TheFrog said:

Well said Frog...Live8 wasn't a PR 4 artist it was a PR 4 world debt...

and because the Boom Town Rats are gonna release their greatest hits CD next week Thursday so Sir Bob Geldolf is happy

Puhchoolee said:

How is being one of the few artists to address the treatment of certain people after 9/11 irrelevant? he was both praised and criticized for the video? it made several headlines across the globe. that IS relevant. perhaps just not the content you would like him to address, but relevant nonetheless.

excuse me for what i said about prince not caring i take that back i was drunk.

it seems strange that anyone would even think he'd perform for Live8.
anyone who calls themselves a fan of Prince and doesn't know how much charity work he is, was, and always has been involved with needs to....do some readin' or something.
duh

macca2002 said:

I always want to see Prince perform when i can, but I'm not surprised or upset he didn't.

As for Live8, the whole premise of 'bringing attention to' ... 'pressuring politicians to hear our voices... is idealistic, therefore flaud.


The powers know the shit is going on, more than most of us will ever know. Why would they care about concert. They'll answer the 'why don't we give more question as they always do. blah blah blah

Why do this whole thing and not give a dime to the people. If they had charged $10 a head it would have helped some and if the freakin' acts had announced what they were giving. They would have been at least leading by example.
MTV's coverage was self serving and disjointed.

Imagine if Prince was jammin' and they went to VJ to ask their opinion about Africa?

I had hoped to get some ideas as to why Prince never played Live8 but after viewing the replies I am none the wiser. For those who took the time to actually answer the question I thank you for your input, for the vast majority who did not and who chose to use this thread as a soap box, get real! You are living in an alternative Universe if you think that events like Live8 will ever change the catastrophy that is Africa, indeed events like these are patronising, misguided and blatantly self serving. Do you honestly believe that Mr G W Bush and his gang will pay any heed to the demands of a bunch of millionaires and a public which has the attention span of a gnat?

The question I posed was genuine and was never the political question that some hijacked it for, your tactic was dispicable and cheap, perhaps the most dissapointing reply came from a so called Moderator, who had the audacity to make snide comments and innuendo and when asked to clarify the remarks refused and issued a warning not to take the remarks to task again! Not the remarks of a moderate if you ask me.

I would answer like Prince probably would :WE'RE TIRED OF YOU ALL38
The Live Aid in 1985 revealed to be corrupted.
Thousands of people for the african cause, okay, but what about ACTION and REALITY OF ACTS?
WHERE is the aid for Indonesia? Where is the aid for AIDS?
Why there's still homelesses in the so glorius America?
ILLUSIOn, Live Aid is ONLY ILLUSION… Pimp and circumstances...
[Edited 7/6/05 10:45am]

SPOOKYGAS said:

Because he had better things to do than waste time hijacking a so-called "political" event to show how well he can play music...

Neversin.

macca2002 said:

And there are...


Obviously not important enough since they're that pathetic that they need a fucking concert to be aware of what's going on in the world...
If those 200000 lazy fucks actually went to Africa to make a change instead of standing at Hyde Park like a bunch of retards listening to some product standing on a stage trying to sell more records then the ball could actually be rolling for a change...
In a month they'll all be going on with their lives with Africa and world debt still in the shithole it is... Nothing new and it has always been like that, world debt and Africa are only important as long as bystanders can be entertained at their expense...


Because there are more important things to do than waste time at some useless concert that's only "relevant" for about a week...

Neversin.

prettymansson said:

AMEN!!!!!

hemakesmecream said:

thank u soul mama !!!

Live 8 was a joke. There were no good bands playing. It was a huge publicity stunt for everyone involved. I mean what kind of benefit show gives out $15,000 gift bags to each performer. They could have used that money alone to spread awareness.. I am glad Prince stays away from socials like this one.

dealodelandron said:

Is he one of the "few" artists to address 9/11 and Arab-based racism? Really? I disagree. The CG video was clumsy and came off as a cry for attention.

The point remains that Prince has a long history against doing group appearances. He prefers to dictate the terms of his participation. People decry that kind of stance as egoism run amok for a reason.

Tiffypoo2004 said:

I just think that when people say this sort of thing and call people names like this that they're speaking for THEMSELVES!
(In addition, I'm sure there are many reasons why a person would opt not to participate in this sort of thing and I wouldn't DARE presume to know why Prince didn't!)

