Annonce

ESO Anniversary Greetings

Top musicians send congratulations to ESO on its 50th anniversary

16 novembre 2012

This year, ESO is celebrating its 50th anniversary. To mark this occasion the organisation has produced several books and multimedia releases and hosted public events and workshops, culminating in a webcast and a celebratory gala event in October.

Included in the celebrations is this video, a compilation of personal messages recorded by a whole host of musicians and notable names in the music industry, many of whom have visited Paranal and have a personal interest in ESO’s work. The video is like a Who’s Who of pop and rock in the 1970s and 80s, featuring Andy Bell (Erasure), Kim Wilde, record producer Ricky Wilde, Martyn Ware (Human League/Heaven 17), Glenn Gregory (Heaven 17), Paul Young, Carl Verheyen (Supertramp), and renowned record producer Alan Parsons (The Alan Parsons Project/Pink Floyd/The Beatles).

The greetings also include a message from successful German recording artists Lichtmond, a band with a studio not far from ESO’s Headquarters in Garching, Germany. The band has recently released a multimedia album entitled Lichtmond 2: Universe of Light, on which they collaborated with Alan Parsons, who is also featured in the video above (click here for more information on Lichtmond 2).

Several of these famous faces credit ESO’s observing sites as an inspiration; those who have visited ESO’s site at Paranal, Chile, have fond memories of their trip, with Martyn Ware professing it to be “one of the greatest experiences of my life”, and Alan Parsons mentioning his eagerness to return with his family. Those who had not visited, including Kim Wilde, express their desire to travel to the site and “gaze up at the stars” — as summarised by Paul Young, visiting Paranal is an opportunity not to be missed.