Bryan Adams is probably Canada's best known artist ever. He was signed to A&M Records for just 1 Dollar! Who could ever have thought that this young guy ended up with a number 1 hit "Everything I Do, I Do It For You" for 16 weeks in the UK charts. He sold more than 65 million albums worldwide, played with Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney and more. We from Toazted had the chance to speak to him when he came over to Holland for a secret show.

Toazted: You are of course a well known contributor to several charity causes. You contributed to the latest PETA (people for the ethical treatment of animals) campaign, why? How did it come about?

BA: I shot a photo of the cover of Dan Matthew's book, he then asked me to shoot a photo of Sadie Frost.

Toazted: You went to Pakistan for charity, to raise money to rebuild schools after the big quake. How was it? You've travelled all your live, so you're used to something. Considering the problems in the region it must have been something else. What did it do to you?

BA: It was amazing and we did some great things there. Played with a local Pakistani musician/singer and then met with the president and prime minister, who equalled the amount we raised to help with the education and rebuilding of the schools for the children.

Toazted: Stern magazine recently published a magazine dedicated to your photography. It will be published in a limited edition of 10.000 copies, so not everyone will be able get a copy. Will you publish a selection of your pictures yourself?

BA: I don't know. At the moment it's just what it is.

Toazted: The picture of Pink (the front cover) is really beautiful. How did you get in touch, and how did the picture come about?

BA: I was shooting her for another magazine and this was an outtake from the day.

Toazted: You'll have an exhibition in Köln (Germany) this month (at Photokina), "Mickey Rourke by Bryan Adams", how did it come about? Until when can we see it?

BA: I co-publish a magazine called Zoo and it was a story i did for it with Mickey. It has already been out last year.

Toazted: You publish (photography) magazine "Zoo" in Berlin. Why over there? Do you have a special relationship with Germany? Did you ever go there before you played "the wall"?

BA: It was an idea to do something that didn't exist there, a sort of niche magazine. I have played in Germany since 1983 and visited it many times before that as a child.

Toazted: There's loads of pictures of upcoming artists in Zoo magazine. Are there any new bands you're particularly fond of? (that you could recommend?).

BA: I like little bits of lots of bands, there isn't one band that is rocking my world better than Led Zeppelin or AC/DC.

Toazted: Your photo of queen Elisabeth features on a stamp in Canada. What a great shot (especially considering the fact you had 5 minutes!), and what a remarkable task. Did you ponder about it, or did you grab the opportunity straight away?

BA: It was one of the last set ups I had in the short time available. We were discussing something and she smiled.

Toazted: You released the brilliant "Anthology" last year, when is your next release?

BA: I'm working on an album for next year, hopefully spring time.

Toazted: You collaborated with Eliot Kennedy on a song for the upcoming movie called BOBBY. The song titled "never gonna break my faith" is gospel styled and rumour has it Aretha Franklin may be recording the song. Did she?

BA: Yes and it's now a duet with Mary J. Blige and Aretha Franklin.

Toazted: You probably played every stage on this planet, but could you ever imagine playing the Rome Colosseum? How was it?

BA: It wasn't the Colosseum, it was on the road outside. The Colosseum was the backdrop, nevertheless, a stunning place to play and really good penne pasta.

Toazted: Your latest live dvd is a blast (live in Lisbon). It's very pure, in every sense, the music comes first. You don't like a big glamorous stage rock-show production?

BA: Well, that's my style...Haha.

Toazted: Do you still play small clubs, just for fun every once in a while?

BA: Not often, it's quite a lot of work to put on a club show, but in saying that I would like to do it again next year.

BA: You're a photographer, you acted in movies, you made music for movies, when will you direct one?

BA: Never! Too much work!!

Toazted: You'll be touring eastern Europe in November, will you come back to play Holland?

BA: As soon as we can. Probably after the new album. See you then!

December 2006.