NewPowerSista said:

"Why did he not ....."


most people dont give a fat rats' ass about prince's music. It aint 1985

GET OUT OF YOUR PURPLE BUBBLE SOMETIME!
[Edited 7/7/05 0:31am]

Neversin said:

Yup.

mkaye8 said:

U2,Pink Floyd,Annie Lennox,Stevie Wonder and many others who particpated are not exactly second-rate artists.

Puhchoolee said:

There were not a lot of artists speaking out against racism and discrimination directed towards Arabs. Mind you that is a relative term. Do you honestly feel that musicians, especially musicians in the States, did a whole lot to try and speak out against that in their music? I didn't say he was the only. And certainly one of the most high profile artists. Especially after the Dixie Chicks spoke out against Bush. After that, hardly anyone in the spotlight said shit about anything. He had the world captivated at the time when he released this due to the musicology tour and he still put it out. You may find it clumsy and perceive it as a cry for attention, but can you deny that it actually did get a lot of attention? If that was Prince's sole concern, he could have gone in so many other directions.

I am full aware of him not taking part in a lot of group appearances. Can you really ignore that certain artists just aren't comfortable in certain environments? Why should he have to participate in an event just because it is high profile? The people that organize those often have their own agenda as well. Prince also has a long history of donating his money and performing for charities with little attention from the media. Does that make it any less worthy of praise?

Take the 'We are the World/USA for Africa' project...while many dismissed him for not singing with all those other artists, he did contribute a song. While they spent tens of thousands of dollars just to feed all the participating artists during the recording session, dude had something like a ham and cheese sandwhich, a warm soda and chips.

OdysseyMiles said:

yeah but sometimes you have to make noise on a issue....you can't just sit in the background all the time.

"I tried to tell the man I did not want to sing
But I gladly do a song instead
He said OK and everything was cool
Til the camera tried to get in my bed"

I think he has some baggage with Bob Geldof. It's a shame, songs like Dear Mr Man and Sign O the Times show an intelligent social compassion, as does the Love4OneAnother charity. In an interview promting ATWIAD in 85 Prince said he didn't participate in We Are the World as he probably would have "clammed up" with all those "other great performers there." That's fair. He did donate 4 The Tears in Your Eyes to the album and Sheila E sang on the single.

He could've performed Live8, I'm disappointed he didn't. Even a one man acoustic 10 minutes would have been good.

If only he had played the show and performed Starfish & Coffee. With a grand NPG makeover, which includes, horns galore, and a crazy solo drums.

Perform the 1 song. Then walk off stage in classic Prince fashion. ^-^

SPOOKYGAS said:

I don't know what makes you think that Prince is miles better than the rest. He is not. To say so is actually quite arrogant. He is still up there with the best, but it's not like there is no one as good as him - there are some sharp bands out there.

Stop worshipping and open your heart and ears

And - as has been stated above many times - this wasn`t the reason for Live8 anyway.

By the way, isn`t it sad how many people are so cynical about these events, and that no good will come out of it, politicians will ignore it, most bands do it as PR, etc. So, how do YOU make a difference then? It IS important to stand up - don`t be afraid, don`t say it makes no difference anyway.
[Edited 7/7/05 10:22am]

Just like everyone here, Prince has the option to contribute and participate in whatever charities he wants to. I'm sure he has his reasons and he doesn't owe anyone an explanation for them.

If this particular cause is close to your heart, then do something.

Krid said:

Are you telling me that you know my mind better than me? Okay I submit to your line of logic so now please tell me who I think is better than Prince!!

Is expressing your opinion considered arrogant? If so what would you call imposing ones own thoughts on others?

macca2002 said:

First of all, don't get so excited for Live8 concert. IT DIDN'T RAISE ANY FUCKING MONEY LIKE IT'S PREDECESSOR LIVE AID! Me personally I think it was kind of worthless. Yea it raised awareness, but what good is awareness without money. I bet them ppl in Africa are like "Well now that they're 'aware' of what's going on (like it hasn't been all over the news and special programs already) where the hell is the money?!!"

PurpleRighteous1 said:

You missed the point then.

It will have been worthless if the G8 leaders avoid taking decisions on debt, climate, trade and arms sales hat lead to chances for greater prosperity for people of Africa.
.