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Karpenters: Leeds tribute act are big stars in China
They have spent eight years perfecting their tribute act in their home city of Leeds.
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But it has taken just one gig to make the Karpenters hot property with the Chinese public.
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Such is the clamour in the Far East for tickets to see Laurie Briggs perform as her alter-ego Karen Carpenter, the Pudsey-born singer is now out-selling Whitney Houston.
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Laurie, along with Jason Scott, aka Richard Carpenter, and the six other members of the act will sell out massive venues in the country's major cities.
They fly out in April for a ten-date televised tour which takes them to Beijing and Shanghai.
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Their big break comes after they played at the Hong Kong Convention Centre in November to a capacity 5,500 audience – a feat US soul diva Whitney Houston could not get near.
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Laurie told the YEP: "We were told that Whitney struggled to sell half as many tickets when she performed at the same venue.
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"As a band we are thrilled we are now being recognised Internationally."
The Karpenters are regulars on the British theatre circuit.
But nothing can prepare them for the mega-concerts and adulation they are expecting in the Far East.
Laurie said: "It was a completely different world when we played in Hong Kong. I was so nervous I thought I was having a baby!
"The crowd was so huge and the TV cameras were rolling but I just had to tell myself it was just another performance
"The audiences over there are known for being reserved but the appreciation they showed was unbelievable.
"Kylie Minogue had also stood on the same stage a few weeks earlier. It just goes to show how much the people over there love the Carpenters that a tribute act can attract so much attention."
The Carpenters have long been revered by people of all ages in China and the Far East.
Unlike a lot of western pop music, their songs are easily accessible by the public as the Communist government has not judged the US siblings' style of soft rock as a threat.
Karen and Richard Carpenter also made several tours of Japan during the mid-1970s.
Laurie added: "There has been some talk of us also going on a tour of Japan which would be great as we know they are very popular there too."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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