DAVID CARR ([email protected])
Sun, 25 Oct 1998 11:13:42 -0000
Well, that's a bold statement for a school teacher to make, Stephen!
Let's see, some examples:
Rock musicians getting together to record a record (Do They Know It's
Christmas) and the profits from that record being used to save the lives of
starving children in Ethiopia. Bob Geldof and Band Aid certainly changed
things for those kids who would otherwise have died from hunger,
dehydration and lack of shelter and medical supplies. And remember, the
profits from Band Aid and Live Aid continued to come in for years after and
were used to re-educate these people into being self-sufficient, so it
wasn't just a short-term change.
For your information, at the time of Band Aid/Live Aid, our Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher refused to give back the VAT on the sale of the record.
She had no power to stop the release of the record and she had no power to
stop the Live Aid concert from going ahead. Planning permission and a
licence were applied for in the usual way, and had to be granted because
there was nothing in the local planning laws that gave the government
reason to refuse it. The concert was broadcast worldwide by the BBC, which
is in theory funded and owned by the BBC licence payers (ie the British
public - anyone who has a TV in their house must by law also have a
licence). If the government had tried to stop the BBC broadcasting the
concert, the BBC would have been within their rights to take the case to
court. Even if the ruling had gone in the government's favour (very
unlikely), how much publicity for the concert, Bob Geldof and the whole
cause would it have generated? Sure, the Ethiopian government might not
have wanted to show Live Aid in the homes of those wealthy Ethiopians
living in their smart apartments in the civilised cities and it DID try to
prevent some aid from getting through to the people who needed it, but the
Band Aid charity, and Bob Geldof personally, found a way through the
corruption and made sure every penny donated was spent on the famine
victims. This is a fact, I'm not just making it up.
Rock musicians getting together to perform concerts in support of Amnesty
International which, as a result, greatly increased its membership and
public awareness. I, for one, joined up as a direct result of U2's
involvement and I know of at least one political prisoner who is now free
because myself and hundreds of other people from my town sent letters every
month to the Nigerian government. So, rock music played a part in changing
things for that falsely imprisoned man. How many of us would not have
joined Amnesty had it not been for the Conspiracy of Hope tour? How many
of us only know about the Mothers Of The Disappeared because we've heard
Bono talking and singing about them? Pre-Joshua Tree, I had no idea people
could just be 'disappeared'.
Rock (and rap musicians) started using swear words in their lyrics, which
resulted in the US introducing the Parental Guidance sticker for records,
thus changing America's whole attitude to freedom of speech and censorship.
Hey Mr Rock Star, you can say what you like because our Constitution says
you can, but if we don't want our kids to hear it we're gonna slap a
sticker on it and restrict the number of retail outlets that will sell your
'art'!
Rock musicians getting together to raise money through concerts and art
exhibitions to build a Music Therapy Centre for children traumatised by the
war in Bosnia. Thanks to these musicians, children who would otherwise
receive little or no counselling now have a chance to rebuild their lives
and personalities. There was no sign of any government coming up with this
idea or the money to finance it.
I could go on and on, but the fact is simple: rock music can and does
change things, whether it's in a small way or a big way, good or bad. It
doesn't even have to be a fund-raising/awareness issue. The
Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Centre, for example, changes the lives of
hundreds of children simply by using music (of all genres) to treat
physical and mental disabilities, emotional trauma and learning
difficulties. You might be able to get through to some kids with
Beethoven but others respond better to Madonna, U2 and the Spice Girls. So
what? So some kids have a bit of happiness in their lives, hardly going to
change the world. Except that those kids might not go on to be a danger to
the community, criminals, lousy parents, disillusioned and disrespectful
because they think they've had a raw deal. They might just grow up to be
useful members of society and take an active interest in their own and
other's lives, and how different political decisions affect those lives.
They might even vote! But, hey, that's almost like saying Rock The Vote
actually got some kids off their backsides and out to the polling stations.
I'd just like to close by saying I'm not a stroppy kid, Stephen. I'm a 31
year old mother-of-two who works in the broadcasting/music business. I've
seen rock music change things.
Zowie
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