Brazil minister makes concert tour

Gil came to politics later in life

Brazil's minister of culture and well-known musician Gilberto Gil is to go on tour in Europe to boost his income.

The 60-year-old recording artist earns $2,900 (£1,700) a month in his government post but says this is not enough to maintain his standard of living.

The Brazilian star accepted the ministerial job earlier this year on the proviso that he could continue his musical career.

He flew to Europe on Monday to begin a 24-day tour including dates in London, Paris, Rome, Vienna and Lyon.

Gil has been allowed to take a month off from his government duties to complete the tour.

Radical

The dreadlocked musician was a founder of Brazil's Tropicalismo counter-culture movement in the 1960s alongside singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso.

His revolutionary blend of music was seen as provocative and inflammatory by the country's military junta and he was placed in solitary confinement while the government decided his fate.

Gil then spent three years in exile in the UK playing with artists including Pink Floyd, Yes, The Incredible String Band and Rod Stewart.

He is well-known outside his native country for his mixture of rock and Afro-Brazilian beats.

Gil is known outside Brazil by world music fans

He recently recorded a tribute to reggae legend Bob Marley, Kaya N'Gandaia, meaning "get some fun" in colloquial Brazilian Portuguese.

Gil won a Grammy Award in the world music category for his album Quanta in 1999.

Environmental issues

He was born in Sao Paulo in 1942 and formed his first band at the age of 18, playing the accordion and vibraphone.

Gil soon became influenced by the popular bossa nova style and abandoned his accordian in favour of the guitar.

He released his first single Procissão (Procession) on the RCA record label in 1965.

Gil first became involved in politics in 1987, when he was cultural secretary of the city of Salvador.

In 1991 he took part in a New York show to raise funds to save the rainforest, alongside Sting and Elton John and is still regarded as the most prominent member of Brazil's Green Party.

Last year he supported Luiz Ignácio Lula da Silva in his successful bid to become Brazil's president and was subsequently invited to become minister of culture.