Tens of thousands of people turned out yesterday to hear local and international stars at two Australian concerts to raise funds for victims of wildfires that killed hundreds of people.
British supergroup Coldplay started off the “Sound Relief” concert at the Sydney Cricket Ground with their hit Yellow, while local band Jet opened the show in Australia’s second biggest city Melbourne.
US group Kings of Leon were also due to perform before a crowd of 80,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground before specially reunited Australian protest rockers Midnight Oil close the concert.
Midnight Oil’s frontman is Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett, who told a news conference he had no problems swapping his formal role for the chance to rock and roll again.
“We didn’t have to convince the prime minister [Kevin Rudd] or anyone else about us playing,” he said. “Naturally, I consulted with my colleagues because I’ve got responsibilities but I think everybody recognizes that it was just a really extraordinary situation and occasion that had come about.”
Garrett, 55, and Midnight Oil rose to fame with worldwide hits in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including Beds are Burning and Blue Sky Mine, before splitting in 2002. The minister said the Victorian bushfires had been an “extraordinary and at times traumatic experience” for the state’s people.
“The music industry coming together to put its hands in its pockets and get itself out on the stage and perform in an arena like the Melbourne Cricket Ground is a very, very special day for us,” he said.
The two concerts are expected to raise about A$5 million (US$3.25 million) to help victims of the worst wildfires in the nation’s history.
At least 210 people were killed and more than 2,000 homes destroyed as fires fanned by record high temperatures and strong winds swept through drought-stricken southern Victoria state last month.
Ironically, rain fell in the state capital Melbourne as the concert got under way, but it failed to deter fans, while in Sydney a thunderstorm halted proceedings.
Sensitivities about the fires gave some of the stars pause for thought, though, with Kings of Leon declining to play one of their biggest songs, Sex on Fire. It was also seen as unlikely that Garrett and Midnight Oil would perform their hit Beds are Burning.
“I think that you can look at lyrics out of any songs and clearly, there are going to be lines there that pertain to any human situation,” he told the news conference. “But the songs stand in their own right and in their own time.”
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