Gabriel and Yusaf Islam will perform together in what will be a historical moment in music - Yusaf, more widely recognised as the legendary 70's singer/songwriter Cat Stevens, makes a rare live performance appearance. For Gabriel it will be the first time that he will perform his song Biko - the song written as a tribute to the anti-apartheid activist killed in 1977 - before a South African audience.
Sir Paul McCartney was among the first global artists to respond to the 46664 call to artists to contribute new music which would help create awareness and raise funds through 46664's ground-breaking global telephone and web campaign which allows callers to hear and download music, register their concern, and make a donation to the cause. The website www.46664.com also provides worldwide telephone numbers to call and contribute.
A collaboration with 46664's founder, Dave Stewart, the new and original track, 'Whole Life' was recorded at London's famous Abbey Road studios the day after former President Nelson Mandela launched his campaign in London. In a single day Stewart and McCartney wrote, recorded and mixed the song, 'Whole Life', which can now be heard from anywhere in the world only by going to www.46664.com
In joining 46664 - The Concert in association with MTV's Staying Alive, Peter Gabriel and Yusaf Islam join a phenomenal line-up that already includes Anastacia, Baaba Maal, Beyonce, Bono, Jimmy Cliff, The Corrs, Ms Dynamite, The Eurythmics, Moloko, Paul Oakenfold featuring Shifty Shell Shock and TC, Queen, and Youssou N'Dour, together with South African artists including Bongo Maffin, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu, Danny K, Angelique Kidjo, Ready D., Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Watershed, and Zola.
The November 29 concert will be one of the biggest rock events ever staged in Africa and will also be the most widely distributed media event ever, with hundreds of TV and radio partners taking the concert around the world, led by Tiscali, who will be broadcasting the concert live on the internet, and MTV's Staying Alive who are premiering the concert on all MTV channels on 1 December - World AIDS Day - and will be made available rights free at no cost to all TV and radio broadcasters worldwide. It is expected to reach an audience of more than 3 billion people in over 90 countries across the world
The scope and scale of the concert is already becoming apparent. As the 46664 Concert at Greenpoint Stadium begins to take shape, forty thousand kilos of concert equipment have already been transported to Cape Town by FedEx who have donated their services in support of the 46664 - Give A Minute Of Your Life To AIDS campaign. The valuable cargo of equipment and band instruments - enough to fill an entire DC8 aeroplane - will next week be followed by arrivals from the world over of an army size entourage of artists and crew, with first to arrive being Queen, whose Roger Taylor and Brian May land in Cape Town on Friday, November 21.
Says Roger Taylor: "This is such an exciting concert. It is really a meeting of the continents, bringing together a lot of South African artists, and a lot of great western artists. This mix is so important, because we want to reach young people; they are the people most affected. We want to reach them to let them know what this virus is, how you can prevent it, what measures you can take - and to demystify it as well."
It is not only the world music community which has rallied to support the 46664 call, with global figures such as Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey among those who have recorded personal messages to be screened as part of the 46664 concert and television broadcast.
46664 - The Concert in association with MTV's Staying Alive opens its gates at Greenpoint Stadium on Saturday November 29th at 2pm. The 3-hour concert begins at 7pm. Over 40,000 people are expected to attend, with billions more around the world able to tune into the concert via TV, webcast and radio. In South Africa, SABC will broadcast the entire show live and distribute it throughout the African continent.
The 46664 Campaign, launched by Nelson Mandela on 21 October in London, calls on people to join a global petition and contribute directly to the fight against AIDS in Africa and around the world. The campaign hopes to influence governments to declare a global AIDS emergency and initiate a programme to get 3 million people with the HIV virus on lifesaving anti-retrovirals by 2005.
Nelson Mandela - International Aids Conference - Paris 2003
The concert is on November 29th, 2003 at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town. Gates open at 2pm. Concert starts at 7pm. Tickets for the concert are already available at Computicket. Call Computicket on (+27) 084 915 8000 or visit their website at www.computicket.com for more information. Tickets are priced from R65-00 and go up to R450-00 (excluding Computicket's service charge).
46664 is supported by global media partners Tiscali, and MTV's Staying Alive, global event partners Coca-Cola, BBC World Service, FedEx and Virgin Atlantic and The Fleming Media Group, and local event partners BMW, Arabella Sheraton Grand Hotel and Nissan
Real Concerts
Melinda Connor
Tel: +27 (11) 482 3550
