U2, Madonna, 50 Cent join Live 8 lineup
LONDON -- Madonna, Coldplay, REM, Dido, Paul McCartney and U2 are among the top-flight acts signed up to perform at Live 8, a massive charity concert staged here to highlight global poverty and coincide with the G8 summit, organizers said Tuesday.
Announcing the lineup for the London event at a packed news conference, rocker, charity guru and organizer Bob Geldof said four more star-studded concerts would be staged on the same day in the United States and across Europe.
In total, five free concerts will be held on July 2 in London, Philadelphia, Paris, Berlin and Rome, said organizer and concert promoter Harvey Goldsmith.
A text message lottery is scheduled for June 6 to determine who will gain tickets to the U.K. concert. It will also be shown on big screens in seven cities across the U.K., and shown live on BBC TV and radio, organizers said.
Will Smith will host the event to be held in Philadelphia's Cradle of America venue with Bon Jovi, Stevie Wonder, 50 Cent and Maroon 5 all lined up to perform.
British pop combo Duran Duran and Faith Hill will be among those taking to the stage in Rome, while Crosby Stills & Nash and Lauryn Hill will perform in Berlin. Paris will have turns from Craig David and Placebo.
Geldof declined to scotch rumors that the Spice Girls were set to perform for the London event. "I spoke to them this morning. It looks very good. That's all we can say," Geldof told the BBC.
Elton John said he was "extremely honored" to be taking part in the event, which he added will feature "la creme de la creme of musicians."
Geldof aims to put pressure on world leaders to stamp out African poverty by using the concerts and their global audiences to promote that aim.
The move comes 20 years after Geldof helped organize the Live Aid concerts -- then in London and in Philadelphia on the same day -- to save the starving in Ethiopia. This time he wants to influence the G8 group of industrialized nations whose leaders are due to meet in Scotland in July.
"Here we are again," Geldof said, adding that he hoped to use the concerts "to tilt the world a little bit on in its axis in favor of the poor. It seemed to me that we could gather together again, but this time not for charity, but for political justice."
Other top flight acts due to appear at the U.K. show include Mariah Carey, Annie Lennox, Scissor Sisters, Sting, Robbie Williams and Muse.
The concert will coincide with a political rally in Edinburgh organized by Make Poverty History, an umbrella group campaigning to cancel poor nations' debt and boost aid.
Prime Minister Tony Blair has campaigned to help Africa during Britain's presidency of the G8 this year and will host G8 leaders at a summit in Gleneagles in Scotland July 6-8.
U.K. culture minister Tessa Jowell said the government was 100% behind Live 8 adding "we want it (Live 8 ) to be the biggest and best open-air concert that the capital has ever seen."
Said Jowell: "The G8 Summit in Edinburgh, which follows the concert, offers an opportunity for the world's developed nations to really make a difference -- to do something positive for the Third World. Live 8 will set the scene, and we are proud to be able to help make it happen."
Hyde Park, which will stage the U.K. event, is to have its open-air concert capacity increased to 150,000 for the day.
Goldsmith also noted the pressure was on, with Live 8 expected to be organized in about seven weeks compared with 10 weeks for Live Aid. "It makes it a lot harder," he said.
Geldof said this time it "wasn't about the money" but about a political movement to stamp out poverty.
The original Live Aid concerts, held in July 1985 at Wembley Stadium here and at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, raised £40 million ($72.7 million) for famine relief in Africa.
Good cause. But this is going to be hilarious.
Bjork to headline Live8 in Japan
Icelandic singer Bjork will head the lineup for the Japan event in the Live8 series of rock concerts aimed at pressuring world leaders to do more to relieve poverty in Africa, organizers said on Friday.
Bjork, in her first live performance in two years, will be joined by McFly and U.S. band Good Charlotte, as well as Japanese musicians Dreams Come True, Def Tech and Rize.
The Japanese event at a conference center near Tokyo was only added to the list of Live8 charity concerts in mid-June, and other acts may be confirmed later, a spokeswoman said.
"Normally speaking, if you publicized an event on this scale two months in advance, it would definitely be full," said one music journalist, who declined to be identified. "But since it's being done all of a sudden, I am not so sure," he added.
The venue accommodates an audience of 10,000.
