Trust the celebs
From Giles Watson
Sir: The Spectator has recently contained a fair amount of criticism of the Live 8 concert in aid of Africa (‘How African leaders spend our money’, 25 June). I always welcome a bit of cynicism about the value of pop stars and their inflated egos, but I would like to put in a word to support their efforts.
Of course it can be a bit nauseating to see Geldof and Bono preaching about aid and economics, but, although they are saying nothing new, I think they do have a role to play, however shocking and ridiculous that may sound. The fact is that respect for politicians has fallen so low that people are actually willing to listen to celebrities, or at least look into the issues they raise. Why not? The celebs can’t be much worse than the politicians.
To give the current breed of rock stars credit, they seem to be taking the business of political lobbying more seriously than previous generations. Bono, Geldof and Chris Martin seem to have done a fair amount of homework — probably more than most of your readers and certainly more than the Lennons, Jaggers and even Dylans of earlier generations.
Giles Watson Reading, Berkshire
Previous page
