IRMA Honours is the highest and most distinguished accolade that anyone from the world of music can ever hope to achieve in this country. This priceless evening, sponsored by MasterCard, attracted hundreds of guests from the world of entertainment and music.

'It was a unanimous decision by Irma this year to honour Bob and his contribution to music. He is a legend both nationally and internationally. We are delighted to be able to honour Bob tonight'. Willie Kavanagh , chairman IRMA .

The night kicked off with guests arriving on the red carpet at CityWest. Later in the evening a tribute video was shown to the assembled audience. Participants in the video included Bono, Ronnie Drew, Mick Jagger, Christy Moore, Gaye Byrne, Daniel Ryan from The Thrills, fellow band member Pete Briquette, Phil Chevron, Barry Devlin, Shane McGowan, Larry Gogan, Gavin Friday, Dustin, Leslie Dowdall, Annie Lennox, Elton John Sting and Pete Townsend. An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern also sent a message of goodwill to the rock star.

Bob performed 10 songs on the night, - including: Indifferent, Banana Republic, I Don't Like Mondays and Rat Trap. This was preceded by the presentation of his award by DJ Dave Fanning. The award, a bronze sculpture, was designed by artist Tanya Nyegaard especially for the occasion.

Three very worthwhile charities will benefit from the event, with proceeds divided among Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children Crumlin, The Chernobyl Children's Project and IRMA Trust. As part of the fund raising activity, two very special items went under the hammer - A bow diamond necklace designed by supermodel Helena Christensen created by Paul Sheeran Jewellers, and an opportunity to have your portrait painted by one of Ireland's hippest artists, Rasher.

Bob has received many awards recently, for his services to music and his humanitarian work.

We would like to credit ShowBizIreland.com for their image.

New UK Mailing List Registration

There will be a lot of new activity in 2006, we are currently looking at the possibility of producing a bobgeldof.info special fan only DVD. This will not be on sale in any other outlet other than this website, Also it is well worth registering now as lots of things are changing on a daily basis. So to be kept up to date with all relevant information you must re-register.
All of the old lists have now been scrapped
uk@bobgeldof.info

New European Mailing List Registration

There will be a lot of new activity in 2006, we are currently looking at the possibility of producing a bobgeldof.info special fan only DVD. This will not be on sale in any other outlet other than this website, Also it is well worth registering now as lots of things are changing on a daily basis. So to be kept up to date with all relevant information you must re-register.
All of the old lists have now been scrapped
europe@bobgeldof.info

New North American Territories Mailing List Registration

There will be a lot of new activity in 2006, we already have some provisional dates in Europe, these should be confirmed soon. We are currently looking at the possibility of producing a bobgeldof.info special fan only DVD. This will not be on sale in any other outlet other than this website, Also it is well worth registering now as lots of things are changing on a daily basis. So to be kept up to date with all relevant information you must re-register.
All of the old lists have now been scrapped
northam@bobgeldof.info

New Australian Mailing List Registration

We would strongly advise Australian based Geldof fans to register on this new mailing list facility as soon as possible. There will be a lot of new activity in 2006, we are currently looking at the possibility of producing a bobgeldof.info special fan only DVD. This will not be on sale in any other outlet other than this website, Also it is well worth registering now as lots of things are changing on a daily basis. So to be kept up to date with all relevant information you must re-register. All of the old lists have now been scrapped
aus@bobgeldof.info

We have secured a deal with DMC to supply us with 300 The under The Influence albums, which was released last year. Bob will sign the albums in February and they will be despatched at the beginning of March.

Bob - his eclectic choice is rather interesting. We had expected to see The Beatles, Stones and Bob Marley, but they aren't there!!

