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With the UK and Europe already at their feet, South African rockers The Parlotones arrived in Dubai and stood poised to conquer the Middle East.
A challenge accepted and achieved in one night only. Thanks to support from MTV Arabia, the fab foursome from Johannesburg hit the stage at the Irish Village, Dubai, for a one-off performance which didn't disappoint.
A sell-out crowd packed the venue from 7pm onwards and waited in anticipation for the lads to start the proceedings.
The Parlotones appeared at the Dubai music venue as part of a special month-long promotion on MTV's Asian network, which reaches millions of music fans across Asia.
And within moments of the music reaching the ears of the multi-national audience, their appealing brand of indie rock had everyone tapping along.
Selling albums, A World Next Door to Yours and Radiocontrolledrobot, at the venue, Lesley Abbot said she was amazed at how quickly the band got the crowd going.
"I have already run out of their latest album. It's crazy. But I think they are very good and very entertaining on stage too."
The Parlotones have been selected as featured artists on the MTV Asia website, www.mtvasia.com, which receives millions of hits from all over Asia from users as far afield as Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan.
Edgy rock rhythms and softer indie tunes kept a sweaty crowd from calling it a night too soon due to almost unbearable temperatures.
Louder than Bombs, Colourful, Funny Face, Dragonflies & Astronauts and Beautiful are just a few of the original songs pumped out around Garhoud.
Lead singer, Khan Morbee, said the group was pleased to be in Dubai and was impressed with the massive turnout for their first gig in the UAE.
The Parlotones are Morbee on lead vocals and guitar, Neil Pauw on drums, Paul Hodgson on guitar and Glenn Hodgson on bass, piano and backing vocals.
Morbee, started learning to play the guitar at the age of 17, where he began a journey into songwriting that would eventually end up defining The Parlotones sound.
In the summer of 1998, Morbee was introduced to Neil Pauw, a drummer who had attended the same high school. On hearing Morbee's songs, and realising a shared vision for music, the two decided to start a band.
Paul Hodgeson was next to join after he and Morbee were thrown from the library at university after playing in the quiet corner. Finally, Glenn, Paul's younger brother, was recruited and The Parlotones were formed.
The Parlotones played as a four-piece for almost three years until July 2002 when they asked John Boyd to join, adding a subtle synth and sound effect element to the band.
Praise
During 2006, the band received remarkable praise, the most recent of which is signing a worldwide licence deal with the international division of Universal Music.
The deal, which covers the territories of France, Japan, Germany, Holland, Northern Ireland and the UK, was set in motion by their single Beautiful being used in the Fujifilm TV advert for Ireland.
In 2007 they signed with the international artist agency Primary UK. The agency, which has a massive international reach, books for such names as Panic! At the Disco, Allen, The Cure, Fall Out Boy and The Streets.
The Parlotones made a great impression on the crowd in Dubai who cheered for more after an almost two-hour set.
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