Interesting interview with Steven Van Zandt about the Artists United Against Apartheid 'Sun City' project and the process of educating himself about what was going on in the world that led him to it. I confess to having had no idea he was so politically engaged and committed.
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LINK: http://www.backstreets.co...nCity.html

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Also contains some interesting insights about Paul Simon's attitude towards criticism of his breach of the UN cultural boycott to make Graceland - which suggests a certain mix of ignorance and arrogance on his part (something that, even as a fan of him and that album, I'd figured out, especially on seeing that autofellating Under African Skies documentary.)

[Dave Marsh:] I was with you the first time you saw Paul and talked to him about this, at [entertainment attorney] Peter Parcher’s 60th birthday party.
[Steven Van Zandt:] That’s right, that’s right, that’s right! I’m glad you were a witness [....]

Paul Simon approach[ed] me at that party saying, “What are you doing, defending this communist?!”

What he said was, “Ah, the ANC [African National Congress, the organization of which Mandela was President at the time of his arrest and imprisonment], that’s just the Russians.” And he mentioned the group that [murdered black South African activist Steven Biko] had been in, which was not AZAPO...
Was he PAC [Pan-Africanist Congress]?

It doesn’t matter [for this story], but [Paul Simon] said, “That’s just the Chinese communists.”
Yeah, yeah. And he says, “What are you doing defending this guy Mandela?! He’s obviously a communist. My friend Henry Kissinger told me about where all of the money’s coming from,” and all of this. I was, like, all due respect, Paul...

I remember it very vividly, because it was aimed at everybody standing in the general direction.
Yeah, but mostly he was telling me.

Well, yeah, you were the one... Everybody knew who to get mad at first. [laughter]
He knew more than me, he knew more than Mandela, he knew more than the South African people. His famous line, of course, was, “Art transcends politics.” And I said to him, “All due respect, Paulie, but not only does art not transcend politics... art is politics. And I’m telling you right now, you and Henry Kissinger, your buddy, go fuck yourselves.” Or whatever I said. But he had that attitude, and he knowingly and consciously violated the boycott to publicize his record.

Well, to make his record. That’s the violation of the boycott — to make his record.
Yeah, and he actually had the nerve to say, “Well, I paid everybody double-scale.” Remember that one? Oh, that’s nice... no arrogance in that statement, huh? [laughter]

Now, the punchline. Cut to 30 years later, or whatever it is. He asked me to be in his movie [Under African Skies, the documentary on the making of Graceland,included as a DVD in the album's 25th anniversary boxed edition]. I said, “Alright, I’ll be in your movie, if you don’t edit me. You ready to tell it like it is?”

He says, “Yep.”

“Are you, like, uh, apologizing in this movie?”

“Yep.”

“Okay. I’m not gonna be a sore winner. I’ll talk to you.”

I did an interview. They show me the footage. Of course, they edited the hell out of it to some little statement where I’m saying something positive about Paul. [laughter] And I see the rest of the footage, where he’s supposedly apologizing, with Dali Tambo [founder of Artists Against Apartheid and son of late ANC leaders Adelaide and Oliver Tambo]. He says, “I’m sorry if I made it inconvenientfor you.” That was his apology.

In other words, he still thinks he’s right, all these years later!

You’re the only person who’s ever met Paul twice who thinks that’s surprising. [laughter]

I mean, at this point, you still think you were right?! Meanwhile, that big “communist," as soon as he got out of jail, I see who took the first picture with him. There’s Paul Simon and Mandela, good buddies. I’m watchin’ CNN the other day. Mandela dies, on comes a statement by Bono and the second statement’s by Paul Simon. I’m like oh, just make me throw up. You know, I like the guy in a lot of ways, I do; and I respect his work, of course. He’s a wonderful, wonderful artist, but when it comes to this subject, he just will not admit he was wrong. Y’know, just mea culpa. Come on, you won! He made twenty, thirty million dollars at least, okay? Take the money and apologize, okay? I mean, say “Listen, maybe I was wrong about this a little bit.” No.

Well…unfortunately we live in a country where the money means you don’t have to apologize, and let’s leave that there.

The interesting thing is that right now as we speak, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are currently doing a tour of South Africa!! The first time they have ever been down there!! I wonder if Steven Van Zandt is with them!!??? Hmmmmmmm!! If he is, then he seems to have a short memory span!!

^ Huh? Why would it be a bad thing to go there now? He was campaigning against artists breaking the cultural boycott during the Apartheid era and playing gigs at resorts like Sun City, which helped the regime put across a glossy image to the world. There's no reason for him to keep boycotting the country now Apartheid's been dismantled, though. It's actually kind of nice for the band to finally go there and play for people.

Nice footnote to the story: Springsteen and the E Street Band playing 'Free Nelson Mandela' in Cape Town a couple of nights ago.