Re: Junoon to perform at Live8 (UK)
http://www.asiansinmedia.org/news/article.php/music/991
28th June, 2005
Birmingham based producer and singer Hunterz will be joining the Live 8 concert at Hyde Park, AIM has learnt, in a special collaboration with the band UB40.
At this stage he seems to be the only British Asian performer at the Hyde Park event on Saturday 2nd July which has been repeatedly criticised for having a “too white” roster of performers.
Hunterz will be part of the set that UB40 will be performing from their new album Who You Fighting For. He features on the track Reasons as a guest vocalist along with performers from the band Dhol Blasters.
UB40 band member Brian Travers told AIM: "We wanted to work with Hunterz for a while, and sometimes we listened to his music without realising because it was being played by others.
“He was originally going to produce the track [Reasons] with a girl singing on the track, but that wasn’t working out for us. Instead Hunterz took on the vocals himself and that was just what we needed.”
He admitted that although the Live 8 organisers have been rightfully criticised for not having a diverse enough line-up, they were trying to make amends. “Harvey Goldsmith and Bob are bringing all these worlds into Hyde Park through Birmingham,” he said. “Hunterz is a lovely guy and he deserves this opportunity. Let’s just hope his knees aren’t knocking when he stands in front of 200,000 people. It will be trial by fire.”
Hunterz’s manager Mambo Sharma said: “He is obviously very thrilled that UB40 and Live 8 have agreed to add an Asian flavour to their line-up. We are very proud to fly the flag for British Asians. By having Hunterz on stage it shows that there are many opportunities for many people from all types of backgrounds.”
There are now ten Live 8 concerts being organised all over the world. Saturday’s concerts will start in Tokyo and end in Philadelphia and near Toronto, with Moscow, Johannesburg, Berlin, Rome, Paris, London and Cornwall on the way.
**It was revealed last week that Pakistani rock band Junoon had also been invited to perform at the Live 8 concert in Edinburgh on July 6th. Lead guitarist Salman Ahmad said: “It’s a great honour for Junoon to be part of one giant global-jukebox for the eradication of poverty and music is the most powerful force for positive change.” Junoon will be specially flown in from the U.S. where they are on a tour. **
Further concerts are planned for Kenya and Ghana later in the year. A smaller concert, Africa Calling, organised by Womad, will also be held at Cornwall’s Eden Project on July 2.