POSTING GUIDELINES
This forum is intended to provide an atmosphere of open communication, where each member can share his or her own insights and opinions. To help achieve this goal, we ask that you:
Do not post libelous or illegal material.
Do not post harassing or discriminatory comments based on race, ethnic origin, gender, or sexual orientation.
Do not solicit or advertise.
If you have questions or comments about this forum (such as technical difficulties or performance issues), please contact your forum administrator for the appropriate channel for your inquiry.
Moderation
Any post that violates the above conditions, or departs from the intended purpose of this forum may be removed without notice by the administration.
We reserve the right to edit any post for reasons including, but not limited to: language, length, or content not appropriate to the topic of this forum.
Older threads or messages may be removed from time to time, to main to maintain categories or threads of manageable length.
Any member who breaches these Guidelines through hostile, abusive or other inappropriate behavior may find their account privileges revoked.
Privacy
Remember that this is a public forum, and you have no guarantee or expectation of privacy. Your post could be read by anyone.
Posts can be traced. We record information about every user of this forum, and will honor any court orders or requests by recognized law authorities for information about individuals posting libelous material.
All communications on this board are deemed to by public and not private communications. We reserve the right to remove without notice any message posted for any reason, but we have no obligation to remove content you find objectionable.
Regarding your email address and other personal information
Although we require your email address for verification purposes, we recommend that you do not post it or any other personal information such, as phone numbers or your home address. Your posts can be searched by bots or third parties that have no affiliation with the administrator of this forum.
Disclaimer
The views expressed by members of this forum are their own and do not reflect the position of the administrator or other members. Each member is responsible for the content of his/her own posts.
Please report any activity that you notice which is libelous, inflammatory, or in violation of common decency to the management immediately.
Bob Geldof’s critics are apparently STILL not satisfied. They are describing the Cornwell gig as being a Micky Mouse 'token black concert.' - segregated away from London
"The irony is that all the white acts will be playing in London, the most multi-cultural city in Europe, while all the black acts will be in Cornwall, where black people are very much in the minority." - So they say
All along Bob wanted to have black performers but was frustrated because he didn’t have any contacts in his address book. It is because has respect for and a commitment to African musicians, why he jumped at the opportunity to have a Live 8 concert of African music in Cornwall.
Bob is intelligent and sensitive enough to realize that we live in a wonderfully diverse and multicultural society and that there should be equal opportunity giver to all, otherwise he might be accused of institutional racism. I am sure he and Harvey Goldsmith, like George Bush, have many black people working for them.
However Bob seems to be a somewhat confused :
1. Firstly he said that all the black artists he approached to perform in London had other prior engagements
2. Then he said they wanted to be paid
3. Then he said that due to pressure of time he was only able to contact the performers in his contact book – yeh right!
4. Then he said ‘There are no black performers on the London billing because they are not global superstars.” However his other line-ups includes performers such as Axelle Red, Yannick Noah (a former tennis player) and Die Toten Red, performing in Paris – are they ‘global superstars’?
5. Then he says the Sponsors only want mega artists on the bill. What sponsors? Why DID Bob claim the gig was NOT about making money? Who are these sponsors that are so keen to support a separatist Musical policy? How much ARE these sponsors paying for this global opportunity?
One of the Britain’s leading radio broadcasters, Andy Kershaw of the BBC says: “I don’t believe Geldof put together an event in three weeks, and nor will many promoters. There was plenty of time to arrange for acts he didn’t personally know to appear.”
Oh my God now I am confused
It does seem a bit odd though that the current solution is to send black people 200 miles away – to Cornwell! Especially now that it has been announced that there will be a number of large screens at Hyde Park to accommodate more people. I reckon a better idea would have been to have a couple more stages for Dance, R&B, Hip Hop and African bands
There might be some merit in the argument that “Geldof is symbolically contributing to the problems African musicians have getting their music to western markets. In effect, he has erected a vicious trade barrier against African musicians who need and deserve the exposure to a global audience more than him.”
While I understand the argument that it is not about color but about making people aware. I reckon 99% of the people going to Hyde Park and are only going to see their favorites band.
There might be some merit in the argument that “Geldof is symbolically contributing to the problems African musicians have getting their music to western markets. In effect, he has erected a vicious trade barrier against African musicians who need and deserve the exposure to a global audience more than him.” While I understand the argument that it is not about color but about making people aware. I reckon 99% of the people going to Hyde Park and are only going to see their favorites band.
Actually it would be a great idea if Bob Geldof used the concert to promote some young African musicians to the European market. At lease this would be a REAL help to the African economy as royalties earned in the West would go to Africa to help African economies. Although it would probably mean to create more competition for Western musicians and Bob does not really want that, does he?
What’s more, 6-months after Live 8 the African band, as with Madonna, Sir Paul etc, would receive a massive cheque from the BBC and AOL via the Performing Rights Society (PRS) for the broadcasting right to an audience of 2 billion.
This is the real reason why all the rock dinosaurs are tripping over themselves to be on the stage!
The African band might be able to use some of the money thus earned to start a business in Africa, perhaps to manufacture Live 8 T-shirts, to be sold on eBay, instead of the Chinese ones currently being sold for £8!
Patronizing Africa is not a way of helping Africa. Geldof has gained my utmost disrepect. I hope Live 8 falls and burns down. A concert for Africa without Africa? Geldof - be ashamed. Be very ashamed.
And the Gabriel-Ndour spin-off is too little too late for me to change my mind.
Look at 46664. Look at how it was a concert for Africa in Africa with Africans. Your show mr Geldof is a joke for aging starlets.
When we first started discussing this on this forum around June 2, I was hoping for more Africans, too. The discussions have gone 'round & 'round since then. It seems to me that the idea of having the shows was to raise money for the media companies, after all this! I'm sad and a bit hurt that basically Africans were not included but I think the exclusion was not malicious. Separate but equal. There have been a lot of good discussions on this forum and really nice people. I wish Sir Bob good luck. It seems like a good idea overall. Perhaps at another date there can be something more inclusive.