Julio Iglesias turns 60

(dpa files) - Spanish singer Julio Iglesias, pictured during a concert in Germany, May 1982. On 23 September 2003 he will celebrate his 60th birthday. Starting out at the age of 16 he was a bonafide soccer player and landed his dream job as goalkeeper for the professional soccer team Real Madrid. These dreams, however, were soon shattered when a near-fatal car accident left him partially paralyzed and unable to walk for almost two years. During his recuperation at hospital, Iglesias discovered a new passion that took over his life: music. In 1968 he won the prestigious song festival in Benidorm, Spain, with his own composition 'La Vida Sigue Igual' (life goes on), and in 1970 he came to international fame when he performed his song 'Guendoline' at the Grand Prix d'Eurovision in 1970. Since, he has played more than 2,500 concerts, and received the first and only Diamond Record Award ever given to a performer by the Guinness Book of World Records, for selling more records in more languages than any other musical artist in history. usage worldwide