Andrew Clarke #5538871

There Is No Them, There’s Only Us: Music and Activism

PCUL 2P70 Popular Music and Society
April 1, 2014
Seminar W 12pm, Leader Jennifer Lackey
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The concert has ended. People rush to their vehicles in an attempt to avoid the ensuing

traffic jam. Families and friends reminisce on the wonderful time they had. In a few days, the

show is all but forgotten as people go about their lives. Or is it? Music is unparalleled in the

effects it can have upon individuals and society as a whole. Music can move people in the sense

of emotion or dance. Music can also move people to take action. While music is primarily seen

as a source of entertainment, music also plays a large role in activism, with musicians possessing

the power to create and reinforce social movements.

In lecture, Band Aid’s “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” the Live Aid concert, and

similar events in the realm of “conscious rock” were discussed. “Do They Know it’s Christmas?”

was recorded by a number of prominent English artists and sold around 10 million copies. It

ended up raising £8 million for Africa’s famine relief and increased awareness on the issue.

Along the same lines, prominent American artists joined together – called USA (United Support

of Artists) for Africa – and recorded “We Are the World” shortly following Band Aid’s release.

This single accumulated $50 million, a portion of which went to aid hungry and homeless

Americans, while the majority of the funds went to famine relief in Africa (Shuker, 2013).

Live Aid was a huge event that occurred in the summer of 1985. This benefit concert

included a long list of noteworthy artists and spanned two locations (Philadelphia, PA, USA, and

London, England). Seen by some as an event primarily for entertainment purposes, given the

spectacle of artists such as Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, and Paul McCartney, it also accomplished

the goal it set out to fulfill: to raise awareness and funds for the Ethiopian famine. BBC reports

that the event raised £40 million. There were an approximated one billion viewers throughout

150 different countries in addition to the 72,000 at Wembley Stadium in London and the crowd

at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia (Shuker, 2013; BBC, n.d.).

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Twenty years later, the Live 8 concert took place across the globe. This concert was

organized to raise consciousness on poverty issues and to persuade the G8 leaders to take action

(BBC, n.d.). While there have been some critics of “entertainers” performing for such events,

Billy Bragg argues that it is simply an act of “compassion.” The artists do not have to sing on the

issues to care about them. This is exemplified through David Bowie’s Live Aid performance, as

Bowie cut his set short in order to show a video about the Ethiopian famine (Garofalo, 2005).

A prime example of this entertainment/activism conundrum among specific musicians is

The Beatles and its members. The Beatles changed popular music in the 1960s, as “Beatlemania”

rocked the world. They released 19 chart-topping albums, as well as 19 chart-topping songs.

Their performance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 had over 70 million viewers. They released

a number of successful films; the first, A Hard Day’s Night, made $1.3 million in its release

week in America. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, and had sold

over 170 million records in America alone by 2008 (Rolling Stone, 2014).

John Lennon was a political activist for peace, composing songs such as “Give Peace A

Chance,” “Imagine,” and “Power to the People,” before his death in 1980. At a 1969 peace rally

in Washington, D.C., “Give Peace a Chance” was sung by almost half a million protestors

(Whitehead, 2012). He wrote “Revolution” for the Beatles (credited as Lennon-McCartney) in

response to the Vietnam War and the surrounding “political turmoil” (Platoff, 2005). It contains

the lyrics, “You say you want a revolution... but when you talk about destruction/don’t you know

that you can count me out.” In 1965, the Beatles’ members were granted the MBE (Member of

the British Empire). A few years later, outraged at Great Britain’s support of the Vietnam War,

Lennon revoked this title (Hammett, 2014). Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, engaged in “bed-

ins,” where they remained in their beds for weeks at a time in an anti-war protest. During this
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time, they spoke to the media about world peace. He also performed at a benefit show in

response to the arrest of political activist John Sinclair. The day after the event, the Supreme

Court decided to release Sinclair (Whitehead, 2012).

Paul McCartney is another activist to arise from The Beatles; he was among the recording

artists for Band Aid and performed at Live Aid. Today, as a vegetarian, ambassador for PETA,

and a widely successful musician, McCartney is an animal rights activist. He and his late wife

Linda formed Linda McCartney Foods in 1991, producing safe and satisfactory vegetarian food

products (Linda McCartney Foods, 2012). In 2008, he called for a boycott against McDonald’s

after the company used the Beatles’ likeness in a display in Liverpool (Knapton, 2008).

