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Words by Bono . . . music by Morrison
Posted on Monday, May 10 @ 16:56:21 CEST by Macphisto
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(Belfasttelegraph.co.uk) -- U2 LEAD singer Bono and Belfast legend Van Morrison appeared at a concert organised by actor Robert de Niro to bring life back to downtown New York.
Bono appealed to Americans to help fight Aids in Africa and thanked Pope John Paul II for his work in fighting poverty and disease in Africa.
Bono's lengthy speech at the concert was introduced by de Niro, who helped organise the festival two-and-a-half years ago in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks.
De Niro also introduced Morrison, whom Bono described in his speech as 'one of Ireland's greatest ideas'.
Morrison took a large swing band on stage for a reworking of some of his favourite numbers.
Alicia Keys, Steve Winwood, Black Eyed Peas and Macy Gray also performed at yesterday's show.
Organisers say the annual film festival and concert have helped to regenerate the area surrounding the World Trade Center site.
Before promising to return to New York to perform with U2, Bono appealed to Americans to "put out the fire of Aids in Africa".
"You're good at putting out fires downtown," he told the crowd at Battery Park on the southernmost tip of Manhattan.
Most of the 5,000 people in the audience cheered the speech, but a small minority heckled at its length.
Referring to the war in Iraq, Bono told the crowd that there was another crisis in the world, before pleading with a new generation of Americans to tackle poverty in Africa.
"This generation is strong enough to carry that weight. I know this sounds like hippy stuff.
"I am not a hippy. I don't have a flower in my hair.
"I come from punk rock," he said.
Bono said he still loved Ireland but that Ireland was not "an idea" carried by the rest of the world in the same way as the United States.
"Even though Ireland has a lot of ideas, it is not an idea. America is an idea," he said.
Bono urged Americans to help the 7,000 Africans who will die every day from Aids. The U2 frontman also apologised for not performing music and said he felt naked on stage without a band behind him.
By Sean O'Driscoll
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