Human Rights Now! Tour
Encyclopedia
Human Rights Now! was a worldwide tour of twenty benefit concert
s on behalf of Amnesty International
that took place over six weeks in 1988. Held not to raise funds but to increase awareness of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
on its 40th anniversary and the work of Amnesty International, the shows featured Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Sting, Peter Gabriel
, Tracy Chapman
, and Youssou N'Dour
, plus guest artists from each of the countries where concerts were held.
Human rights activists and former prisoners of conscience from around the world, led by Sonny Venkatrathnam from South Africa, participated in the tour. At each location, the artists and Amnesty leaders held a press conference to discuss human rights, and concert-goers were provided with copies of the Universal Declaration in their language and opportunities to sign the Declaration themselves and join the worldwide human rights movement.
The tour was made possible in part by a grant from the Reebok Foundation. The twenty concerts were the second stage of what subsequently became known collectively as the Human Rights Concerts
- a series of music events and tours staged by the US Section of Amnesty International between 1986-1998.
The tour was originally conceived by the Executive Director of Amnesty International's U.S. section, Jack Healey
and producer Martin Lewis, who had first recruited rock musicians to perform for Amnesty years before for the Secret Policeman's Ball
series of benefits.Healey then developed the concept with famed rock promoter Bill Graham
, who had worked with Healey on Amnesty's shorter, United States-only tour in 1986, titled A Conspiracy of Hope, and who acted as tour director. Healey served as executive producer, leading the team of three producers: Mary Daly, Jessica Neuwirth, and James Radner, father of George Radner. The media strategies for the tour, based on concepts originated by Healey and Lewis, were developed by Healey and Daly and executed by tour media director Magdeleno Rose-Avela and Charles Fulwood
, Communications Director for Amnesty International USA. The purpose of the tour was to engage the artists, the media and the public in the human rights cause and to deepen the involvement of existing human rights activists.
Like most such ventures there were problems that had to be surmounted. The cost of mounting the events in Third World
countries meant that the tour required significant financial support; the Reebok Foundation filled this gap and thereby made the tour possible. Concert-goers in the developed nations purchased tickets for the shows at typical benefit prices. Prices were intentionally set low for the concerts in the Third World.
The tour was announced in April, with Sting and Gabriel as the headlining acts. Jackson Browne
and Robert Cray
were also at the initial announcement but in the end did not participate. Springsteen joined later, announcing his role during a July radio broadcast of a concert of his in Stockholm
, Sweden.
There were also dilemmas about some of the countries and venues. Certain concerts were planned for remote locations. In some cases host governments were not happy to have the touring superstars preaching freedom and democracy in their backyard. Among Communist
countries, Healey was only able to get into Hungary, and then only after a change in government led to a new opening. A member of the Soviet Politburo attended the Budapest
concert, leading to the first official meeting between representatives of Amnesty International and the government of the U.S.S.R.
In the final event, the tour did indeed go to places rarely if ever visited by Western popular music acts, including India and Equatorial Africa
. E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons
would later say that being in Africa and seeing black people literally everywhere he went was a revelation.
opened the three U.S. dates, and joined the ensemble onstage for the finale. Roy Orbison
appeared with Springsteen at the Oakland show. Ravi Shankar played a set at the New Delhi show. George Dalaras
sang as a guest artist at the Athens concert. Claudio Baglioni
played in the Turin concert. In Paris it was Michel Jonasz
as the French guest star.
Jorge Gonzalez
of Los Prisioneros
sang along with Bruce Springsteen and Tracy Chapman during one of the concerts. Local star Oliver Mtukudzi played the opening set at the Harare concert. The Canadian dates were opened by k.d. lang
. In Montreal, the guest artists were Michel Rivard
and Daniel Lavoie
. León Gieco
and Charly García
opened the Buenos Aires show. Milton Nascimento
performed in the Brazilian concert, with Pat Metheny
as a special guest. During the Hungarian concert Hobo Blues Band, a local band, had a 40-minute part and Bródy János, a pol-beat singer, sang a song. In Barcelona, the guest group was the Spanish group El Último de la Fila
. In Costa Rica, the guest performer was Guadalupe Urbina.
Each show began and ended with a group performance of Bob Marley
's "Get Up, Stand Up
", and before that closer, a Springsteen-led group rendition of Bob Dylan
's "Chimes of Freedom
".
