JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s “Paul McCartney” took to the stage in Jeddah late Monday for a rare concert in a kingdom seeking to boost entertainment despite religious warnings of “depravity.”The performance by Mohammed Abdu, a mustachioed singer popular throughout the Arab world, was the first major concert in seven years in Jeddah, the kingdom’s second city, according to Arab News. He was backed by an Egyptian orchestra and performed alongside another Saudi artist, Rabeh Sager, and Iraqi-Saudi singer Majid al-Muhandis. It would have been the first live concert held in the capital in 24 years, local media said. Saudi Arabia’s highest-ranking cleric warned in early January of the “depravity” of cinemas and music concerts, saying they would corrupt morals. Eman al-Nafjan, a veteran blogger on Saudi society, culture and women’s issues, in 2008 compared Abdu to the legendary British musician and former Beatles member Paul McCartney.

Source: The Star January 31, 2017 08:48 UTC