Campaigners for more aid for Africa plan to stage the Live8 concerts worldwide to put pressure on the G8 -- the Group of Seven industrialized nations plus Russia -- being held in Gleneagles, Scotland from July 6 to 8.
Aid and debt relief are expected to dominate the summit.
The concerts are to be held on July 2 in Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
There is also a show scheduled for Edinburgh on July 6, the opening day of the G8 summit.
Some in Japan were unsure if the event would do much to raise awareness of poverty in Africa.
"As far as Japan is concerned, Asian problems are more important at the moment," said the music journalist.
This has been so stupid all day long, a band will play and ill get into it then MTV will cut away to their vee jays. They literally played about two minutes of each performance then would cut away for talking points like what does blink 182 think about famine and then 5 minutes of commercials.
Then Pink Floyd came on. WOW. Did you guys see that? That was amazing. It made my year. I never ever thought I would see them together again with that lineup but it happened and it was everything I had thought it would be and more. It was really really really good.
What did they play?
This whole Live8 thing is sorta silly, good intentions and cool concerts aside.
Breathe, then Money, Wish You Were Here, then Comfortably Numb. MTV cut it off in the middle of CN for more talking points then commercials so I don't know what else they played. But it was a fantastic performance. Really the highlight of the whole day.
I've been watching it off and on all day to catch PF's performance. Great, great stuff. To see that so much time has gone by and these guys sound just as good, if not better, than they did 20 years ago is simply amazing. It really makes you shake your head at the current "artists" out there.
Remind me if they have another of these in the future to never go to the Philly show. I don't think one good person/group performed there during this whole thing. And I'm really sick of VH1 cutting from a great group at the London show and going to craptastic Philly.
And I threw my remote at the TV when they started talking over Comfortably Numb.
Dunno why all the cynicism. It was amazing. Admittedly the Philly show seemed pretty tame. Everyone reading off a goddamn autocue and pretty bland bands apart from the Kaiser Chiefs. This stuff does make a difference. It made a difference 20 years ago, and even if it fails at the conference it has still reboosted awareness.
The hyde park show was great. I didnt get to see all of it but Bob Geldof is the man. They were talking about 85% of the worlds population watching/listening to Live8 in some way. Now even if it was half of that in reality thats really impressive. Richard Ashcroft performing Bittersweet symphony with Coldplay - yes! Floyd sounded perfect. I tuned in on the radio and despite expecting them on stage I couldnt figure out whether it was a CD or live.
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2F41260000%2Fjpg%2F_41260117_gallery_london_pa.jpg&hash=13230a447f845aa25cb562ebf83cf428ca378563)
i loved everything about it, definitely a positive vibe. i could already download bono/mac's sgt pepper over at itunes. i haven't listened to it yet but i expect it to be in good quality. i hope richard ashcroft release something new this year.
I generally liked it. The only things that bugged me was that they only showed like 5 minutes from Johannesburg....I thought that was weird considering the whole thing was about Afrika and the music was good....lucky dube!
i feel bad for those who missed the last part of pink floyd's performance. i hope they'll reunite for a tour. they all seemed to enjoy their performance especially the drummer (what's his name...) who played with his eyes closed for a moment. erm, what's the reason behind why roger waters and the others didn't talk to each other for over two decades?
edit:
watch pink floyd's performance at live 8 (http://yee.is-useless.org/Live%208%20-%20Pink%20Floyd%20(webcast).wmv) (windows media)
Quote from: mogwaiwhat's the reason behind why roger waters and the others didn't talk to each other for over two decades?
Roger Waters is an Arse!
thanks for the link mogwai but there is no sound on it. maybe it's just me.
im not getting sound either.
edit, nevermind, i had headphones plugged in haha.
Quote from: Stefenim not getting sound either.
edit, nevermind, i had headphones plugged in haha.
haha, Stefen you are so silly. Doing silly things all day.
A haiku poem I wrote about how silly you are:
Silly Steffen
Is your body also
freshly painted?
Quote from: ThorQuote from: mogwaiwhat's the reason behind why roger waters and the others didn't talk to each other for over two decades?
