The Gipsy Kings are that rare thing - a household name famous solely for their music; the most successful French musical outfit ever are big in Brazil and popular (extremely so) in Persia, honoured at The Alamo in Texas and celebrated in China. All this achieved without MTV videos, hype, reality TV appearances, famous girlfriends, bad behaviour... an international audience won over purely by the music and the big, welcoming soulfulness of its creators. That's no ordinary achievement. Understandably, the Gipsy Kings are extraordinary characters: to play guitar and sing is something their fathers, grandfathers and ancestors did. The Gipsy Kings make music as communion, artistry rooted in the past yet focused on the future.

The Gipsy Kings are available July and October 2008