LIVE 8
Through all the huff’n’puff before & during, there had to be some memorable music. These men & women (pace Geldoff & Bono) are not politicians; nor, in the main, was a capacity for acute political analysis very evident. So as to tolerate the largely obtuse or specious commentary that topped & tailed the performances, either onstage or off, one had to focus on those artists who, one way or another, came up with the goods & then some.
And there were many moments, & even some sustained sequences, in which the limitations of the global jukebox medium were transcended. Whether managing to occupy a stage the size of an aircraft carrier flight deck without lapsing into stadium hubris or reducing it effortlessly to the intimacy of the living room sofa, a handful of acts triumphed. For me, it panned out thus:
· Ms Dynamite giving us Bob Marley’s low-key & thus neglected anthem Redemption Song. Intelligence, sensitivity & relevance.
· Joss Stone singing with a breadth of style & depth of soul from three-times her callow 18 years.
· Craig David & an unnamed acoustic guitarist in Paris delivering up one of the funkiest pieces of jazz/soul/R&B crossover I’ve ever heard.
· Razorlight – one of those bands who rise without trace & then seem to have been around for ever. A charismatic vocalist, Johnny Borrell –passionate, committed & clearly – as Stanislavski once put it – more in love with the art in himself rather than himself in the art.
· Sting – laid-back & effortlessly skilful, playing the same 3 songs he played 20 years ago, but with a crafty & pointed new lyric for I’ll Be Watching You, played against a shifting backdrop of the G8 leaders.
· Pink Floyd – a band that I let go back in the late ‘70s as hopelessly Jurassic. Reunited now with bassist Roger Waters, out in the cold as a result of internecine strife since 1981, & sounding glorious.
· The Who – for me the highpoint. Two 60-year-old men, clearly still determined not to die before they get old. Daltrey’s lungpower undiminished by furred-up pipes, Townsend’s windmilling right arm untroubled by arthritic joints. Mods rule…
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A brief appearance from Geldoff’s daughter showed her to be refreshingly normal & natural in spite of being named Peaches. Not even just Peach, but the fruit in its plural form. A little research revealed the following:
ROCK & FILM STARS’ CHILDREN’S NAMES
Frank Zappa ‘s children: Moon Unit 2, Dweezil, Diva, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan
Diana Ross’ daughter: Chudney Lane
James Hetfield's son: Castor Virgil
Tony Bennett's son: Daegal
Nikki Sixx's son and daughter: Decker Nilsson and Storm
Bono's son: Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q
Sting's son and daughter: Giacomo Luke Sumner and Coco
Aretha Franklin's son: Kecalf
Stevie Wonder's and Syreeta's son: Mumtaz
LL Cool J's son and daughter: Nejee and Tally
Brian Wilson's daughter: Carnie
Snoop Doggy Dogg's daughter: Chordé
Keith Richards' and Anita Pallenberg's daughter: Dandelion
Quincy Jones's daughter: Kidada
Melanie B's daughter: Phoenix Chi
Tanya Tucker's daughter: Presley Tanita
Clay Walker's daughter: Skylor ClayAnne
Neneh Cherry's daughter: Tyson
James Brown's daughter: Yamma
Marisa Berenson’s daughter: Starlite Melody
Mia Farrow’s kids: Lark Song and Satchel
The Phoenix Clan:
River Jude Bottom
Joaquin Raphael Phoenix
Rain Joan of Arc Phoenix
Summer Joy Phoenix
Libertad Mariposa Phoenix & her children: Rio Everest Phoenix, Indigo Orion Phoenix and Scarlette Jasmine Phoenix-Ash
11:18:30 PM 
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