Bryan Adams: ‘I don’t care if I’m not remembered’

SINGAPORE — The first time Canadian rocker Bryan Adams performed in Singapore — in 1993 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium — he exhorted the crowd to enjoy the moment “because you never know how long you can do this”.

Now, more than 20 years later, Adams says that philosophy is what keeps him going on. “I think about it often, and you never know how long you have, so enjoy every minute. Enjoy the ride, as this is it,” he told TODAY in an interview. “I love the ride.”

That ride makes a return stop in Singapore on Friday (Jan 20), when Adams will perform at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre in support of Get Up, his latest album that some critics have said recalled his earlier material.

But Adams said there wasn’t any intention to make it sound like that.

“It is just the best songs written at the time. I wanted an album that could rock and be great to play live, which is exactly what we achieved,” he said. “It’s just my style, plus I’m working with Jim Vallance again, whom I wrote with back in the early days.”

And Adams is unperturbed about those who only know him as “the guy who sang Summer Of ‘69” or the singer of ballads such as Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman or (Everything I Do) I Do If For You. In fact, that would be all the more reason to go catch this gig.

“Come and see the show and discover the rest of the songs,” he said. “(There will be) a lot more than the first time we played and it’s going to be a way better show.”

That said, being a rocker is just one of several hats that Adams wears these days. He has made a name for himself in the field of photography, having published several photo books.

These include Exposed, a retrospective of photographs featuring portraits of friends and colleagues in the entertainment industry; and the much-lauded Wounded: The Legacy Of War pubslished three years ago, featuring portraits of young soldiers who were wounded while stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan or during training.

“I particulary enjoyed doing Wounded. It took about five years to shoot — but it was worth it,” he said, adding that while photography offered him another avenue for his creativity, he hasn’t thought about changing his career any time soon.

“I don’t really think about it. I just get on with it,” he quipped.

He has also set up The Bryan Adams Foundation, which aims to “improve the quality of people’s lives around the world by providing financial grants to support specific projects that are committed to bettering the lives of other people”.

According to Adams, if there was one thing he’d like to cure through his foundation, it would be malnutrition. “I believe that is the root of too many diseases and cancers that exist. Most people simply don’t eat right,” he said.

“I think we all need to try leaving the world in a better place than when we arrived,” he added. “So, I hope that I will achieve that on some level. I don’t care if I’m not remembered, I could care less!”

Bryan Adams performs on Jan 20 at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre at 8pm.