Stevie Wonder back for more

Motown legend Stevie Wonder has added an extra date at Birmingham NIA after the first concert sold out.

He will now be bringing his A Wonder Summer's Night tour to The NIA on Saturday, October 4, as well as the previously sold show on Monday, September 8.

It will be a dream come true for Wonder fans when the singer visits Birmingham on his first British tour in over a decade.

And it was a dream which led to the tour in the first place.

Wonder revealed at a press conference he had decided to return to the stage last year after his mother, who died in 2006, came to him in a dream.

He added: "I want to thank everyone for the contribution you've made over my life.

"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."

The 26-times Grammy Award-winning star will perform at the NIA on September 8.

Stevie Wonder, was born Stevland Hardaway Judkins, later changing his surname to Morris when his mother remarried.

Described by Diana Ross as "Motown's musical genius", he has recorded more than 30 top ten hits and his 26 Grammys are a record for a solo artist.

He has been inducted into both the Rock and Roll and Songwriters halls of fame and won an Oscar for I Just Called to Say I Love You from movie The Woman in Red.

Wonder was born premature and blind on May 13, 1950 in Saginaw, Michigan. His family moved to Detroit, home of Motown Records four years later, and he started learning to play the piano when he was seven.

At the age of 11 he came to the attention of Mowtown founder Berry Gordy and signed to the label at the age of 12.

His album sales total more than 150 million and his many hit singles include You Are The Sunshine Of My Life, For Once In My Life, Master Blaster (Jammin'), I Was Made To Love Her, Sir Duke, Happy Birthday and Isn't She Lovely, inspired by his daughter Aisha Morris.

He collaborated with The Jackson 5 on You Haven't Done Nothin', with Paul McCartney on Ebony and Ivory, and with Dionne Warwick, Elton John and Gladys Knight on That's What Friends Are For, and is cited as a major influence by performers including Kanye West, Beyonce, Mariah Carey and Sting.

Wonder is currently working on a new album, to be called The Gospel Inspired By Lula, which is said to deal with various spiritual and cultural crises facing the world.

* Stevie Wonder plays Birmingham NIA on Monday, September 8 and Saturday October 4. Tickets priced £55 and £65 plus booking and transaction fee are available at www.theticketfactory.com or on 0871 945 6000.