WINGS and its lead singer Datuk Ahmad Azhar Othman a.k.a. Datuk Awie have never set foot in Penang Island a.k.a. the Pearl Of The Orient for at least two decades.
This is about to change soon as Awie, drummer Black, guitarists Edrie Hashim and Sham and bassist Eddie will "rock" Bayan Lepas' SPICE Arena at 9pm on Feb 24.
Their three-hour rock extravaganza is Konsert Wings The Rock Emperor - Penang Chapter, which is the third chapter of their Rock Emperor concert series which began in Singapore and Shah Alam last year.
"It's been a long, long time that I've been away from Penang Island, certainly more than 20 years.
"A shame really, because we've got lots of fans from George Town and Bayan Lepas," said Awie when met in KL recently.
HOLIDAY TREAT
"So when our fan club, Sayap-Sayap Wings suggested last year that we perform in Penang Island, I was delighted and immediately said yes to them."
Awie admitted that it was always a "holiday treat" to visit Penang, as it combined the best of Kuala Lumpur's cosmopolitan image and Melaka's rich, historical heritage.
"Besides, it has the best food in the country. Bangsa Malaysia food," he said, adding that many of his favourite artistes were from Penang such as Alif Satar, Maya Karin, Sharnaaz Ahmad and Fauziah Ahmad Daud.
BANDAR PERDA
Even though Wings is marking its "grand comeback" to the island, the four-decade-old rock band did perform in Mainland Penang or Seberang Prai over the last few years, specifically in Bukit Mertajam and Butterworth.
"We greatly enjoyed our 2022 show in Bandar Perda, Bukit Mertajam. The crowd was good, but since they also spoke Loghat Utara and are part of the mainland, we thought we were in Kedah!"
Penang Chapter will see Wings perform 20 songs, and they will don stylised Viking costumes.
"Not that we are fans of Thor, but we will strut the stage like Chris Hemsworth's best known silver screen character, with guitars and microphones in hand instead of hammers!"
IRON BARS
Awie also said that the stage would be shaped like a T, with spacious walkways for the band members to get close to the crowd.
"It will have a prison-like fence around it, as part of the Viking theme. We Vikings are 'dangerous' fighters and iron bars keep the crowd safe from us!"
GIVING BACK
Awie added that the Rock Emperor series was specially to "give back to fans" and they would be giving away special Wings memorabilia for their guests.
"There will be lots of old and new merchandise which is seldom found these days. And our fans can get hold of them in a special competition Tonton, Gores Dan Menang as part of our promotion," said Awie.
"For every ticket purchased, fans can scratch and win a prize. There are 700 items up for grabs, worth RM95 to RM300."
UNIFYING GENRE
The Penang Chapter is not going to be the last concert in Wings' Rock Emperor series, for the band might later visit Ipoh, Johor Baru, Kuching or Kota Kinabalu.
"We want to bring our rock magic to as many major Malaysian cities as possible. Rock is loved by Malaysians in every state, and is a very unifying genre," said Awie.
DIFFERENT SURPRISE
When asked about the band's repertoire, Awie said that it would "not be similar" to those of their earlier Singapore and Shah Alam concerts.
"We believe in surprises. There's a different surprise in every different destination," said Awie.
BIOPIC
On another note, Awie and Wings plan to come up with a film about their journey to stardom.
"This popped up in my mind last year, and after discussing it with my bandmates we unanimously agreed to make it happen," he said.
"It's a bit like Mamat Khalid's Rock series."
For more details on Wings' upcoming concert, visit https://wings.ubertickets.asia.