Roger Waters is an Arse!
hahaha..that is a possibility...
but i think that the 20 year silent treatment was due to the fact that waters is a litle eccentric/egomaniac....and after waters split floyd after the album, "the final cut", the remaining members went on to make albums under then name pink floyd, waters sued the bandmembers b/c of this and waters lost..............................................................................
thats has to be some of the cause....
as for the performance i fucking loved it...floyd is my alltimefavoriteband.....and i love waters.......the wall/the final cut/the pros and cons of hitchiking/amused to death/radio kaos aree all masterpieces IMO.....and it was great to see that he was the guy at the end of the show to gather the guys for a group hug...and during the show he was smiling the most....whole thing sent chills down my spine....
Quote from: mogwaiwatch pink floyd's performance at live 8 (http://yee.is-useless.org/Live%208%20-%20Pink%20Floyd%20(webcast).wmv) (windows media)
that's awesome, can u get the richard ashcroft performance? thanks.
Quote from: StefenThis has been so stupid all day long, a band will play and ill get into it then MTV will cut away to their vee jays. They literally played about two minutes of each performance then would cut away for talking points like what does blink 182 think about famine and then 5 minutes of commercials.
Live 8's safety NetAOL catches and conveys the action as MTV's coverage more than disappoints. By Robert Hilburn, Times Staff Writer
Everyone knows MTV has long lost interest in pop music, so why doesn't the cable channel just admit it and leave the coverage of historic events, such as the humanitarian Live 8 concerts, to someone with respect for the music and its audience?
MTV's coverage of Saturday's event, designed to combat poverty in Africa, was beyond embarrassing. It was pitiful.
I was warned long ago to avoid overkill as a critic, but bear with me this time. Add "pathetic" to the list.
Watching it with others in the newsroom led to howls of disbelief as the channel kept cutting away from key performances, including the much-awaited reunion of Pink Floyd, for mindless chatter from the MTV hosts about, golly-gee, how exciting it was to have these acts onstage.
Was Kurt Loder, a rare MTV voice with an understanding of rock history, on vacation?
"This was an important concert, an important cause, and God knows how many millions of viewers turned it off early out of frustration," Steve Smith of Temple City wrote in an e-mail to The Times.
Jason McCartney of Santa Barbara complained in an e-mail about excessive commercials and cutting away from memorable songs: "Showing only a portion of Bono's introduction to 'One' and then cutting away to a commercial and not even showing the song itself."
The first of MTV's many misjudgments was basing its coverage in Philadelphia, one of the 10 Live 8 locales, rather than in London, the musical and spiritual heart of the day.
A second error was showing the same programming on MTV and sister channel VH1.
If the MTV brain trust understood the significance of the day, one channel should have broadcast the London show in its entirety live, starting at 6 a.m. Pacific time.
It could have then shown the entire Philadelphia show live on the other outlet and, ideally, run highlights from the other cities on MTV2 or in later broadcasts on MTV or VH1.
My plan may not have been perfect, but it took only 15 seconds to think of it.
So you know the MTV powers must have had other priorities in mind if they didn't come up with something similar.
Was doing it right too expensive for a company that has made billions off rock 'n' roll over the years?
Or did it just not care?
MTV's communication breakdown couldn't have come at a worse time for the channel's credibility, because it probably encouraged hundreds of thousands of rock fans to go to the Internet, where America Online did a spectacular job of presenting the Live 8 music.
The Internet service provider's offer to show the music free to anyone wasn't without its problems.
Because of hookup difficulties, I missed the opening moments of the London concert, where Paul McCartney teamed with U2 on the Beatles' joyful "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and Coldplay joined with singer Richard Ashcroft for a rendition of the Verve's haunting "Bitter Sweet Symphony."
After trying five computers,I located one that accepted the AOL live feed. From then on,the day was a treat. You really felt part of a global rock experience.
Not only could you watch the London show in its entirety, mercifully free of the gushing and self-promotion of the MTV hosts, but advisories on the screen also alerted you to what was happening simultaneously onstage in Live 8 concerts in Berlin, Rome, Toronto, Philadelphia and Paris.
At one point early in the day, for instance, you could read that Shakira was coming up in Paris, while Annie Lennox was on in London and Bon Jovi was taking the stage in Philadelphia.
Unfortunately, I didn't realize for nearly an hour that those alerts stay on the screen until you "refresh" the directory. I don't know how much good music I missed by not even checking in on Philadelphia because I didn't want to see Bon Jovi.