The tour artists generally arranged their individual sets around themes of politics, freedom, and courage; Gabriel previewed the eerie "Of These, Hope" from his upcoming Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ
. Sting performed "They Dance Alone
", about the relatives of "the invisible ones" in Chile. Sting had written the song the year before, inspired by his engagement with human rights activists on the earlier tour; during the Mendoza and Buenos Aires performances, Sting danced with mothers and wives of the disappeared. Springsteen seemed less sure of his approach and peppered his set with standard concert favorites like "Cadillac Ranch" and "Glory Days", but also introduced his sets with locally relevant human rights messages connected to songs such as "War" and "Born in the U.S.A.
"
Tour artists also played some on each others' material. Sting sideman Branford Marsalis
played with N'Dour; Gabriel, Springsteen, and E Streeter Nils Lofgren
joined Sting's set at times; Tracy Chapman sang the Kate Bush
part on Gabriel's "Don't Give Up
", while N'Dour reprised his role on "In Your Eyes
"; and Sting took a verse of Springsteen's "The River
", while his keyboardist David Sancious
staged a mini-reunion with the E Street Band on other numbers. (As it happened, these were the last regular shows the E Street Band
would play for more than a decade.) Baez led the Oakland audience in a verse of "Happy Birthday to You
" to Springsteen, who had turned thirty-nine the day of the show; the two then performed a duet on Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind
". (Baez also opened the three U.S. dates with performances of the spiritual "Oh Freedom" and John Lennon
's "Imagine
".)
Highlights of the final Buenos Aires show were shown on HBO and worldwide on December 10, 1988 (the actual fortieth anniversary of the Declaration), and broadcast on Westwood One
radio.
Benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a concert, show or gala featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. Such events raise both funds and public awareness to address the cause at...
s on behalf of Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
that took place over six weeks in 1988. Held not to raise funds but to increase awareness of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
on its 40th anniversary and the work of Amnesty International, the shows featured Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Sting, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...
, and Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
, plus guest artists from each of the countries where concerts were held.
Human rights activists and former prisoners of conscience from around the world, led by Sonny Venkatrathnam from South Africa, participated in the tour. At each location, the artists and Amnesty leaders held a press conference to discuss human rights, and concert-goers were provided with copies of the Universal Declaration in their language and opportunities to sign the Declaration themselves and join the worldwide human rights movement.
The tour was made possible in part by a grant from the Reebok Foundation. The twenty concerts were the second stage of what subsequently became known collectively as the Human Rights Concerts
Human rights concerts
The Human Rights Concerts is the collective name informally used to describe the series of 28 rock concerts presented worldwide 1986-1998 to raise funds for – and awareness of - the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights organization Amnesty International....
- a series of music events and tours staged by the US Section of Amnesty International between 1986-1998.
Background
Jack Healey
Jack Healey is an American human rights activist and pioneer. A leader in the human rights movement for over 47 years, Jack has helped move the topic of human rights from closed-door diplomatic negotiations to widespread awareness, public debate, and direct citizen action...
and producer Martin Lewis, who had first recruited rock musicians to perform for Amnesty years before for the Secret Policeman's Ball
The Secret Policeman's Balls
The Secret Policeman's Balls is the collective name informally used to describe the long-running series of benefit shows staged in England to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International...
series of benefits.Healey then developed the concept with famed rock promoter Bill Graham
Bill Graham (promoter)
Bill Graham was an American impresario and rock concert promoter from the 1960s until his death.-Early life:...
, who had worked with Healey on Amnesty's shorter, United States-only tour in 1986, titled A Conspiracy of Hope, and who acted as tour director. Healey served as executive producer, leading the team of three producers: Mary Daly, Jessica Neuwirth, and James Radner, father of George Radner. The media strategies for the tour, based on concepts originated by Healey and Lewis, were developed by Healey and Daly and executed by tour media director Magdeleno Rose-Avela and Charles Fulwood
Charles Fulwood
Charles Cinque Fulwood is a media and communications strategist who pioneered global media campaigns and the use of commercial marketing techniques for non-profit organizations...
, Communications Director for Amnesty International USA. The purpose of the tour was to engage the artists, the media and the public in the human rights cause and to deepen the involvement of existing human rights activists.
Like most such ventures there were problems that had to be surmounted. The cost of mounting the events in Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
countries meant that the tour required significant financial support; the Reebok Foundation filled this gap and thereby made the tour possible. Concert-goers in the developed nations purchased tickets for the shows at typical benefit prices. Prices were intentionally set low for the concerts in the Third World.
The tour was announced in April, with Sting and Gabriel as the headlining acts. Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
and Robert Cray
Robert Cray
Robert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...
were also at the initial announcement but in the end did not participate. Springsteen joined later, announcing his role during a July radio broadcast of a concert of his in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden.
