Pavarotti’s rare duets with Sting, Bono and James Brown are set to be released for the first time.
Decca Records are releasing six live performances by the late great Italian operatic tenor – whose full name was Luciano Pavarotti – with some of world’s biggest rock and soul stars.
The special release is to accompany Ron Howard’s film about the star – who died in 2007 of pancreatic cancer at the age of 71 – which features never-before-seen footage, concert performances and intimate interviews.
The songs are from the ‘Pavarotti And Friends’ charity concerts, which took place in Modena, Italy – the ‘Nessun Dorma’ hitmaker’s hometown – between 1992 and 2003 to benefit War Child and more.
It was there Pavarotti teamed up with U2 frontman Bono for a performance of Schubert’s ‘Ave Maria’.
Late soul legend Brown’s rendition of ‘It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World’ with the tenor and ‘When We Dance’ with former Police star Sting have also been made available.
The latest additions come after the release of ‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’ with Queen’s Brian May and Roger Taylor, ‘You’re The First, My Last, My Everything’ with Barry White and ‘Perfect Day’ with Lou Reed.
Plus there is a rarity in the form of ‘Miserere’, which Pavarotti co-wrote with Italian rocker Zucchero and Bono, which was a duet with Pavarotti and his peer, Andrea Bocelli.
Rebecca Allen, president of Decca Records, said: "These duets are a wonderful reminder of Pavarotti’s humanitarian side.
"He used his fame and art to help benefit people, and was able to bring the most brilliant and like-minded singers together for a good cause.
"This is a central theme to the powerful Ron Howard film, and perhaps one that is forgotten – as his voice was so big and his operatic performances legendary – so it is fitting to share these hidden gems with the world at last."
The Bono and Bocelli tracks will feature on the documentary’s soundtrack ‘Music From The Motion Picture: Pavarotti’.
The rest off the duets will be available on ‘Pavarotti: The Greatest Hits’, comprised of three discs.
Pavarotti’s rare duets with Bono, Sting and more released