Once I noticed the refresh button, the day was a series of frequently exciting choices.
Did you click on London to watch R.E.M. playing "Man on the Moon" or on Berlin to see Green Day salute the majesty of the Live 8 cause with its version of Queen's "We Are the Champions"?
Later, Sting in Londonwent up against Roxy Music in Berlin.
Fortunately, AOL is already replaying all the concerts and plans to let you call up any performance on demand.
And how were the performances? Mixed, as you'd expect when we're talking about more than 150 acts.
Even on the London show, I'd have preferred fewer acts so that the better ones could have had more time onstage. Forget Dido, Keane, Joss Stone, Velvet Revolver, Robbie Williams. Give more time to U2, Coldplay, R.E.M., the Who, Paul McCartney and Pink Floyd.
But at least Live 8 driving force Bob Geldof had a good excuse for putting as many bestsellers on stage as possible: the campaign to rescue Africa. He wants to show he's got public opinion on his side when the issue is considered this week by government leaders at the G8 summit in Scotland.
What's MTV's excuse for its sorry coverage?
It's a good thing it's a holi-day today. They've got time to think of answers before they start looking at their e-mails Tuesday.
Quote from: PubrickQuote from: mogwaiwatch pink floyd's performance at live 8 (http://yee.is-useless.org/Live%208%20-%20Pink%20Floyd%20(webcast).wmv) (windows media)
that's awesome, can u get the richard ashcroft performance? thanks.
i wish i could find that one as well, i found the pink floyd on at the imdb message boards. i searched on richard but i found nothing. his performance was really great. and i'd like to add that the who rocked the house too.
I dont know how many people here speak spanish (I dont think many), but for the ones interested there is a very good articule about this written by my brother.
You can find it at www.eliberoamericano.com and the article is called "Para Ayudar a Africa" ("To Help Africa"). Its in the front page today.
Quote from: mogwai
they all seemed to enjoy their performance especially the drummer (what's his name...) who played with his eyes closed for a moment. erm, what's the reason behind why roger waters and the others didn't talk to each other for over two decades?
edit:
watch pink floyd's performance at live 8 (http://yee.is-useless.org/Live%208%20-%20Pink%20Floyd%20(webcast).wmv) (windows media)
Nick Mason mog.
Thanks for the link, it's awesome!!!
Quote from: pubrick*dreamy sigh*
These guys have to make another tour.
Quote from: mogwaiQuote from: PubrickQuote from: mogwaiwatch pink floyd's performance at live 8 (http://yee.is-useless.org/Live%208%20-%20Pink%20Floyd%20(webcast).wmv) (windows media)
that's awesome, can u get the richard ashcroft performance? thanks.
i wish i could find that one as well, i found the pink floyd on at the imdb message boards. i searched on richard but i found nothing.
Quote from: MacGuffinFortunately, AOL is already replaying all the concerts and plans to let you call up any performance on demand.
sorry mac. :oops:
Obviously it was all to get the message across, and it seems a bit churlish to mention but LIVE 8 has had several inadvertent beneficiaries – namely the artists who played it.
As with the 1985 Live Aid, those bands that took part on July 2 have experienced a "chart bounce" that has seen their album sales leap up in the immediate aftermath of the concert.
Keeping tabs on the artists who played in Hyde Park, HMV has revealed that fans rushed to the shops yesterday (July 3) to purchase albums of the likes of Pink Floyd, Robbie Williams and Razorlight , all of whom have seen their sales leap up.
The only person not to benefit from the Live 8 effect seems to be Pete Doherty, however with no Babyshambles album available this is based on The Libertines' sales, which have fallen.
Also Coldplay have only recorded a modest increase, but according to the music retailer, that's because they've been shifting loads of albums for the last few weeks and still sold more albums than anyone else yesterday.
