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Soundgarden Confirmed to Headline Hard Rock Calling 2012
on Friday 13 July in Hyde Park

Iggy & The Stooges and Cold Chisel also added to the bill

Tickets on sale 9am on Friday 30 March
Available at www.hardrockcalling.co.uk

Hard Rock International and Live Nation confirmed today that American rock legends Soundgarden will headline Hard Rock Calling 2012 on Friday 13 July in London’s Hyde Park. Iggy & The Stooges and Cold Chisel also join the bill. They join Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band who headline on Saturday 14 July, and Paul Simon performing ‘Graceland’ in its entirety on Sunday 15 July in what will be one of the hottest events of thesummer. More exciting acts are soon to be announced for this highly anticipated concert festival, including the winner of Hard Rock Rising, Hard Rock’s global battle of the bands, which saw more than 12,000 emerging bands worldwide enter for the chance to win a spot on the Hard Rock Calling main stage.

One of the forefathers of the renowned Seattle alternative rock scene in the 90s, Soundgarden reunited last year following a 14-year hiatus and are set to release a brand new album later in the year. Soundgarden – Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd - along with their contemporaries Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam and Nirvana, were all pivotal in the creation of a brand new sound in alternative rock during the 90s which centered on Seattle. ‘Grunge’ became a worldwide phenomenon, not only impacting musically but on wider culture and fashion too. The band’s 1991 album Badmotorfinger produced the singles ‘Jesus Christ Pose’ and ‘Rusty Cage’ whilst its follow up, 1994’s Superunknown, which reached No.1 on the US Billboard Chart and No. 4 on the UK Album Chart, featured the singles ‘Black Hole Sun’ ‘Fell On Black Days’ and ‘Spoonman’. Soundgarden have sold over 21 million albums worldwide.

Other additions to the line up include the godfathers of punk Iggy & The Stooges, whose high energy live shows and onstage antics always get the crowds going. The band are one of the most influential groups of the past 50 years, with the 1973 critically-acclaimed album Raw Power being cited by Kurt Cobain amongst many others as one of their top albums of all time. Multi-million selling Cold Chisel have also been confirmed, playing their tough breed of seventies style rock and blues. Their new album No Plans was released earlier this year.

“Soundgarden was an innovator in the Seattle grunge music scene, and we are honored to have them take the 2012 Hard Rock Calling stage and add a different genre of music to an already incredibly diverse lineup,” said Hamish Dodds, President and CEO of Hard Rock International. “We are also truly excited to soon announce the winner of Hard Rock Rising and give an up-and-coming band the chance to live out their dream and perform at one of the UK’s most anticipated music festivals.”
Live Nation’s Vice President of Promotions, Toby Leighton-Pope commented: “The line up is looking really strong. We’re thrilled to have Soundgarden confirmed as a headliner, after 14 years it’s great to welcome them back to the UK and their first gig in Hyde Park is going to be a big one.”

Soundgarden join previously announced headliners Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band on Saturday 14 July, who are back at the top of the charts with Number One hit album ‘Wrecking Ball’. Paul Simon headlines Sunday 15 July, performing ‘Graceland’ in its entirety with Jimmy Cliff and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, as well as some of his biggest hits from an illustrious back catalogue.

Hard Rock Calling takes place 13-15 July 2012. The 2011 shows saw over 150,000 music fans flock to Hyde Park for an unforgettable weekend of live music.

About Hard Rock Calling:
Hard Rock Calling is set in the beautiful surroundings of Hyde Park in the heart of bustling London and hasfully established itself as one of the UK’s must see outdoor music events. The stage at Hard Rock Calling attracts some of the biggest musicians and bands in the world, with previous headliners including The Who, Paul McCartney, EricClapton, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Stevie Wonder, Aerosmith, Peter Gabriel, Pearl Jam, The Police, the Killers, Rod Stewart and Bon Jovi.

Ticketing Information:
Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday 30 March 2012 and are priced£50 plus booking fee.
Tickets available at www.hardrockcallling.co.uk

Vodafone customers can buy tickets 48 hours before they go on general sale. Get yours from 9am, Wednesday 28 March at www.vodafone.co.uk/vip

To buy VIP Experiences and Hospitality please visit www.livenationexperience.co.uk or call + 44 207 009 3484.

He (and his shoddy band) murdered every soundgarden song he attempted. His voice was shot to pieces. I wanted to cry.

BIG enough to play this...? I'd have thought they were Wmbley Arena big rather than this size of crowd, though obviously were a charting band in their day so am perhaps underestimating.

Re-re-rereading the Azzerad Nirvana book, I was very surprised to learn Ben Shepherd was considered for second guitarist for a while, but other Sub Pop bands told Kurt to stick to a trio.

They're the band Soundgarden could have been.

and their Led Zep grungey rip off phase, then I'll be there. It was all downhill into silly heavy metal after that.

But they won't will they. It will be 12 minute versions of Black Hole Sun with everyone waving lighters. Not even the lure of Iggy will get me to that.

Well done whoever that was :)

but £50 and more to see them play in a park?

saw him open with this at download http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OgwDVaCiSw

But the show got cancelled.

I could have had all my illusions shattered in one healthy go.

are now going for £20+booking fee through Ticketmaster:

http://www.tmdeals.co.uk/cheap-hard-rock-calling-soundgarden-tickets

so i'd recommend getting on this. I would but i'm off to see Low in the 'fax

....what are the chances of further reductions due to poor ticket sales?

A friend reckons they've been let into similarly undersold Hyde Park events for a tenner on the door....can anyone vouch for this?

I remember seeing them in '94. They played 3 + hours. I have never seen a crowd as revved up and violent as when that introductory tomtom blitz of "Jesus Christ Pose" kickstarted the gig. I left that evening with a bloody nose and two missing shoes. Cornell did "Mind Riot" by himself on 12-string acoustic and I remember thinking there was no way he could pull it off, but he did.

Soundgarden were bobbins at Download.

despite the shite weather. Anyone know anything about tickets on the door?

I've heard from a source that 15,000 out of the 50,000 tickets have been sold.

big many decades ago.

"Cheap wine and a three day growth" was the aussie national anthem, or at least should have been.