Legendary folk musician Paul Simon – best known as half of Simon and Garfunkel – will be heading out on tour next year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his first solo album, Graceland, reports the BBC.
With over 14 million copies sold since it was first released in 1986, Graceland is Simon’s most successful solo album to date, and includes many of his most famous singles, including You Can Call Me Al, Boy in the Bubble, and Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes. The LP – named album of the year at the ’87 Grammys – also features a number of guest musicians, several of whom will join Simon on his upcoming anniversary tour.
The tour will coincide with the release of a special collector’s box set of Graceland, which will include not only the original album, but also a documentary he recorded during the making of the LP. Simon recorded with several South African artists – such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo – during a time when much of the world was engaged in a cultural boycott of the country, protesting the ongoing apartheid.
"The documentary took me back to the artistic aspects and the political aspects of making ‘Graceland’ and the controversy that surrounded it and how it was resolved, plus what remains of it and what we learn from it," explained Simon.