Wonder to embark on European tour

Motown legend Stevie Wonder is to perform a series of concerts in Europe for the first time in a decade.

The Grammy Award-winning musician will begin his tour in the UK on 8 September in Birmingham, followed by dates in Manchester and at London's O2 arena.

Wonder will perform in seven other countries, culminating in a concert in Paris on 28 September.

"We are going to have some intimate nights of wonderful excitement," said the 58-year-old.

Tickets for the concerts will go on sale from 0900 BST on 13 June.

I want to thank everyone for the contribution you've made over my life Stevie Wonder

Wonder announced the tour at a London press conference where he performed eight songs including Superstition, Happy Birthday and Master Blaster.

He told the press conference that he began planning a return to the stage last year after his mother - who died in 2006 - came to him in a dream.

"I want to thank everyone for the contribution you've made over my life," he said.

"Had it not been for you I would never have had the chance to get the support for my music. And I would never have been able to allow my mother to have a far better life than she would have had."

Oscar win

Asked who he thought would win the US presidential election, he said: "The spirit I see in Barack Obama is a combination of John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jnr so I think that with those two spirits - and the one he has himself - he just can't lose."

If we can work it out time wise I'd love to do it Stevie Wonder on Mandela concert

Wonder denied rumours that he had been confirmed to perform at the concert marking Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday in London's Hyde Park on 27 June.

But the singer, who will be performing dates in the US on 26 and 28 June, told BBC News: "If we can work it out time-wise I'd love to do it.

"It's always great to perform and celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela."

Wonder has sold over 70 million albums since he was signed by Motown Records at the age of 11.

His best known hits include I Just Called To Say I Love You - which won him an Oscar in 1985 - and 1973's Superstition.

He was honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the Grammys in 1996 and inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two years later.

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