Dubai singer plans 24-hour concert for hunger

It isn’t everyday one hears about a musician who is willing to strain his vocal chords in a 24-hour charity concert, signing on as its only act.

But you certainly sit up and take notice in a jaw-dropping kind of way when in the same breath he announces that the non-stop concert will be conducted while he is on a hunger strike.

This is Glenn Perry for you. Call him a musician, a songwriter, an entrepreneur, a philanthropist or simply someone who cares too much about the world that we live in, yet to the Dubai-based singer these are mere words that don’t hold mettle to the acts of kindness a human being is capable of in his or her lifetime.

Perry himself is the brainchild behind the idea of this dangerous concert, which is bound to take a toll on his health, especially considering the singer has yet to fully recover from the accident in Haiti that had him pinned under the debris of a collapsed building during an aftershock to the devastating earthquake that very nearly destroyed the nation earlier this year.

His one hand his been paralysed for nearly six months and his bruises have yet to fade, but for the 43-year-old, who shuttles between New York and Dubai juggling his music career, the show must go on.
 
Keep the faith

“The concert will kick off at Stargate, Zabeel Park from 10am and I do plan to continue singing for the next 24-hours without a morsel of food or a sip of water passing my lips,” Perry told Emirates 24|7.

If anything, Perry’s soft-spoken words are laced with grit and determination; almost making you root for the singer in his crazy escapade.

“Of course, I realise that it is by no means an easy task, and so I do plan to take short 15-minute breaks every four hours to catch my breath,” comes the almost cheeky response. “And I still have to decide my playlist for the day, which would feature nearly 300 to 350 tracks.”

The Portuguese national has also declined to undergo a medical check prior to his 24-hour singing marathon, not even allowing his brother Giles Perry to keep a doctor or nurse on call at the event should an emergency arise at any point.

“I don’t like doctors,” came the simple response from Perry. “And even if they say otherwise, I will still perform and complete the concert, because when I set my mind to finish something, I always do.

“I know, in a few hours the body may give away, but the mind carries on. And my mind is strong.” 
 
Heal the world

The concert will coincide with World Hunger Day that falls on October 16, which Perry hopes will raise awareness amongst developed nations, advanced societies and everyday people that food is not a guaranteed necessity to millions around the globe.

“I returned from Africa last month truly heartbroken by the hunger and poverty that formed the everyday existence for the thousands that live in such impoverished circumstances,” he said. “Children, who sometimes went without food and water for two to three days at a stretch, would find appeal in mudcakes to satiate their hunger.

“You know what mudcakes are?” he asked. “Dried mud shaped into flat pancakes and consumed just so there was something that took the edge off their hunger.”

Perry wants to bring this plight into to limelight, urging people to think twice before throwing food away; and to come forth and contribute any way they can.

The singer, who thanked Stargate for supporting him in this mission, stated: “There will be a collection box at the concert itself, but the following day, I will also be at Dubai Music School collecting tinned food, old clothes and other emergency medical kits for these children in Africa.”

Perry, who’s been doing his charity work for nearly as long as he and his brother Giles have been running Dubai Music School for honing local talent, says that until his dying breath he will continue in his fight to heal the world in any which way he can.

“I will do this till my dying breath,” said the singer, adding: “If God is with me, nothing can stop me.”

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