Boyz II Men to headline new annual concert in Namibia

Local R&B fans who feared that their favourite foursome had ‘come to the end of the road’ will be pleasantly surprised at the news of their imminent arrival in Southern Africa. The group will be headlining the inaugural Windhoek Draught Live, a new annual music event staged by Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) on behalf of their Original Premium Draught. This new venture follows a successful music concert in 2014 that saw the premium brand host Nigerian duo P-Square in Windhoek, their first visit to the Namibian capital.

Elize van Kradenburg, senior brand manager for Windhoek Draught at NBL, said: “In light of the successful P-Square concert that was held in September 2014, we are excited to bring another unforgettable, ‘for real’ experience to world-class people with world-class entertainment, enjoying our world-class beer. We believe in real experiences and we want to share these experiences with the people who love our beer. Nothing can be more real than seeing your favourite band live on stage. 2015 thus marks the launch of our annual music event, Windhoek Draught Live.”

Boyz II Men are considered one of the most popular vocal groups of all time. Signed to Motown Records in 1989, their 1991 debut album Cooleyhighharmony was an international phenomenon. It included the massive hit ‘End of the Road’, which stayed at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for 13 weeks, breaking the decades-old record held by Elvis Presley. With their second album in 1994, simply titled II, the group broke this record with the singles ‘I'll Make Love to You’ and ‘One Sweet Day’ (with Mariah Carey), which, at 14 and 16 weeks respectively, each set new records for the total number of weeks at number one, a record that has yet to be broken. When ‘On Bended Knee’ took the number 1 spot away from ‘I'll Make Love to You’, Boyz II Men became only the third artists ever (after The Beatles and Presley) to replace themselves at the top of the Billboard Hot 100.

As a result, Boyz II Men are the fourth-ranked musicians in Billboard history in terms of time spent at number one, with 50 weeks, behind Elvis Presley, The Beatles and Mariah Carey. The group has won four Grammy Awards during their 20-year career, along with nine American Music Awards, nine Soul Train Awards, three Billboard Awards, and a 2011 MOBO Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. The group holds the distinction of being the best-selling R&B group of all time, with an astounding 60 million albums sold. They continue to perform worldwide, now as a trio. Their most recent studio album, Collide, was released in October 2014.

Tickets for the Windhoek concert are available from 10 August at Computicket and range from N$300 (US$23.50) for standard tickets, N$ 500 (US$40) for the Golden Circle, and N$10 000 (US$785) for corporate booths. Tickets will not be for sale at the stadium on the night of the event, so book now.