Irish singer Chris de Burgh could become the first Western artist to perform in Iran since 1979 Islamic Revolution if reports of a 2008 concert are true.

De Burgh will be performing with an Iranian pop band, Arian, according to the band's manager Mohsen Rajabpour in an interview with Iran's Fars News Agency.

Chris de Burgh, seen here at the Live 8 Berlin concert in 2005, could become the first Western singer to perform in Iran since 1979. An Iranian band manager says de Burgh will be holding a concert in Tehran in 2008.
(Jan Bauer/Associated Press)

"The artist will come to Iran for a concert in the months of Tir and Mordad [from June to late August] to perform along with Arian in the open air," Rajabpour is quoted as saying in the report.

Rajabpour said the concert is expected to take place in a 12,000-seat stadium in Tehran and de Burgh is slated to visit the country in early 2008 to finalize those plans.

Calls to de Burgh's management company have yielded no responses. However, the singer's website confirmed he had recently completed recording with Arian on a song entitled The Words I Love You in English and Persian for their new album.

"This is an exciting project as it is the first collaboration between Western and Iranian artists," the website said.

De Burgh, whose hits include Don't Pay The Ferryman and Lady in Red, is popular in Iran and the message board on his website contains many entries from Iranian fans.

Critical of Western influences

According to Rajabpour, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance supports an appearance by de Burgh, a rare mark of approval.

Iranian officials have been highly critical of Western influences, believing them to be decadent and detrimental to Islamic values.

Pop songs are routinely banned by authorities and lyrics and tunes are often vetted before they can be sold in Iran. Many pirate versions of Western songs or albums are sold on the black market.

News of the Iranian event comes after another singer, Enrique Iglesias, made history in the Middle East by performing in Syria in July. He became the first Western singer to perform there in three decades.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly published in the fall, Iglesias said the experience was top-notch.

"It was one of the best crowds I ever played for. They went absolutely nuts. There were all types of people, whether it was Christians, Muslims, or Jewish people."

Iglesias admitted he had no idea that it had taken 30 years for a Western artist to perform there.

"They just invited us, the promoter there. There's this guy that's trying to promote the arts there. He didn't tell us there hadn't been a concert there in 30 years. He probably didn't want to scare us."