There were also dilemmas about some of the countries and venues. Certain concerts were planned for remote locations. In some cases host governments were not happy to have the touring superstars preaching freedom and democracy in their backyard. Among Communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
countries, Healey was only able to get into Hungary, and then only after a change in government led to a new opening. A member of the Soviet Politburo attended the Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
concert, leading to the first official meeting between representatives of Amnesty International and the government of the U.S.S.R.
In the final event, the tour did indeed go to places rarely if ever visited by Western popular music acts, including India and Equatorial Africa
Equatorial Africa
Equatorial Africa is an ambiguous term that is sometimes used to refer to tropical Africa, or the region of Sub-Saharan Africa traversed by the equator....
. E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons
Clarence Clemons
Clarence Anicholas Clemons, Jr. , also known as The Big Man, was an American musician and actor. From 1972 until his death, he was a prominent member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, playing the tenor saxophone. He released several solo albums and in 1985, had a hit single with "You're a...
would later say that being in Africa and seeing black people literally everywhere he went was a revelation.
Performances
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | |||
| 2 September 1988 | London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... |
Wembley Stadium |
| 4 September 1988 | Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... |
France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy Opened in 1984, Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, often abbreviated as POPB or Bercy, is an indoor sports arena on boulevard de Bercy located in the 12th arrondissement of Paris... |
| 5 September 1988 | |||
| 6 September 1988 | Budapest Budapest Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter... |
Hungary Hungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The... |
Népstadion Stadium Puskás Ferenc Ferenc Puskás Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Budapest, Hungary. It is situated on the Pest side of the capital between the Stadionok and the Keleti Palyaudvar metro stations. It is currently used mainly for football matches. The stadium is going to be demolished sometime in 2012 and... |
| 8 September 1988 | Turin Turin Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat... |
Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
Stadio Comunale |
| 10 September 1988 | Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of... |
Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
Camp Nou Camp Nou Camp Nou , sometimes called "the Nou Camp" in English, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium, located in the west of the city, has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957.... |
| North America | |||
| 13 September 1988 | San José San José, Costa Rica San José is the capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation.Founded in 1738 by order of Cabildo de León, San... |
Costa Rica Costa Rica Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east.... |
Estadio Nacional Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica (1926) Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica was a multi-use stadium in La Sabana, San José, Costa Rica. It was used mostly for football matches. The stadium held 25,000 and was built in 1924. It was replaced by the current National Stadium.... |
| 15 September 1988 | Toronto Toronto Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from... |
Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... |
Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the... |
| 17 September 1988 | Montreal Montreal Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America... |
Olympic Stadium Olympic Stadium (Montreal) The Olympic Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district of Montreal, Quebec, Canada built as the main venue for the 1976 Summer Olympics... |
|
| 19 September 1988 | Philadelphia | United States | JFK Stadium |
| 21 September 1988 | Los Angeles Los Ángeles Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants... |
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team... |
|
| 23 September 1988 | Oakland Oakland, California Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724... |
Oakland Coliseum | |
| Asia | |||
| 27 September 1988 | Tokyo Tokyo , ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family... |
Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
Tokyo Dome Tokyo Dome Tokyo Dome is a 55,000-seat baseball stadium located in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo, Japan.The stadium opened for business on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome which was next door to the site of the predecessor ballpark, Kōrakuen Stadium... |
| 30 September 1988 | New Delhi New Delhi New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is... |
India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... |
Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi, India, is a multipurpose sports arena hosting football and other sporting events, as well as large-scale entertainment events. It is named after the first Prime Minister of India. The all-seater facility seats 60,000 spectators, and up to 100,000 for concerts... |
| Europe | |||
| 3 October 1988 | Athens Athens Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... |
Greece Greece Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe.... |
Olympic Stadium Olympic Stadium (Athens) The Olympic Stadium "Spiros Louis" , is part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. It is named after the first modern Olympic marathon race winner in 1896, Spiros Louis.-History:... |
| Africa | |||
| 7 October 1988 | Harare Harare Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its... |
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three... |
National Sports Stadium |
| 9 October 1988 | Abidjan Abidjan Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal... |
Ivory Coast | Stade Houphuet-Boigny Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, nicknamed "le Félicia", is a multi-purpose stadium, which can host football, rugby and athletics, in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. It is the national stadium of the Côte d'Ivoire national football team. It is named after the first president of the country, Félix... |
| South America | |||
| 12 October 1988 | São Paulo São Paulo São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among... |
Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... |
Parque Antártica |
| 14 October 1988 | Mendoza Mendoza, Argentina Mendoza is the capital city of Mendoza Province, in Argentina. It is located in the northern-central part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains, on the eastern side of the Andes. As of the , Mendoza's population was 110,993... |
Argentina Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires... |
Estadio Mundialista Mendoza Estadio Malvinas Argentinas The Estadio Malvinas Argentinas is a stadium, in the city of Mendoza, Argentina, at General San Martín Park.It was built in 1976 in preparation for the 1978 World Cup... |
| 15 October 1988 | Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent... |
River Plate Stadium Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti, is a stadium in the Belgrano district of Buenos Aires, Argentina at the intersection of Figueroa Alcorta and Udaondo. It is the home venue of Club Atlético River Plate and is named after former club president Antonio Vespucio Liberti... |
|
Guest artists
Musician and longtime human rights activist Joan BaezJoan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
opened the three U.S. dates, and joined the ensemble onstage for the finale. Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
appeared with Springsteen at the Oakland show. Ravi Shankar played a set at the New Delhi show. George Dalaras
George Dalaras
George Dalaras , also possibly spelled as Yorgos or Giorgos Dalaras, is a Greek singer. He is of international fame and has recently been selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. He was born in Nea Kokinia, Piraeus. His father was Loukas Daralas, a singer of rebetiko.-Early...
