Rita Gilligan with Paul McCartney.Rita Gilligan with Paul McCartney.

This month, Hard Rock Café Malta is celebrating its 13th anniversary. To mark the occasion, there is a special programme that opens with a visit to Malta from the popular global franchise’s cultural attaché Rita Gilligan.

Having worked at the original Hard Rock Café in London ever since it first opened its doors on June 14, 1971, her only break from her job was to give birth to her daughter Tara. Her long-standing tenure has seen Gilligan serve most of the music world’s biggest stars.

Throughout the years, she’s served them all – from The Beatles to The Rolling Stones, from Take That to Girls Aloud – and she’s also had a few surprises of her own, among them dancing with Ronnie Wood, being serenaded by Noel Gallagher and kissed by George Michael. She’s even had her name in lights at Piccadilly Circus, London, and brought the traffic on New York’s Broadway to a standstill. This afternoon, however, she’ll be down at Hard Rock Café in Bay Street to meet, greet, chat and take some pictures with the customers.

The anniversary celebrations will continue on Saturday night with a special edition of Xirka Rock, once again at Hard Rock Café in Bay Street.

The line-up is, as one might expect, full of the biggest names on the local rock scene, among them Ivan Grech, Errol Sammut, Gianni Zammit, Claudia Faniello, Frank Calleja and Chris Grech, all geared up to deliver an all-time classics live set.

Tickets for the concert are out now for €5, including two bottles of Budweiser. For more information, call on 2372 2253/7.

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