Bono performs at the 2008 MTV Video Awards
SAITAMA, JAPAN - Bono of U2 performs during MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2008 at Saitama Super Arena on May 31, 2008 in Saitama, Japan. - Tiscali.News
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The Edge Hosts Icons of Music II Auction to Benefit Music Rising at Hard Rock Cafe New York
NEW YORK, May 28 /PRNewswire/ — WHO: U2’s The Edge to host with special performance by Aaron Neville and appearances by Les Paul, Tiki Barber, Christy Turlington, Petra Nemcova, Joan Jett, “Cry-Baby” Broadway star James Snyder, Earl Slick, Jody Porter of Fountains of Wayne, writer May Pang, Donna Karan, legendary producer and Music Rising co-founder Bob Ezrin and many more. Jim Kerr will emcee the auction.Lisa Loeb will be hosting the Auction Network show live from the red carpet.
WHAT: U2’s The Edge, will host the star-studded Icons of Music II Auction at Hard Rock Cafe New York to benefit Music Rising, a campaign founded in 2005 to support musicians, students and parishioners of the Gulf Coast Region affected by the hurricanes.
Music Rising has since aided over 2,700 professional musicians and nearly 50,000 students and parishioners and will soon launch Phase III of the campaign. The event will be conducted by world renowned Julien’s Auctions (http://www.juliensauctions.com).
The exclusive event will include a performance by legendary musician Aaron Neville and a star-studded red carpet. Auction Network, the first 24/7, multimedia network solely dedicated to auctions, will conduct a live webcast in real-time streaming video of The Icons of Music Auction II hosted by Lisa Loeb.
For more information about how to register to bid, etc. please visit http://www.juliensauctions.com or call (310) 816-1818. For tickets, visit http://www.ticketmaster.com.
WHERE: Hard Rock Cafe New York 1501 Broadway New York, NY 10036 WHEN: 5:30 PM Media Check-In 6:00 PM Red Carpet 6:30 PM Performance 7:00 PM Auction About Music Rising Music Rising, a campaign launched in 2005 to replace musical instruments lost or destroyed by hurricanes in the Gulf Region.
It has since launched a second phase dedicated to the aid of schools and churches. Music Rising was formed by U2’s The Edge, legendary producer Bob Ezrin, Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz. Partners of the campaign represent the most diverse partnership in the entertainment industry and include MusiCares, Guitar Center, Musician’s Friend, Live Nation, Kennedy/Marshall, Ticketmaster, Hard Rock International, VH-1, MTV, Real Networks, ABC News Now, The NFL, Rolling Stone, Mr. Hollands Opus, Juliens Auctions, ACT and the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.
Music Rising is the recipient of the prestigious 2005 HALO Award for Cause Marketing and the 2006 Billboard Humanitarian Award, the 2008 PRISM Award and has been recognized around the world by various media organizations. Music Rising is administered by the Gibson Foundation. For more information go to http://www.musicrising.org and http://www.gibsonfoundation.org.
U2’s Bono Presented with Honorary Doctorate
Frontman for Irish rock band U2, Bono, now holds an honorary doctorate in law thanks to Keio University. The Japanese educational institution presented the rock singer with the Doctor of Law Degree this past Tuesday in a ceremony where Bono also gave a lecture that encouraged students to show their support for the state of Africa at the G8 summit that is being held in July this year. This international forum, which is made up of the Canadian, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian, British and American governments, is arranged on a yearly basis to discuss world issues.
NME reported that Keio University believes that Bono’s work in raising awareness and promoting research about AIDS and stopping poverty in Africa deems him worthy of the honorary degree. Bono is in the Asian country so that he will be present at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, which is to take place shortly.
As for Bono’s musical endeavours, U2’s last studio effort came out in 2004. It was the group’s eleventh album named How to Dismantle an Atom Bomb. The band is preparing a new album, which is being readied for release this October.
Writer: Stephanie Ng Wan
Bush, Bono, Brown call for Africa action
FAMOUS names ranging from rock star Bono to US President George W Bush called for action to fight poverty in Africa in a special edition today of one of Japan’s major newspapers.
Bono, visiting Japan for a major Africa development summit that closed yesterday, teamed up with fellow musician-activist Bob Geldof as guest editors of a supplement to the Asahi Shimbun, an influential liberal daily.
Mr Bush wrote that the July 7-9 summit of the Group of Eight major industrial powers, to be held in Japan, needed to take concrete action to tackle AIDS and other scourges afflicting Africa.
“My message to my fellow leaders will be that our past promises are just empty words unless we provide meaningful follow-through,” Mr Bush wrote.
“And if we do, we can continue to help save lives and spread hope across the continent of Africa.”
Mr Bush said the US was doubling aid to Africa by 2010 and highlighted a $US15 billion ($A15.7 billion) AIDS relief fund launched in 2003.
“These efforts rarely make headlines in the United States. But when you go to Africa, the difference we are making is visible,” he said.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in the same newspaper, called for the G8 summit to commit money to expand education in Africa.
“The world cannot make a better investment than in the education of its children,” Brown said.
Bono urged Japan to use the G8 summit to push forward the goal of halving extreme poverty in the world by 2015.
The U2 frontman praised Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda’s pledge to double Japanese aid to Africa but regretted that Tokyo’s overall foreign assistance has been declining.
Highlighting Japan’s past aid across Asia, Bono appealed to the Japanese public to care more about Africa - and pointed to the growing rivalry with China, which has been making inroads into Africa.
Japan’s efforts “were critical in creating the Asian tigers and I am wondering if the same strategies applied to Africa might have similar results,” Bono said.
“Forget moral imperative for a moment,” Bono said.
“The Japanese I know do not like the fact that China is leaving them behind in Africa,” Bono wrote.
“They want to show the world what Japan stands for.”
- Adelaide Now