sang as a guest artist at the Athens concert. Claudio Baglioni
Claudio Baglioni
Claudio Baglioni is an Italian musician. His various works include the official Anthem for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin. He has also written for previous sporting events....
played in the Turin concert. In Paris it was Michel Jonasz
Michel Jonasz
Michel Jonasz is a French composer-songwriter, singer and actor. His compositions include: La boîte de jazz, Joueurs de blues and Les vacances au bord de la mer....
as the French guest star.
Jorge Gonzalez
Jorge González (musician)
Jorge González is the former lead singer, main songwriter and sole composer of the Chilean band Los Prisioneros, and is currently the frontman of Los Updates. Los Prisioneros enjoyed a huge level of popularity and success initially in Chile and eventually all of Latin America beginning in 1984...
of Los Prisioneros
Los Prisioneros
Los Prisioneros was a chilean rock band formed in San Miguel, Santiago, Chile in 1982. They began as a local band during the early 1980s, playing small shows in their neighborhood and high school...
sang along with Bruce Springsteen and Tracy Chapman during one of the concerts. Local star Oliver Mtukudzi played the opening set at the Harare concert. The Canadian dates were opened by k.d. lang
K.D. Lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
. In Montreal, the guest artists were Michel Rivard
Michel Rivard
Michel Rivard , is a singer-songwriter and musician from Quebec. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His father was an actor, Robert Rivard...
and Daniel Lavoie
Daniel Lavoie
Daniel Lavoie is a Canadian singer–songwriter.Lavoie was born in Dunrea, Manitoba, Canada. His mother was a musician and he learned to play piano at a young age...
. León Gieco
León Gieco
Raúl Alberto Antonio Gieco, better known as León Gieco is a pop-folk music composer and interpreter. He is known for mixing popular folkloric genres with Argentine rock, and for lyrics with social and political connotations...
and Charly García
Charly García
Charly García is a singer-songwriter, pianist and keyboardist from Argentina with a long career in rock music, forming successful groups such as Sui Generis and Serú Girán, cult status groups like La Máquina de Hacer Pájaros, and as a solo musician.-Early years:Charly García was the eldest son in...
opened the Buenos Aires show. Milton Nascimento
Milton Nascimento
-Biography:Nascimento's mother was the maid Maria Nascimento. As a baby, Milton Nascimento was adopted by his mother's former employers: the couple Josino Brito Campos, a banker employee, mathematics teacher and electronic technician; and Lília Silva Campos, a music teacher and choir singer...
performed in the Brazilian concert, with Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
as a special guest. During the Hungarian concert Hobo Blues Band, a local band, had a 40-minute part and Bródy János, a pol-beat singer, sang a song. In Barcelona, the guest group was the Spanish group El Último de la Fila
El Último de la Fila
El Último de la Fila was a Spanish music group created in the mid 1980s in Barcelona, Spain. The original members were Manolo García and Quimi Portet.-History:...
. In Costa Rica, the guest performer was Guadalupe Urbina.
Musical themes
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
's "Get Up, Stand Up
Get Up, Stand Up
"Get Up, Stand Up" is a reggae song written by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.The song originally appeared on The Wailers' 1973 album Burnin. It was recorded and played live in numerous versions by The Wailers and Bob Marley & The Wailers, along with solo versions by Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer...
