Live 8

Tomorrow, as if you didn't already know, the world will once again rock to the sound of some of the biggest bands and musicians the world has to offer and again our thoughts and hopefully our actions, will be directed at those far less fortunate than ourselves, whilst we enjoy the spectacle that will be Live8!

Whether this event and the collective wishes of we mere mortals will have the desired effect on those making decisions at the G8 summit remains to be seen. I am not a politician, I am not even very politically motivated any longer but for me it seems easy, the solution for helping end the plight of those in Africa is black and white, there is no room for grey!

Bob Geldof has long been a hero of mine, long before even the days of Live Aid, back when his only fame was having uttered the words 'tell me why I don't like Mondays' along with the members of the Boomtown Rats.

Here was a man who for me had a charisma that was rare, his direct, probably considered rude by many, approach appealed to me, he spoke with a passion and a motivation that I could only wish I had the courage for and still do.

Scruffy, loud mouthed and opinionated he may be but he motivated a whole generation in 1985 to try and do something about Africa's poverty and he bought that poverty into the limelight. The 80's were for those of us in the more developed world were a time of excesses in many ways, we were a generation bought up to think we could 'have it all', it was the era of the 'yuppie' and until Mr Geldof 'did his thing' I doubt many of us genuinely considered what was going on away from our own doorstep. Bob, was for millions, the motivation for change.

Live Aid day is a day that is seared into my memory, I lived in Manchester at the time but travelled to my parents in London just to be 'closer to the action', having failed to obtain tickets. I sat for the whole day and night riveted to the television save for a brief trip into my local town to buy cigarettes. It was an odd experience, the fact that something 'big' was going on was palpable, the town was almost deserted and those that there were out and about had radios playing and were talking 'Live Aid'.

To this day to see or hear a clip, any clip, from that event still has the power to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and from that day forward Geldof became for me probably the individual I admire most in this world of ours.

He and what he stands for will always have critics, we will never all agree on the best way to deal with the problems he has bought to the fore with such a passion. There are those that think to encourage children to miss school for a day, or to encourage thousands to descend on Edinburgh en masse is irresponsible. Critics will always accuse Geldof, Ure, Bono and the other 'stars' involved of using Live Aid, and now presumably Live 8, to promote their own career's but if that was the case it certainly didn't work for Geldof! His concert tour soon after Live Aid was cancelled for lack of ticket sales!

Love him or hate him Geldof has made a difference. Tomorrow the world will tune into Live8 and hopefully minds will be changed, actions will be changed and world leaders will listen..........


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