Chris de Burgh to visit Iran to decide on concerts

TEHRAN (Reuters Life!) - Singer Chris de Burgh, who has a loyal following in Iran, said on Tuesday he will visit the Islamic Republic in May to decide on staging concerts there.

The manager of Iranian band Arian, which has collaborated with de Burgh, said last year the concerts would be the first time since the 1979 revolution that an Iranian pop band had performed with a Western singer in the Islamic Republic.

Manager Mohsen Rajabpour said in his comments in December the concerts were planned for June or July at a Tehran stadium complex and that Iran's authorities had given their approval.

"I have been invited to go. Again, I know there are people who do not agree with this but I must tell those people ... we are not -- my friends and I -- politically naive," de Burgh told English-language satellite channel Al-Jazeera.

"We know the situation there. We know both sides of it. We are not going there to change the world, the culture. I am going to sing for people not leaders," he told he Doha-based channel.

Iran is locked in a dispute with the West over its nuclear ambitions, which Western nations fear are aimed at building bombs. Tehran insists its intentions are entirely peaceful.

"Just to show people that we are serious about this, we are going to make a trip at the end of May, for a few days, just to see what the situation is and then make a call on whether we can do the shows there or not," de Burgh said.

De Burgh, born of British parents and brought up in Ireland, is popular in Iran and his Web site message board (www.cdeb.com) has had several entries from Iranian fans.

Western pop songs with lyrics are banned by Iran's authorities although state radio sometimes plays instrumental versions. Iranian pop bands say their lyrics and tunes are vetted before they can be officially sold in Iran.

Pirate versions of the latest Western albums or songs by underground Iranian groups are available on the black market.

Iranian pop groups say plans to hold concerts have to go through a tortuous process to obtain permission. Lyrics are studied to ensure they do not contradict Islamic values and even the music style, such as the use of guitar feedback, prompt disapproval for having too much Western influence, they say.

(Writing by Edmund Blair, editing by Paul Casciato)