Madonna's agent signs Arno
2008-03-27 09:33
Johannesburg - Arno Carstens will be leaving for London soon to continue his career abroad.
Carstens recently signed a contract with John Giddings, the agent of artists such as the Rolling Stones, Madonna and U2.
"The opportunity presented itself when we met John.
"He said he could introduce Arno to award-winning song writers, so it's not like we planned it," Melanie Carstens, his wife and manager, said on Wednesday.
Arno Carstens achieved fame with the rock band the Springbok Nude Girls before releasing two solo albums.
He considered the move to London a "holiday".
Summer concerts
"I never had a gap year after school - I went to the army. So I'm very excited," he said.
The couple are leaving at the end of April to be able to take part in the series of summer concerts in Britain.
"Arno will work on his third solo album in London and we'll be here again at the end of the year to release his new songs," Melanie said.
Their three dogs were recently the subject of great discussion on websites after the couple had decided not to take the dogs with them to the UK.
According to Melanie they had become panicky when they had heard they had to move.
"Our dogs are used to running around in open spaces and in Britain we won't have space for them.
Dogs move to Cape Town
"We'll be touring the whole time too, so no one will be able to look after them," Melanie said.
"We're sending the dogs to our house in Cape Town where a family member will look after them."
This house will also be the couple's South African base.
"The nature of Arno's agreement is that he will tour a lot, but whatever happens in his career, we'll always return here."
Arno, who would miss the beauty of Africa, his friends and family and "braaivleis" the most, affirmed his commitment to his country: "South Africa is where I pay my bills."