According to HMV the Live 8 artists have seen their album sales increase by the following percentage:
1. Pink Floyd 'Echoes - Best Of' - 1343%
2. The Who 'Then & Now' - 863%
3. Annie Lennox 'Eurythmics Greatest Hits' - 500%
4. Dido 'Life for Rent' - 412%
5. Razorlight 'Up all Night' - 335%
6. Robbie Williams 'Greatest Hits' - 320%
7. Joss Stone 'Mind, Body & Soul' - 309%
8. Sting 'Greatest Hits' - 300%
9. Travis 'Singles' - 268%
10. Madonna 'Immaculate Collection' - 200%
11. Scissor Sisters 'Scissor Sisters' - 174%
12. Mariah Carey 'Greatest Hits' - 170%
13. Snoop Dogg 'Rhythm & Gangsta' - 166%
14. The Killers 'Hot Fuss' - 131%
15. U2 'Best Of: 1990 – 2000' - 116%
16. Elton John 'Greatest Hits 1970 – 2002' - 111%
17. Keane 'Hopes & Fears' - 101%
18. The Beatles 'Number 1s' - 71%
19. Snow Patrol 'Final Straw' - 69%
20. REM 'Reveal' - 50%
21. Stereophonics 'Language, Sex, Violence, Other' - 36%
22. Coldplay 'X&Y' - 3%
23. The Libertines 'Up The Bracket' -35%
The Live 8 effect is expected to continue as the week goes on, with HMV's Gennaro Castaldo explaining: "This snapshot still shows that, like its predecessor 20 years ago, the Live 8 concert is having a marked effect on sales of featured artist recordings. It's likely this impact will become more pronounced throughout the week."
G8 leaders agree $50bn aid boost
Prime Minister Tony Blair says the G8 has agreed a $50bn (£28.8bn) aid boost, as leaders sign the communique.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4662297.stm
Lawsuit: Anna Nicole a Live 8 Lush
The powers that be behind Live 8 want to make something clear to Trimspa: They didn't like Anna Nicole Smith's body.
Organizers of the charity concert have sued the diet company, claiming that its spokeswoman, Smith, besmirched Live 8's reputation with her appearance at last summer's benefit in Philadelphia, where she showed up "scantily clad and "intoxicated" and displayed "unbecoming and erratic behavior," according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
According to the lawsuit (available for viewing at TheSmokingGun.com), Smith, who had reportedly been instructed to dress in a manner befitting a family program, turned up at the event clad in a shiny pink vest held together by string at her bust, a look that Live 8 categorized as "totally inappropriate for a broadcast that would be seen by millions of people in the United States and then rebroadcast throughout the world."
The documents further allege that the buxom blonde had perhaps had several drinks too many before making her ill-fated appearance on the broadcast.
"Live 8 also is informed and believes that Ms. Smith was intoxicated at the time," the lawsuit states, alleging that Smith "damaged Live 8's reputation and goodwill in the entertainment industry by her unbecoming and erratic behavior."
However, Smith's lawyer, Howard K. Stern told the British Press Association that his client was neither drunk nor dressed inappropriately and that concert organizers pre-approved the former Playboy Playmate's attire.
"We were aware that it might be perceived as revealing," Stern said. "I was told that she looked beautiful and not to change a thing."
Adding insult to injury, Trimspa not only failed to effectively control Smith, the company also stiffed Live 8 on a $320,000 promotional fee that it had agreed to pay for four 30-second advertising spots during the broadcast, despite the fact that Live 8 threw in a fifth 30-second spot, according to the court documents.
Live 8 is seeking in excess of $500,000 in damages from Trimspa to cover both the cost of the unpaid advertising spots and to compensate for Smith's conduct.
Now that she's dieted her body back into shape, Smith might want to work on her public persona, particularly since the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear her final appeal in the case of her late husband's billion-dollar estate early next year.
Smith has seen her fortunes ebb and flow much like her waist size over the years since oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II died and left her a widow in 1995.
The former Guess! model has been engaged in a drawn-out legal battle over the estate with Marshall's son, E. Pierce Marshall, who has maintained that Smith is not entitled to his father's fortune.
In 2002, a California court awarded Smith a whopping $88.6 million in compensatory and punitive damages for what it called a campaign of deceit and dishonesty, spearheaded by her would-be stepson, to keep her away from the estate. (The initial reward of $474 million was knocked down significantly by the judge.)
Then, an appeals court in Texas overruled the payoff, claiming a California federal judge didn't have jurisdiction in the case, and dubbed E. Pierce Marshall the sole heir since Smith was not named in the will. An appeal from the Smith camp that tried to reinstate the payoff was then denied in February.
In September, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the beleaguered case and Smith is now looking down the barrel of her final shot at the riches.
Her lawyer's name is Howard Stern. How appropriate.