Photo: Shirlaine Forrest
Ian Brown has slammed both Bono and Bob Geldof over the way they “hijacked” the G8 summit in 2005 with Live 8.
Both held in June, the G8 summit at Gleneagles featured an assembly of eight countries who had come together to draw up a package to solve both, the problems in Africa and the pressing issue of climate change.
Brown believes that the concert, however - which was held to raise awareness of the nationwide pandemics in Africa and featured performances from Madonna, Paul McCartney and Coldplay - took the emphasis away from the real issue being discussed by the politicians.
"I get angry about how African kids have to live. I thought the G8 Summit at Gleneagles in 2005 was a real missed opportunity,” Brown told the Guardian.
“I applaud how Brown and Blair tried to put it at the top of the agenda. I didn't like the way Bono and Geldof hijacked the G8 Summit demo with their pop concert. The only result was Pink Floyd sold a few more million albums.”
He continued: “People have to realise you don't help African children singing along to 60-year-old men playing their tunes from 40 years ago. It was like 1750 all over again: we are the great white do-gooders.
“If there is another G8 meeting then there should be a court order banning Pink Floyd or Geldof or Bono from leaving their houses until it's over."
Meanwhile, Brown releases his new album, ‘The World Is Yours,’ next Monday (September 24th).
