Daniel to surf US on flotation wave

The singer, Mr Daniel O'Donnell is to embark on a major US promotional tour in 1999, financed by the flotation on New York's NASDAQ stock exchange of his record label, Ritz Music Group. Mr Mick Clerkin, the chairman and main shareholder of Ritz which has acquired the Londonbased Grapevine label company for almost £3 million in a shares and cash deal, said he would seek $5 million (£3.4 million) of American investment to finance a major incursion into the US record market by Mr O'Donnell.

"In order to sell any new product in a new territory, particularly MOR [middle-of-the-road] products, you have to tour. People have to see what you are about," he said.

Ritz is quoted on the unofficial Ofex exchange in London, where more than 5 per cent of its stock is on the market. Mr Clerkin said he would not be seeking a Dublin listing because Irish investors tended to stick with the main market stocks.

But Ritz would seek a full flotation on the London stock exchange when the company expanded sufficiently. "I would aim to do that eventually, but that would be a year or two down the road," he said. Mr O'Donnell, who was "discovered" by Mr Clerkin in 1985, currently conducts an annual month-long American tour, concentrating on the east coast, and is also committed to doing Australian and New Zealand tours next year.

"1999 is the year we are aiming to do the real push. It is not the easiest market in the world because it is a big, big country. But you can approach the east coast and develop that end," Mr Clerkin said.

He added that the company already had a US interest, with a joint-recording venture based in Nashville, Tennessee, which has already launched Mr O'Donnell. Mr O'Donnell's latest album, I Believe, which goes on sale today, features songs from Abba, Boney M and Andrew Lloyd Webber, with backing by gospel singers. All of his recent albums have gone platinum (sales in excess of 300,000), and in any given year sales of his albums in Britain and Ireland generate revenue of more than £5 million. In November he will perform in London's Albert Hall. Mr Clerkin said he would concentrate on the NASDAQ listing on completion of the Grapevine deal which brings with it the British rights of contemporary artists such as Mr Christy Moore, Ms Mary Black and Ms Sinead Lohan.

"I think America is the easiest country in the world to get investment. The guy who sweeps the streets in America invests in stock," he said. Mr O'Donnell has sold 3.5 million albums over the past 10 years, and no venue in Britain is too big for him, says Mr Clerkin. The singer's audience is now wider than his core Irish following. "There is a big British audience following," he said. He said he discovered MrO'Donnell in 1985 after seeing him perform live at the London Irish Festival. "The overall turnout on the day was about 50,000 people. He went on stage with a mediocre band, and yet created a hell of a buzz in the place and a hell of an impression with people. I was sold on his stage presence," he said.

He added that Mr O'Donnell knew he was there to see him: "He said, `Well Mick, if you do not like what you see today, I think I will go back to teaching'."

"Afterwards I said `come and see me on Tuesday and we will have a decision'."

The acquisition of the Grapevine company, with its label and distribution divisions, will double Ritz Music Group's size to give it an annual turnover of about £12 million.

Ritz will also be acquiring its sister Irish company, Ritz Productions, from Mr Clerkin in a £1 million deal.