Live 8 message loud and clear

Written by The Rock Radio staff, July 2005 © The Rock Radio

More than 200,000 people in London, an estimated 1,000,000 in Philadelphia, and several hundred thousand in Berlin, Barrie, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, Johannesburg and Moscow as well as hundreds of artists united their voices on July 2, 2005 to help "Make Poverty History" as part of Live 8.

The principal demands were two-fold: drop the debt of third world countries and change the trade rules so they work for poor countries.

Bob Geldof, dressed all in white, pointed his finger to G8 leaders: "They can't avoid this, they cannot have missed it and all you people who've come along for this message".

The Music

Pink Floyd performed with the original lineup after 24 years and - although Roger Waters initially struggled with his voice - the end product was magnificent; they masterfully played "Breathe", "Money", "Wish You Were Here" and "Comfortably Numb".

U2, who opened the show with Paul McCartney singing a version of "Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" provided one of the highlights of Live 8.

The Who's setlist included "Who Are You?" followed by "Won't Get Fooled Again". The band rocked well considering the age of guitarist Pete Townshend and singer Roger Daltrey.

Velvet Revolver did not impress as singer Scott Weiland was out of tune but Slash provided some classic moments with his trademark style.

REM's Michael Stipe rose up to the occasion with a vibrant performance.

Def Leppard in Philadelphia were visibly tired from their ongoing tour. Frontman Joe Elliot couldn't reach the high notes and the band wasn't playing or sounding anything like the band who dominated America in the 1980's.

Green Day in Berlin sounded very fresh and delivered a powerful performance.