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Burt’s publicity folks have officially announced the dates for his European tour this summer.

July 9th        Antwerp, Belgium        Queen Elizabeth Hall
July 11th       Rotterdam, Holland      North Sea Jazz Festival
July 13th        Oslo, Norway            Venue TBA

July 16th        Perugia, Italy            Arena S. Giuliana
July 18th        Lucca, Italy             Piazza Napoleone
July 20th        Taormina, Sicily        Teatro Greco
July 22nd        Brescia, Italy            Piazza Loggia
July 24th        Rome, Italy               Cavea Auditorium Parco Della Musica

July 26th        Malaga, Spain            Malaga Teatro Cervantes
July 29th        Madrid, Spain            Madrid Conque Duque Theatre

In addition to the European dates, Burt will also perform on March 6, 2010, at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Hall. To see Burt’s complete upcoming concert schedule, visit the On Tour page.

Quite a few people have been asking about a Burt Bacharach page on Facebook. Well, fan Zachary Kappel has answered that call by creating a Facebook group dedicated to Burt Bacharach. If you’re a member of Facebook, join the group to post comments about Burt, discuss his music and share your thoughts with fans from around the world.

Burt Bacharach will be the special celebrity guest on Saturday’s edition of National Public Radio’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me, the NPR news quiz.

Each week, the show invites a celebrity guest to play its “Not My Job” segment, in which host Peter Sagal asks the celebrity questions on a topic far removed from his or her area of expertise.

It’s usually a lot of fun.

Wait Wait airs at various times on the many NPR affiliates, so check your local listings for the time in your area, but if you happen to miss it this week, you can catch Burt’s segment via Wait Wait’s website or its podcast.

Superfan Vincent Cole sent in these photos of Burt and his band before and after their show in Utica, N.Y., on Oct. 5, 2008. Vincent’s review of the show is posted on the Bacharach discussion board. Thanks, Vincent!

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Burt Bacharach will debut his new CD—his first live CD in 30 years—on QVC tonight, Tuesday, Oct. 7, at 10 p.m. (ET).

Burt Bacharach Live at the Sydney Opera House features 32 songs spanning Bacharach’s career and recorded at the world-famous venue with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

During the QVC Presents Burt Bacharach QSessions Live broadcast, the Grammy® and Academy  Award winner will perform a selection of songs from Burt Bacharach Live at the Sydney Opera House while giving viewers an inside look at the making of the album. Fans will also have the opportunity to purchase the CD with a specially packaged bonus disc, which was created especially for QVC, nearly three weeks before street date.

“As my first live album since Woman, which I released in 1979, it seems fitting for me to debut my latest CD live on QVC,” said Bacharach. “I am excited to be able to perform these songs for QVC’s viewers and really get to the heart of what these songs mean to me and what they have come to mean for my fans.

It’s going to be a really fun show, and I hope viewers will interact the way my live audiences around the world do when we perform.”

Of special interest to serious Bacharach fans, a three-song bonus disc included with QVC orders will include Burt’s new composition “For the Children,” which was performed at the Sydney concert but is not included on the live disc.

On Sept. 29, Friday Music released Burt Bacharach’s 1981 motion picture soundtrack  Arthur for the very first time on CD in the U.S. This new version, remastered from the original Warner Music source tapes and featuring brand new liner notes, contains some of Burt’s finest work of the period, including the No. 1 hit “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do),” performed by Christopher Cross.

The CD is currently available via Friday Music’s website, but should soon be available via most major online retailers, including Amazon and CDUniverse.

Burt’s new CD, Burt Bacharach Live at the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, is scheduled to be released on Oct. 20. To promote its release, Burt will appear on QVC on Oct. 7 at 10 p.m. (Eastern Time).

On Oct. 22, Burt will perform at the Roundhouse in London as part of the 2008 BBC Electric Proms music festival. For the Roundhouse performance, Burt will be joined by vocalists Adele, Beth Rowley and Jamie Cullum.

John Pagano is a name familiar to many fans of Burt Bacharach as the male vocalist with Burt’s band. On his new CD, Pure Imagination, Pagano steps out on his own with a collection of classic songs in the timeless style of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Chet Baker.

Backed by a 40-piece orchestra, Pagano lends his vocal talents to 12 songs including “Let’s Fall in Love,” “Night and Day,” “Time After Time,”  “Call Me Irresponsible” and the title track, written by Bricusse-Newley as the main theme for the film “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.”

Of special interest to Bacharach fans, Pure Imagination includes two tracks produced by Bacharach and featuring Bacharach himself on piano–“Any Day Now” and “This Guy’s In Love With You.” Pagano also performs Bacharach’s classic “Wives and Lovers” on the CD. For more information about John and Pure Imagination, visit www.myspace.com/johnpagano or johnpagano.com. You can purchase Pure Imagination online at CDBaby.com.