Additionally, Paul McCartney is invested in other issues. He backs Adopt-a-Minefield,

which works to clear minefields and assist people whom landmines have harmed. In support of

this organization, he participates in the annual benefit gala (Mojica & Staples, 2013).

McCartney’s website (2014) contains a charity blog where his role as an activist is evident. It

includes his support for number of campaigns, such as Cruelty Free International in their attempt

to ban using animals for cosmetic testing, Greenpeace in saving the Arctic, and Climate Week.

Like The Beatles, U2 has been involved in the entertainment/activism conundrum. This

Irish band has released 12 studio albums since their inception in 1976, selling over 150 million

records and accumulating 22 Grammy awards. U2 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of

Fame in 2005 (Andrews, Kearns, Kingsbury, & Carr, 2011). Following 1987’s The Joshua Tree,

which hit #1, TIME magazine referred to the band as "Rock's Hottest Ticket" (McGee, 2007;

Andrews et al., 2011). This label still holds true today. Billboard reports that the band’s 2011

tour, U2 ‘360°,’ is the most successful tour of all time, as ticket sales exceeded the $700 million

mark (Billboard, 2011).

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Despite being seen as one of the most entertaining music artists, exemplified through

their commercial success, U2 has long been front and center when it comes to activism. The

band has long been active in a number of causes, primarily arising from the band’s front man,

Bono. Bono lent his voice to “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” in 1984, and U2 performed at

Live Aid in 1985. Almost 30 years later, Bono and his band mates have never shied away from

the public eye on issues. U2 headlined Amnesty International’s “Conspiracy of Hope” tour in

1986, which resulted tripling membership for the human rights group (McGee, 2007).

In 1998, U2 participated in a fundraiser for those who were affected by the Omagh,

Northern Ireland bombings (McGee, 2007). In 2011, 25 years following the “Conspiracy of

Hope” tour, the band invited Amnesty International to participate in their profoundly successful

360° Tour. The group reports that they gained over 200 thousand supporters for their Demand

Dignity campaign through the tour. The organization’s Secretary General, Salil Shetty, released a

statement regarding their success via U2 360°: “Music has a unique power. It brings people

together and inspires us to take action. Through their unwavering passion, dedication and support

for human rights, U2 have encouraged thousands of people to join Amnesty International´s quest

for dignity, freedom, justice and truth over the last 27 years” (Macnamara, 2011).

Bono has either founded or co-founded various charitable or activist organizations over

the years, primarily dealing with HIV/AIDS relief and poverty in Africa. Among these is the

ONE Campaign, created in 2004. Through its advocacy efforts, ONE has raised $95 billion in

debt relief among poor countries and convinced government officials to back programs that aid

the war against poverty and disease (ONE, n.d.). A few years later, Bono founded Product

(RED), which is a division of ONE. (RED)’s funds go to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB,

and Malaria. Partners for the group include Apple, Coca-Cola, and Starbucks (RED, n.d.). Bono
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has stated, “Product RED piggybacks the excitement and energy of the commercial world to buy

lifesaving AIDS drugs for Africans who cannot afford them” (O'Manique & Labonte, 2008). The

organization has raised over $250 million, impacting 40 million lives (RED, n.d.). Additionally,

Bono has been a part of Jubilee’s Drop the Debt, Make Poverty History, and DATA (Debt,

AIDS, Trade, Africa) campaigns (Andrews et al., 2011). As a result of his humanitarian efforts,

TIME magazine named Bono Person of the Year in 2005, along with Bill and Melinda Gates.

In February 2014, U2 released a new song, titled “Invisible.” It was available to

download for free on iTunes for 36 hours. Bank of America donated $1 to (RED) for each

download, which then went to the Global Fund. The track garnered $3,138,470 at the conclusion

of the 36 hours. Currently, “Invisible” is available for purchase, and all proceeds go to (RED)’s

Global Fund (U2, 2014a). An upbeat alternative rock track, “Invisible” emphasizes a sense of

togetherness. It contains repeated lyrics, “There is no them/there’s only us.” In the music video,

Bono engages with the crowd during this segment, and the crowd chants these lyrics in unison

(U2, 2014b).

