney Performs From the Cavern Club; Manilow and Frampton Concerts to be Broadcast in High Definition
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., May 2 -- Three of the entertainment world's most sought-after performers -- Paul McCartney, Barry Manilow, and Peter Frampton -- have been added to the DIRECTV® FREEVIEW® concert series. Scheduled to begin airing in May -- Paul McCartney on May 5, Barry Manilow on June 2, and Peter Frampton on June 30 -- the trio of exclusive concerts will give DIRECTV customers front-row seats at no additional cost. All of the concerts are pre-taped DIRECTV exclusives; the Manilow and Frampton concerts will also be broadcast in high definition format.
``Not only are these premier concerts a way of saying thank you to our loyal customers,'' said Michael Thornton, vice president, Programming Acquisitions, DIRECTV, Inc., ``but they are also proof that DIRECTV is the number one place for music lovers of all ages. We are delighted to offer Peter, Paul and Barry to our customers.''
On Friday, May 5, DIRECTV will present to its customers its first broadcast of one of the world's most honored and decorated artists, Sir Paul McCartney, recorded live in concert. Taped at the famed London Cavern Club, the venue where the Beatles first performed 39 years ago, the concert will include hits from his latest album ``Run Devil Run.''
Recorded live at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville, Barry Manilow's DIRECTV concert will premiere June 2. It is widely recognized that no one has more devoted fans than Manilow, and in this intimate setting, he performs all of his many favorites, including ``Mandy,'' ``Could It Be Magic,'' ``Weekend in New England,'' and ``Even Now.'' Accompanied by a 30-piece orchestra, Manilow more than lives up to his reputation as one of the best entertainers in the world.
The Peter Frampton concert premieres June 30 on DIRECTV. Recorded live at the Pine Knob Amphitheater in Detroit, he brings the spirit of ``Frampton Comes Alive'' to DIRECTV customers. Utilizing a splendid mix of his screaming guitar riffs and old favorites ``Baby I Love Your Way'' and ``Show Me The Way,'' he leaves the audience mesmerized and breathless. It's Frampton at his boldest, brightest, and very best.
The McCartney, Manilow and Frampton concerts will be rebroadcast on DIRECTV every weekend throughout May, June and July, respectively. The performances by Manilow and McCartney will also be available free of charge to the approximately 1 million PRIMESTAR By DIRECTV customers.
DIRECTV began airing its DIRECTV® FREEVIEW® event series last November with a concert from progressive rock group YES. Most recently, DIRECTV aired exclusive concerts featuring Sting and the Eurythmics. In December and January customers received such diverse events as Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas Spectacular, the animated Hallmark Entertainment® presentation ``Maxine's Christmas Carol,'' ``The Glory of Christmas,'' a concert from Blondie and the ``Countdown to the Millennium Live from Walt Disney World'' concert that featured a host of popular musical artists from the '70s and '80s including Cheap Trick, 38 Special, Lynyrd Skynyrd
and Styx.
DIRECTV is the nation's largest distributor of multi-channel digital television programming with more than 8.3 million customers, including customers subscribing to the PRIMESTAR by DIRECTV service. DIRECTV is a registered trademark of DIRECTV, Inc., a unit of Hughes Electronics. FREEVIEW is a trademark of Hughes Electronics Corp. Hughes Electronics is the world's leading provider of digital television entertainment, and satellite and wireless systems and services. The earnings of Hughes Electronics, a unit of General Motors Corporation, are used to calculate the earnings per share attributable to the General Motors Class H common stock (NYSE: GMH - news). Visit DIRECTV on the World Wide Web at www.directv.com.
CONTACT: Stacey Luchs of PMK Public Relations, 323-954-4000, for DIRECTV, Inc.; or Bob Marsocci of DIRECTV, Inc., 310-726-4656.
SOURCE: DIRECTV, Inc.
