Special Report: Live 8

June 22, 2005

Special Report:  LIVE 8
LIVE 8 - the 20-years-later reincarnation of the historic Live Aid charity concerts - is back in the form of not one, not two, but six events that will all take place during the first week of July as a 16-hour globe-spanning concert marathon. These shows, which will take place worldwide, will serve as the starting point for what Live 8 organizer Bob Geldof is calling “The Long Walk to Justice” - the music events are being staged to draw attention to the G8 Summit on July 6, during which eight world leaders will gather in Scotland and will be presented with a workable plan to double aid, drop the debt, and make trade laws fair for Third World countries.
Until now, Live Aid/Live 8 organizer Bob Geldof had refused to repeat the events of 1985, when the first Live Aid show (which featured monumental sets from artists such as U2, Adam Ant, Madonna, Elvis Costello, Sting, and David Bowie) set its sights on improving famine conditions in Ethiopia.  But the African situation has still not improved even after all this time, spurring Geldof on to once again put together a benefit of such massive proportions.  Further explaining the reasons behind his revitalization towards this cause, Geldof pointed out that more people die of hunger every year in Africa than die of Aids, TB, malaria, polio and conflict combined.   “20 years on, it strikes me as morally repulsive and intellectually absurd that people die of want in a world of surplus,” Geldof said in a recent interview. Former Ultravox singer Midge Ure, who helped organize the original Live Aid, is also assisting Geldof with this event.
Five of the events will take place on July 2.  At London’s Hyde Park, performers will include U2, Coldplay, Keane, Dido, The Killers, Paul McCartney, R.E.M., Madonna, Sting, Robbie Williams, Geldof himself, and Pink Floyd, who are reforming for the event.  At Philadelphia’s Museum of Art, sets will be performed by Will Smith, Stevie Wonder, Sarah McLachlan, Rob Thomas, Kaiser Chiefs, and Maroon 5.  At Versailles, Paris, it’ll be Jamiroquai, Placebo, Johnny Halliday, Andrea Bocelli, Youssou N’Dour, and Manu Chao who will all take the stage. At Circus Maximus in Rome, Duran Duran, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Nek, Zucchero, and Jovanotti will perform.  And at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, fans will be treated to music by Brian Wilson, A-Ha, Lauryn Hill, Crosby Stills and Nash, Die Toten Hosen, and Bap. The LIVE 8 concerts will be watched and listened to by over 2 billion people, as hosted by the BBC in the UK, by partner broadcasters in Europe and America, and also by AOL, who will be broadcasting all of the concerts live as part of what may end up being the biggest interactive online event in history.  
But that’s still not all - The Edinburgh 50,000 on July 6 - the final LIVE 8 concert event of the series, and the only one taking place on the actual day of and in the city of the G8 summit - will be the final call to action for the G8, and will feature live sets from the likes of Dido, Travis, Snow Patrol, Ronan Keating, The Thrills, Annie Lennox, The Sugababes, Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz), and Embrace, plus African artists from Peter Gabriel’s WOMAD and a series of special speakers.    
Find out more about how you can get involved, where to get tickets, and find out how else you might be able to help if you can’t attend any of the shows - all the info can be found online at www.live8live.com . July 1 has also been named International White Band Day, making it simple for anyone to show their support by wearing a white band that you can make yourself or purchase online - find out more about this part of the effort at www.whiteband.org  or at U.S. website www.one.org ... 

IN OTHER MUSIC NEWS THIS WEEK:
Coldplay’s third album, X&Y, has scored a notch in the British chart history annals by racking up the second-highest first week sales tally ever with almost half a million copies of their album sold; only Oasis’ 1997 Be Here Now album scored higher...
Rumors of Velvet Revolver splitting up are running rampant, as the band abruptly cut short their European tour last week, ostensibly to return to the U.S. and begin work on a new album...
Madonna’s fifth children’s book, “Lotsa de Casha,” hits stores this week; the tale of a rich man who loses his money but gains friendship, the book is said to be the last installment in Maddie’s childrens’ books series...
Franz Ferdinand are currently in NYC, wrapping up work on their next album, which is due out in the fall;  impatient Franz fans can get previews of a trio of the band’s new songs, “What You Meant,” “You Could Have It,” and “Radio,” on the unofficial fansite,
www.franzferdinand.org ...
The Isle of Wight music festival wrapped up this past weekend, with live sets from the likes of Roxy Music, Travis, Feeder, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Faithless, Idlewild, and DJ Giles Peterson...
The Futureheads, who just wrapped up a North American tour, have announced plans to record a new disc in January 2006...
And here are this week’s new releases... ON CD:  Audioslave’s Out of Exile... Foo Fighter’s In Your Honor... Brian Eno’s Another Day on Earth... the Backstreet Boys’ hesitantly anticipated Never Gone...  Daniel Lanois’ Acadie... and Kraftwerk’s Minimum-Maximum Live... ON DVD:  Detroiter Madonna’s Music Box Biographical Collection... Oasis’ DVD biography Sibling Rivalry...The Pretenders - Greatest Hits... and, bringing this week’s Modern Rock column full circle, the Live Aid 4-DVD set is out now, with royalties benefitting Band Aid Trust, which provides direct hunger relief in Africa.
 
Questions, comments, rants, raves about this column or your fave musicians?  Send ‘em to Kristi at modernrocker@gmail.com!

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