2010
He became an honorary citizen of Viareggio in appreciation for having organised the concert for victims of the disaster of 29 June 2009. He was there to see the first procession of floats in the Viareggio Carnival which also included a float dedicated to Zucchero
He was a guest at the Nomadincontro 2010 event in which he received the Tributo ad Augusto award. For the first time in its history the money prize which accompanies the award was donated by Zucchero to Rosanna Fantuzzi, Augusto’s partner and president of the Augusto Per La Vita Association. After the award ceremony he performed with the Nomadi singing: “Un Pugno Di Sabbia”, “Noi Non Ci Saremo” and “Before You Accuse Me”
Invited by Andrea Bocelli, he performed at the Teatro del Silenzio di Lajatico singing: “Diamante”, “Nel Così Blu” and finally, “Miserere” in a duet with Bocelli.
He took part in the Rhythms Del Mundo “Revival” project with an Afro-Cuban version of the track “Baila”
Bono greeted Zucchero during U2’s concert in Rome, declaring to the audience that “Zucchero is in house, I love you!”
I Nomadi released the “Raccontiraccolti” CD which includes the track “Hey Man” sung by the historic band in a duet with Zucchero
Zucchero’s new album “Chocabeck” was released in two versions: Italian and European. It was produced by Don Was, Brendan O’Brien and Zucchero and features the following musicians: Zucchero, Max Marcolini, Aaron Sterling, Mark Goldenberg, Greg Leisz, Jon Hopkins, Davide Rossi, Bob Carr, John Yoakum, Blaks Mills, Brendan O’Brien, Paul Bushnell, Josh Freese, Patrick Warren, Brian Wilson, Jeffrey Foskett, Don Was, Tom Peterson, Ira Nepus and Stephanie O’Keefe. The tracks were written by: Zucchero, Guccini, Panella, Cavallo, Marcolini, Cancogni, Pacifico and Orzabal. The European version of the disc includes a track written by Bono while in the English and American version some of the lyrics were written by Iggy Pop.
2011
Giorgio Verdelli and Graziano Uliani’s documentary “Le Strade Dell’Anima” was presented with Zucchero’s voice as narrator. The documentary was filmed in Memphis and features musical legends such as Solomon Burke, Isaac Hayes, Percy Sledge and Michael McDonald
Guest of Johnny Hallyday’s “Le Show Johnny” show in which he sang Blue Suede Shoes with the French rocker
Guest of the French programme, Chabada, he sang “Diavolo In Me” with Yannich Noah
The Chocabeck World Tour kicked off from Zurich. The band accompanying him was as follows: Polo Jones (bass), David Sancious (keyboards and guitar), Kat Dyson (guitar and backing vocals), Mario Schilirò (guitar), Adriano Molinari (drums), James Thompson (sax), Beppe Caruso (trombone), Massimo Greco (trumpet), Luca Campioni (violin), Simone Rossetti Bazzaro (viola), Enrico Guerzoni (cello)
The English version of “Chocabeck” was released by Decca with the title “ZUCCHERO WHO?”
After the dates in the most important European cities, the tour arrived in Italy for five sold-out concerts at the Arena di Verona
The Chocabeck World Tour took in the major European festivals before arriving at the Italian stadiums. Guests at the Rome concert: Fiorella Mannoia, Claudio Baglioni and Pino Daniele
The American version of “CHOCABECK” was released by Decca
After a brief pause the Chocabeck World Tour restarted from Warsaw. An area dedicated to Zucchero in the Polish capital’s Hard Rock Cafè was inaugurated to coincide with the concert. The band accompanying Zucchero was as follows: Polo Jones (bass), Nicola Peruch (keyboards), Kat Dyson (guitar and backing vocals), Mario Schilirò (guitar), Adriano Molinari (drums), James Thompson (sax), Beppe Caruso (trombone), Massimo Greco (trumpet), Luca Campioni (violin), Simone Rossetti Bazzaro (viola), Enrico Guerzoni (cello)
Zucchero celebrated his birthday at the Arena di Verona with two sold-out concerts
The United States tour got under way, in which the band was downsized with the exclusion of the brass section. During this tour Zucchero performed as the first and only Italian artist at the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland
The single sung with Patrick Fiori, “L’Echo Des Dimanches”, the French version of the track, “Il Suono Della Domenica” was released in France
The tour got under way again from Milan, calling at the major Italian indoor stadiums and then moved once more into Europe. The band accompanying Zucchero in this last part of the tour was as follows: Polo Jones (bass), Nicola Peruch (keyboards), Kat Dyson (guitar and backing vocals), Mario Schilirò (guitar), Adriano Molinari (drums), James Thompson (sax), Beppe Caruso (trombone), Massimo Greco (trumpet), Luca Campioni (violin), Simone Rossetti Bazzaro (viola), Enrico Guerzoni (cello)
Zucchero’s first autobiographical novel “IL SUONO DELLA DOMENICA – IL ROMANZO DELLA MIA VITA” was published by Mondadori. To mark the publication Zucchero met his fans in a number of Italian bookshops to present the book and sign autographs
The “CHOCABECK DELUXE EDITION” was released, containing the Italian CD, the English CD, the DVD with the video of all the songs on the album both in Italian and English, a poster and 5 prints. The “CHOCABECK DELUXE CHRISTMAS EDITION” was also published which, besides containing the contents of the deluxe edition, also contained the vinyl version of the album
Patrick Fiori was a guest at the Paris concert in which he sang “L’Echo Des Dimanches” with Zucchero
After having taken the Chocabeck World Tour to Europa, the United States and Canada, Zucchero closed the 2011 tour treating his local fans to three special concerts at the Teatro Valli in Reggio Emilia titled “Il Suono Della Domenica”. After the exclusive pre-sale to members of the fan club the tickets were put on sale and were sold out in less than 24 hours.
During the press conference for “Il Suono Della Domenica” Zucchero received a copy of the Primo Tricolore (the first Italian flag) from the Honourable Member of Parliament Otello Montanari and from the Mayor of Reggio Emilia Graziano Delrio
Eddie Floyd, Irene Fornaciari and the 40-member Howard Gospel Choir were guests for the second “Il Suono Della Domenica” concert. The concert was broadcast live on Rai2.