TWENTY years ago, when Bob Geldof was still the long haired, scruffy band leader of the Boomtown Rats – most famous here for the song “I Don’t Like Mondays” – he took a stand.
Addressing famine in Africa, he said, “To die of want in a world of surplus is intellectually absurd and morally wrong.”
It was the start of his social/economic activism that led to the writing of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and “We Are The World,” both recorded by all-star vocal ensembles and spearheading one of the most famous concerts in history, Live Aid.
Bob is back. He’s older but not jaded. His optimism and idealism is intact – the guy still thinks he can change the world. And he’s ready to give it a try one more time on Saturday when he launches Live 8, an international, sevencity concert tied to a summit of the largest industrialized countries in the world, the G8. It will feature many of the biggest names in music, from Dave Matthews and Linkin Park in Philadelphia, to a reunited Pink Floyd in London.
Speaking to the Post from London, Geldof, 53, admitted he was exhausted from the interviews, meetings and negotiations to make the concert work, but he was starting to see “light at the end of the tunnel.”
As if the excitement of the shows had already started, he describes it all in short bursts like a kid trying to get everything out at once: “This will be great. This is going to be cool. It will never happen again. This is going to work, and Africa will see what the world is doing on the behalf of its poor.”
Do you really believe that these concerts are going to make any difference in influencing the G8?
Three months ago I would have said it’s doubtful, but I didn’t know what the alternative was.
And now?
With a week to go, I tell you we’ve already influenced the G8. Once you march them to the top of the hill, they can’t march down again. In the last three weeks we’ve seen Europe agree to doubling aid. I would have said that would never happen because the internal politics are so extreme with oneupmanship, there’s never agreement on anything.
That’s big?
Staggering. For 35 years they’ve been promising to do that and now it’s done. Equally as important is that seven of the richest countries (excluding the United States) have agreed to 100 percent debt relief for the poorest countries.
You attribute that progress to the Live 8 concerts?
Absolutely. I was with the chief negotiators of the G8 today and I was told “This would not have been accomplished were it not for the enormity of Live 8.” I mean even [Prime Minister] Blair and [President] Bush mentioned Live 8 in their press conferences. The G8 president is going to arrive in Scotland with the biggest mandate any world leader has received. So the short answer is yes, once in a blue moon this kind of stuff works.
You sound a little shocked.
It’s bizarre, but it does take me by surprise sometimes.
A few weeks ago you said you weren’t looking forward to a showdown with the G8. Is that still true?
I don’t believe there’s ever a winner in a showdown. In the past by doing nothing they’ve created two generations of cynicism. It’s not a showdown as much as a mad adventure together to change the world. Let’s see where we go.
Like Don Quixote?
No, I believe in doing things with an achievable end. Really, I think out if the goals are attainable; if not it’s just a waste of my time. And worse, it’s a disaster for the people who we do it for. It’s also terrible for the generation that believes maybe they can pull it off and make a difference because if it fails they come to the conclusion the world doesn’t change.
So the Live 8 concerts aren’t about protest?
If President Bush says he will be doubling aid [in a speech on June 30] we will be turning the Philadelphia concert into a great party. It would be fantastic news on the weekend of Independence Day. If it happens as we hope, it will be Interdependence Day.
If the president doesn’t make that pledge will there be teaching and preaching from stage between music acts?
In a concert it never does you any good to preach from stage. Our point has always been to get the debate going as soon as possible.
Why?
We are connected. America will be taking 25 percent of her oil needs from Nigeria and Angola in the next 10 years. Africa is a continent of extreme poverty, it’s the only continent on earth in economic decline – 25 percent decline since the original Live Aid concerts. There are 850 million people in poverty, 50 percent are under 15 years old and they have no future. What are they going to do? They’re going to come to us.
Colin Powell said poverty was the main weapon of mass destruction.
This is a disgrace and we can put a stop to the greatest political problem of our time, if not the greatest moral sore. America in her own interest need to be alert to this. Maybe because of Live 8 the problem will be addressed and fixed. We’re half way there, and we wouldn’t be where we are if we hadn’t done this mad, great concert.