The BBC's Ian Youngs
gives his verdicts on the numerous performances which graced the stage at the
Live 8 concert in
· Sir Paul McCartney and U2: One of the most
super of supergroups of all time, and Sergeant Pepper
was a suitable opening, even if the song has dated a bit. 9/10 for wow
factor.
· U2: They still have so much passion
that it was impossible not to get swept up in their blockbuster anthems. They had
the park singing and clapping and set the tone for the day. Though I think we
could do without Bono’s constant preaching, and I did
enjoy some of the “Make Bono History” T-Shirts. 9/10
· Coldplay:
Powerful and popular. The peak of their rousing set came when Richard
Ashcroft formerly of the Verve came on for a rendition of Bittersweet Symphony.
But they are not ready to take over U2's mantle as biggest band in world quite
yet, but they are getting there. 8/10
· Sir
Elton John: Posing and pouting at every opportunity, a
shambolic performance from one of the hierarchy of
the pop world. He wheeled out a couple of oldies without selecting his best,
before being joined by Pete Doherty who, with his gothic get-up and dazed look,
resembled Adam Ant at the first Live Aid. 6/10 for
Elton, 5/10 for Pete.
· Dido/Youssou N'Dour: Youssou stole the
show from Dido during their spot together. She may have the hits, but he has
more charisma and a more haunting voice. Their duet of 7 Seconds was warmly
received. 7/10
· Stereophonics:
: They may be too cool to show much emotion, but the Stereophonics certainly rocked the park. The crowd
responded with the loudest ovation on the clapometer,
they were more enthusiastic to things with some oomph and they went down well. 9/10
· REM: It was arms in the air time as
heart-wrenching song Everybody Hurts had the crowd spellbound. Michael Stipe's eerie blue face paint and freaky dancing sent a
collective tingle through the whole crowd. 9/10
· Ms Dynamite: She buried any suspicions
of tokenism with an emotional rendition of Redemption Song. 6/10
· Keane: They may be nice boys with nice
songs, but Keane can sure belt 'em out. They are
about as rock 'n' roll as you can be without a guitarist, and imposed
themselves with a big presence. 9/10
· Travis: Fran Healy's affable bonhomie
and catchy hits caught the mood, and they did not even make it rain when they
sang Why Does It Always Rain on Me? The brave version of Staying Alive must
have been for a bet - but kind of worked. 9/10
· Bob Geldof: Despite
promising not to play, he could not resist. He suddenly reverted back to
straggly, straining old rock star - but the crowd was generous. 7/10
· Annie Lennox: Despite having been out of
the spotlight for a while, she was another veteran to show the young stars a
thing or two. Starting with a poignant version of Why?,
she ended with a storming performance of Eurythmics
classic Sweet Dreams. 9/10
· UB40:
Their appearance seemed like an attempt to represent
multi-cultural
· Snoop
Dogg: He may have raised the
temperature with a racy rendition of his hip-hop hits and got one of the most
energetic responses of the concert so far, but his over self importance and
arrogance lost my vote. 5/10
· Razorlight:
This band grabbed the chance to shine on a world stage with their upbeat
rock tunes and singer Johnny Borrell's theatrical
antics. He jumped off the stage and ripped his shirt off - he has learnt the
lessons of 1985. 9/10
· Madonna: She's not the queen of pop
for nothing. During Music, she got everyone clapping in unison the way Freddie
Mercury did in 1985. This will be remembered as one of the Live 8 moments, with
the crowd desperate to worship her regal presence. 10/10
· Snow
Patrol: Another band with good songs – and certainly hit the
right notes. 8/10
· The Killers: This white-suited band
went to so much trouble for just one song. But the Vegas electro-pop kings made
good use of their time. 7/10
· Joss Stone: She took to the stage
barefoot and sang with a confidence that belies her age. Her trademark vocals
soared, and she lifted the crowd as it entered the seventh hour of the concert.
Though I am not a major fan of her music. 7/10
· Scissor Sisters: They put on a fun
spectacle and evoked the spirit of the '80s with their unashamedly spangly pop. They spoilt it a little by playing a new song
at the end - it was good, but we just wanted the hits. 8/10
· Velvet Revolver: They kept the metal
fans happy, but let's face it, there weren't many of those. The rest of the
crowd were rather bemused by the high-voltage heavy rock and amount of leather,
but it served as a good opportunity for a trip to the toilet or burger stall
5/10
· Sting: Another old pro proved to be a
crowd-pleaser. He was probably the performer that we waited in great anticipation
of during the evening. He rallied fans with favourites
like Every Breath You Take. 9/10
· Mariah
Carey:
She may have thought she was bringing some glamour to the show with her
micro-dress and personal water carrier, but it just came across as ego. As
such, she got short shrift from the crowd. I did enjoy the short dress though, you could see her legs from all the way at the back.
5/10
· Robbie
Williams:
He had the fans in the palm of his hand, making a triumphant return to the
stage with a set that had everyone joining in. The crowd would not have minded
if he had stayed on all night. Undoubtedly the biggest
showman of the day. 10/10
· The
Who:
Classic bombastic brilliance from a band who refuse to slow down. With Roger Daltrey flinging his microphone around and Pete Townshend wrestling his guitar, they were on top form. 9/10
· Pink
Floyd:
If there was one historic musical moment, this was it - the reconciliation of
Dave Gilmour and Roger Waters. They looked like they had never been away and
the sublime magnificence of their songs swept across the audience. It was certaing great to get to see such an historic band back
together after so long. 10/10
· Sir
Paul McCartney:
He opened and closed the show, the biggest name on a day of legends. And he
lived up to his billing, belting out a couple of rockier Beatles classics
before settling down at the piano for The Long and Winding Road and the finale,
Hey Jude. 10/10