The ONE Campaign has mobilised dozens of musicians from around the world to launch agit8, an urgent call for action against extreme poverty in the run up to the meeting of G8 political leaders in Northern Ireland.
U2 Angelique Kidjo, Ed Sheeran, Will.i.am, Mumford and Sons and Elvis Costello are among those joining artists from several countries in Africa in recording brand new versions of classic protest songs 'because protest leads to progress'.
The scandal of extreme poverty and the disgrace of needless child deaths really can be ended but it won't happen without action now,' says Kidjo, a special adviser to agit8. 'Throughout history, we have seen great progress when people join forces to demand change. If enough people add their voices to the chorus of protest, world leaders will be forced to hear us and act.'
A pretty great collection of covers includes two U2 tracks, Sunday Bloody Sunday and 'Pride' - news on what U2 have covered coming soon.
Find videos of these new performances of classic protest songs are at ONE and on Spotify.
Bono, co-founder of ONE, quotes the great agitator Nelson Mandela. 'Like slavery and Apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and can be overcome. Millions of people... are trapped in the prison of poverty. It is time to set them free. Sometimes if falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation.'
ONE has also collaborated with filmmakers, actors and activists
including Richard Curtis, The Found Collective, Chiwetel Ejiofor and
People Speak to create a 30-minute film celebrating how protest, and its music, can catalyze progress in history. The film will be projected
onto the Tate Modern in London at 10pm tonight, Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday.
