NEW YORK, NY (Top40 Charts/ Tucson Cowgirl Communications/ Atlanticv Records) - One of the biggest names in rock, Foreigner founder Mick Jones, joined London Mayor
Boris Johnson and others to celebrate Ravensbourne College's move to its new high-tech home alongside the world-renowned O2 entertainment complex in South-East London's Greenwich Peninsula.
"It's a most extraordinary, technically-advanced center of collaborative music," says Jones, an advocate for education who was spotted on November 5 touring the prestigious conservatory's sleek new facilities with music leaders Mica Ertegun, Harvey Goldsmith and Phil Carson.
Ravensbourne's state-of-the-art music and sound recording facilities were financed through the support of the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund, established by the late Ahmet Ertegun, founder of Atlantic Records and chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Several years ago Jones and his band Foreigner closed the first half of a legendary show headlined by Led Zeppelin and held at the O2 arena to raise money for the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund. Scholarships for Ravensbourne's new Music Production for Media degree program, intended to create opportunities for the next generation of digital music entrepreneurs, also were financed by the Fund.
In addition to touring the Ravensbourne building, Jones, Goldsmith, Ertegun and Carson were in town to attend the opening of the Ahmet Ertegun Room at the British Music Experience (BME), a permanent interactive music exhibition within the O2 district.
"The Ravensbourne building and the Ahmet Ertegun Room are symbols of what's going on in 21st century music collaboration, creativity and production," says multi-platinum rocker Jones, whose phenomenal success sets the rock scene on fire with songs including Hot Blooded and Feels Like the First Time. "The programs are seeding opportunities for a new culture of creative music industry collaboration."
For more information about Ravensbourne's contemporary new space built to the highest technology and environmental standards, visit: www.rave.ac.uk. To learn about the Ahmet Ertegun Education Fund, visit: www.atlanticrecords.com/vintage.
Foreigner is one of the most successful musical acts of all time, breaking out killer new hits today as powerful as its enduring rock classics. The band includes founder-lead guitarist Jones and lead vocalist Kelly Hansen, multi-instrumentalist Tom Gimbel, bass guitarist Jeff Pilson, Michael Bluestein on keyboards, and drummer Jason Sutter. The band's ninth album "Can't Slow Down" debuted at No 29 on the Billboard 200 on its September 2009 release. More on Foreigner at: www.foreigneronline.com.
