Special Tribute Concert For Legendary Singer SP Balasubrahmanyam To Be Held In Bengaluru

A concert dedicated to legendary singer S P Balasubrahmanyam (SPB) will be held in Bengaluru on December 8 at Prestige Centre for Performing Arts, said S P B Charan, the singer’s son on Thursday.

“Not only this will be a tribute to my appa, but we will also use the proceeds to build his memorial in Chennai,” said Charan at a press meet announcing the concert.

The memorial, designed by architect Vinu Daniel, is already being constructed in their farmland in Thamaraipakkam in Thiruvallur district, near Chennai, he added.

They chose to hold the concert in Bengaluru because the Kannada singers were interested to contribute towards the memorial of SPB, said Charan.

“Also, in Chennai, we have a SPB tribute concert almost every week. I participate in most of them. So, a special concert in Chennai will not have the same pull as it would have in Bengaluru,” admitted Charan.

He also assured that the concert will feature popular Kannada songs originally sung by SPB and apart from him, the songs will be performed by celebrated playback singers Rajesh Krishnan and Vijay Prakash.

Later, speaking to PTI on the sidelines of the press meet, Charan said the memorial is going to be constructed entirely out of nearly 12,000 waste tyres.

"Our architect is exploring a technique called unstabilised tyre masonry for the walls. The waste tyres will be packed with soil and then coated with mud plaster to ensure that the insides of the building remain 5-6 degrees cooler than the outside without any active cooling system and will be the right solution to beat the smouldering heat of this region, said Charan.

He also added that the memorial will include a museum, auditorium, amphitheatre, mausoleum, and cafeteria.

“We also will display late singer Mohammad Rafi’s Fiat car there, which was given to him by Rafi’s family. It was my appa’s dream to own it, but it never came through when he was alive,” said Charan. SPB is known for his adoration of 'Rafi saab'.

Kannada musician Arun Kumar, who was also addressing the media on Thursday said there will also be an Acapella interpretation of some of the popular SPB songs.

“Bengaluru is just the beginning. If the format is successful, we will take it to other cities as well,” added Charan.

Tickets are priced at Rs 5,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000 and are available at BookMyShow. PTI JR ROH