•
Rating: Strange days, these of ours. Days when "The Guardian" publishes - a historic cover, it goes without saying - an entirely black front page. In the center, if you strain your eyes, you can barely make out a tiny black inscription: it reads "Oh my God." The "Independent," on the other hand, divides its front page into four parts: war in Afghanistan, war in Iraq, war in Palestine, war in Africa. In the center: "And another four years."
Strange days, therefore, are those that witness the release - twenty years later - of the greatest rock music concert, a media giant capable of gluing a billion and a half people to the screen, of simultaneously bringing together the greatest musical figures of the time in three different continents, and of raising over 140 million dollars to fight hunger in African territories.
On July 13, 1985, from the stages of Wembley and the JFK Stadium in Philadelphia and under the tenacious guidance of Bob Geldof, stars of the caliber of Elvis Coltello (his the poignant "All you need is love"), Sting ("Roxanne"), the U2 of "Sunday bloody sunday," the delicate and fiery Joan Baez of "Amazing grace," took the night. And then, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, the long and splendid performance of the Queen, the Bowie of "Heroes," the Who and Reo Speedwagon, the Cars of "Heartbreak City." A wonderful thing.
But nothing in the world is ever perfect, and so here you are (fit in like a splendid joke) the diluted pop of Madonna, the sugary duet of Elton John and George Michael, the Spandau Ballet and a youthful yet even back then unbearable Bryan Adams. A mere trifle, indeed, and entirely forgivable. Nothing is perfect, not even the smallest things: imagine the giants.
Shortly before, there had been "Do they know it's Christmas," an "anomalous" single but of enormous commercial success, sung in duet by Geldof and Midge Ure. In Italy, years later, Luca Carboni and Jovanotti had their turn.
Nothing has changed since then, and the publication of this exceptional document in these strange days of ours only confirms how ours is a world in ruin, a world where the child who survived 20 years ago, today has probably become a man who survived his own child.
Nothing has changed since then, and now, twenty years later, there's talk again of Live Aid, of a project still maturing in the mind of good Geldof, and the names being mentioned are Coldplay, Travis, Snow Patrol, Franz Ferdinand, and the young singer company: we'll see. In Italy, if all goes well, it's not unlikely we'll have Jovanotti once more.
A visual monument absolutely worth having, a magnificent testament to the pursuit of a better world through the use of art.
Loading comments slowly