Additionally, U2 has released a number of songs containing a social or political message

over the years. “Electric Co.” was written on their debut album in response to mental illness

treatments involving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in Ireland. Their 2009 track, “Breathe,”

contains the lyrics, “16th of June, Chinese stocks are going up/and I’m coming down with some

new Asian virus/Ju Ju man, Ju Ju man/Doc says you’re fine, or dying/Please...” “Red Hill

Mining Town,” released on The Joshua Tree, was written about the UK miners’ strike of 1984-

85. On the same album, “Bullet the Blue Sky” references the US’s intervention in the

Salvadorian Civil War. Andrews et al. (2011) report that in subsequent shows, Bono has made

references to more current events such as gun control and the global arms trade during this track.
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Music is often seen as having pure entertainment purposes. However, this is not always

the case. Music can lead to change. Events like Live Aid and Live 8 and musicians like John

Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Bono show that musicians can use music in order to bring about

change. These celebrities are seen as having credibility from their fans that are invested in them.

Their status as entertainment icons enables them to have power to bring about change.
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Resources

Andrews, G. J., Kearns, R. A., Kingsbury, P., & Carr, E. R. (2011). Cool aid? Health, wellbeing

and place in the work of Bono and U2. Health & Place, 17(1), 185-194. Retrieved from

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353829210001450#

BBC. (n.d.). 1985: Live Aid makes millions for Africa. On This Day. Retrieved from

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/13/newsid_2502000/2502735.stm

Billboard. (2011). U2's '360' is officially the most successful tour of all time. Retrieved from

http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/touring/1178401/u2s-360-is-officially-the-

most-successful-tour-of-all-time

Garofalo, R. (2005). Who is the world? Reflections on music and politics twenty years after Live

Aid. Journal of Popular Music Studies, 17(3), 324-344.

Hammett, W. (2014). John Lennon’s political activism. John Lennon and the Mercy Street Café.

Retrieved from http://www.johnlennonandthemercystreetcafe.com/lennonactivism.html

Knapton, S. (2008). Sir Paul McCartney calls for McDonald's boycott. The Telegraph. Retrieved

from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/3157502/Sir-Paul-McCartney-calls-

for-McDonalds-boycott.html

Linda McCartney Foods. (2012). Our story. Retrieved from

http://www.lindamccartneyfoods.co.uk/foodvalues/

Macnamara, L. (2011). Amnesty's huge success on the U2 360° tour. Amnesty International.

Retrieved from http://www.amnesty.org/en/blog/art-for-amnesty/amnestys-huge-success-

u2-360%C2%B0-tour

McCartney, P. (2014). Charity blog. Retrieved from http://www.paulmccartney.com/news-

blogs/charity-blog
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McGee, M. (2007). U2’s history. Retrieved from http://www.atu2.com/band/bio.html

Mojica, M. & Staples, D. (2013). Ten charitable musicians giving back in surprising ways.

Consequence of Sound. Retrieved from http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/08/ten-

charitable-musicians-giving-back-in-surprising-ways/full-post/

O'Manique, C., & Labonte, R. (2008). Rethinking (product) RED. The Lancet,371(9624), 1561-

1563.

ONE. (n.d.). About ONE. Retrieved from http://www.one.org/us/about/

Platoff, J. (2005). John Lennon, “Revolution,” and the politics of musical reception. The Journal

of Musicology, 22(2), 241-267. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/jm.2005.22.2.241

RED. (n.d.). Learn. Retrieved from http://www.red.org/en/learn

Rolling Stone. (2014). The Beatles: Biography. Retrieved from

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/the-beatles/biography

Shuker, R. (2013). Understanding popular music culture (4th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

U2. (2014a). Three million and counting. Retrieved from http://www.u2.com/news/title/three-

million-and-counting

U2. (2014b, February 11). U2 - 'Invisible' (RED) edit version. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajVoeX4eqIQ

Whitehead, J. (2012). John Lennon: The last great anti-war activist. The Rutherford Institute.

Retrieved from

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ennon_the_last_great_anti_war_activist