Lady in the Red Chador

Iran may be allowing the first western singer to perform in the country since 1979. The singer: Chris De Burgh, singer of "Lady in Red." Why De Burgh? Well, according to this story, bootlegged copies of De Burgh's music were smuggled into Iran during the 1980s. He and his music were seen as somewhat "revolutionary."

Of course, for young Iranians in the 1980s, any western culture had a seriously subversive element to it. But De Burgh? Really? Fascinating how important contact with the outside world is for isolated people, even when the outside world might see those particular contacts as really crappy.