", and before that closer, a Springsteen-led group rendition of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "Chimes of Freedom
Chimes of Freedom
"Chimes of Freedom" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan and featured on his 1964 album Another Side of Bob Dylan , produced by Tom Wilson. It was written in early 1964 and was influenced by the symbolist poetry of Arthur Rimbaud. The song depicts the feelings and thoughts of the singer...
".
The tour artists generally arranged their individual sets around themes of politics, freedom, and courage; Gabriel previewed the eerie "Of These, Hope" from his upcoming Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ
Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ
Passion: Music for The Last Temptation of Christ is a musical album released in 1989 by Peter Gabriel. It is his second soundtrack and eighth album overall...
. Sting performed "They Dance Alone
They Dance Alone
"They Dance Alone " is a protest song composed by English musician Sting and published first on the 1987 album ...Nothing Like the Sun. The song is a metaphor referring to mourning Chilean women who dancing the Cueca, the national dance of Chile, alone with photographs of their disappeared loved...
", about the relatives of "the invisible ones" in Chile. Sting had written the song the year before, inspired by his engagement with human rights activists on the earlier tour; during the Mendoza and Buenos Aires performances, Sting danced with mothers and wives of the disappeared. Springsteen seemed less sure of his approach and peppered his set with standard concert favorites like "Cadillac Ranch" and "Glory Days", but also introduced his sets with locally relevant human rights messages connected to songs such as "War" and "Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A. (song)
"Born in the U.S.A." is a 1984 song written and performed by Bruce Springsteen. Taken from the album of the same name, it is one of his best-known singles. Rolling Stone ranked the song 275th on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". In 2001, the RIAA's Songs of the Century placed...
"
Tour artists also played some on each others' material. Sting sideman Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis
Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque.-Biography:Marsalis was born...
played with N'Dour; Gabriel, Springsteen, and E Streeter Nils Lofgren
Nils Lofgren
Nils Hilmer Lofgren is an American rock music recording artist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist...
joined Sting's set at times; Tracy Chapman sang the Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
part on Gabriel's "Don't Give Up
Don't Give Up (Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush song)
"Don't Give Up" is song written by Peter Gabriel and recorded as a duet with Kate Bush for Gabriel's album So. The single version spent eleven weeks in the UK Top 75 chart in 1986, peaking at number nine. It describes the despair of a man who feels isolated and defeated by the economic system, and...
", while N'Dour reprised his role on "In Your Eyes
In Your Eyes (Peter Gabriel song)
"In Your Eyes" is a song by British musician Peter Gabriel from his 1986 album So. It reached #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November, 1986. It was not released as a single in the UK...
"; and Sting took a verse of Springsteen's "The River
The River (Bruce Springsteen song)
"The River" is a song written and recorded by Bruce Springsteen, accompanied by the E Street Band. It was the title track of his fifth album, The River, and was a hit single in parts of Europe. It reached #25 in the Netherlands, and reached the top 10 in both Sweden and Norway...
", while his keyboardist David Sancious
David Sancious
David Sancious is an American musician. He was an early member of Bruce Springsteen's backing group, the E Street Band, and contributed to the first three Springsteen albums, and again on the 1992 album Human Touch. Sancious is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known as a keyboard player and...
staged a mini-reunion with the E Street Band on other numbers. (As it happened, these were the last regular shows the E Street Band
E Street Band
The E Street Band has been rock musician Bruce Springsteen's primary backing band since 1972.The band has also recorded with a wide range of other artists including Bob Dylan, Meat Loaf, Bonnie Tyler, Air Supply, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Stevie Nicks, Tom Morello, Sting, Ian...
would play for more than a decade.) Baez led the Oakland audience in a verse of "Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
"Happy Birthday to You", also known more simply as "Happy Birthday", is a song that is traditionally sung to celebrate the anniversary of a person's birth...
" to Springsteen, who had turned thirty-nine the day of the show; the two then performed a duet on Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind
Blowin' in the Wind
"Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan and released on his album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in 1963. Although it has been described as a protest song, it poses a series of questions about peace, war and freedom...
". (Baez also opened the three U.S. dates with performances of the spiritual "Oh Freedom" and John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's "Imagine
Imagine
-Music, film and television:* Imagine , an album by John Lennon** "Imagine" , the title track** Imagine , a 1972 film by John Lennon and Yoko Ono** Imagine: John Lennon, a 1988 documentary film...
".)
Highlights of the final Buenos Aires show were shown on HBO and worldwide on December 10, 1988 (the actual fortieth anniversary of the Declaration), and broadcast on Westwood One
Westwood One
Westwood One was an American radio network and was based in New York City. At one time, it was managed by CBS Radio, the radio arm of CBS Corporation, and Viacom and was later purchased by the private equity firm The Gores Group...
radio.