DUBAI // The British chart-topping band Keane today spoke of their sorrow at learning of the death of Michael Jackson, the day after a lavish memorial service was held for the pop icon in Los Angeles.
The award-winning trio, who play their debut gig in the UAE tonight, told of how Jackson had been a powerful musical influence and how they were still mourning his loss.
"We are still pretty upset about [the death]," said the band's songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley at a press conference ahead of the sell-out gig at the Madinat Arena.
"Growing up in the 1980s, he was a real influence. He was probably one of the reasons we got into pop music in the first place."
The lead singer Tom Chaplin added: "He's one of the few people who is going to be influencing music for about as long as pop music exists.
"Some one with that kind of talent and influence; it's such a sad thing that a human life should end like that.
"When I was a kid, I wanted to be Michael Jackson. I used to practise the dances in front of the mirror."
Rice-Oxley said the band, who are currently on a world tour promoting their third studio album, Perfect Symmetry, said they were told of the musician's death while in Sweden about to perform a concert.
Chaplin said they were currently recording tracks during free time between concert dates and hoped to release a "mini-album" later in the year.
This is the group's first visit to the Middle East and earlier this week Keane played a gig in Beirut.
They earned their reputation on the back of soft rock piano-led ballads such as 'Everybody's Changing', 'Somewhere Only We Know' and 'Is It Any Wonder'.
The band, which also features Richard Hughes on drums, won international acclaim for their first album Hopes and Fears in 2004, and their second, darker album Under the Iron Sea.
chamilton@thenational.ae
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Book%20Details
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