The tracks are as follows: 1. Jay Blackton and Orchestra Overture from Oklahoma 2. Cliff Richard - Apron Strings 3. Dr. Feelgood - All Through The City 4. The Kinks - Dead End Street 5. Television - Venue D'Milo 6. New York Dolls - Personality Crisis 7. Velvet Under Ground - New Age 8. Roxy Music - Do The Strand 9. The Who - Pictures of Lily 10. Web Pierce - The Jailhouse Now 11. John Prine - The Late John Garfield Blues 12. Kris Kristofferson - The Pilgrim-Chapter 23 13. Bob Dylan - Visions of Johanna 14. Max Romeo - War In Babylon 15. David Bowie - Drive In Saturday 16. Graham Parker & The Rumour - Can't Be Too Strong 17. Small Faces - All Or Nothing 18. Four Tops - Reach Out I'll Be There 19. Leonard Choen - Famous Blue Raincoat

UNDER THE INFLUENCE - BOB GELDOF
A collection of musical influences and inspirations
Released May 3rd 2004

"Like everyone doing this series of compilations I didn't know where to start. You can do 20 of these things and still not run out of stuff that made your very existence explicable and bearable. I could have done the blues one ­ my first love. Could have done the cool, cred, underground, obscure one, the forgotten genius one etc. I went for the pop one. The in-car comp that I'd play on some 80 minute journey and each track would make me happier in direct proportion to every inch travelled. Like music has done in my life. So this is the Catholic Compilation. A reminder of why all these musicians are so great. A little memory jolt of pure joy that all meant something vast to me." Bob Geldof

BUY NOW - SPECIAL OFFER
LIMITED NUMBER OF SIGNED COPIES OF THE NEW BOXED SET
THESE SIGNED EDITIONS ARE ONLY AVAILABLE FROM THIS WEBSITE

Bob Geldof - Great Songs Of Indifference:
The Bob Geldof Anthology 1986-2001 - Box Set



We are pleased to announce that Bob has agreed to sign a limited amount of the new album specifically for this website and for sale at live shows. Order now via the merchandise section and the items will be sent out to you as soon as the signings have been completed.

Track Listing

CD One - Deep In The Heart Of Nowhere

CD Three – The Happy Club

LIMITED EDITION OF 200 
SIGNED BOB GELDOF POP ART PRINTS

All Pop Art prints order are being sent out today 16th December 2005

You may have seen this image on various auction sites including Ebay.  But we have combined forces with Studio House to produce a one off special item for this website.

The original hand painted poster art tribute measures 10 x 8 inches, and is taken from the original artwork.  Digitally re-edited, hand-finished and printed on bright white, ultra smooth, matte heavyweight paper. Superb in just a plain frame displayed on a plain wall. Unmounted, ready for inserting in picture frame.

The difference between this edition and those for general sale, is that in October we will get Bob to personally autograph each one and each print will be numbered, thus giving you a genuine collectors item. We will only be producing 200 of these signed prints.  So it is first come, first served.

The price of each signed print is £14.00 + p & p

To order your limited edition signed print, please email geldofinfo@msn.com

Pete Briquette Produces
Geldof In Africa Soundtrack CD
Due for release on 31/10/2005

The documentary soundtrack to the BBC's Geldof In Africa Series will be released at the end of October on CD format to accompany the release of the DVD of the same series. Pete Briquette has been busy in the studio recording and producing the album. Disc 1 is made up of various artists including Pete. Disc 2 is a chill-out album made up entirely of material by Pete Briquette, and features 2 poems read by Bob Geldof. Pete is extremely pleased with the project.

Disc 1
01. Luminous Continent Just Cause (Steve Jablonsky)
02. Rinderpest Stone Cold (Geoff Zanelli)
03. kitgum kids Polusa (Andrei Samsonov)
04. Addis Ababa Drums in the Night Pt2 (Giles Perring)
05. Ouida Man Of Constant Sorrow (Trad Arr. Bluebrass Pickers)
06. Hadza Tribe WR Labradford (Carter Brown, Robert Donne and Mark Nelson)
07. Barboa Trees Into the Light (Dave Hewson)
08. River Congo (Pete Briquette)
09. Perfect Zero (Awicha Loy Ehrlich)
10. Road to Timbuctoo (Awicha Loy Ehrlich)
11. Stanley Falls (Pete Briquette)
12. Mopti (Doudouk Didier Malherbe/Loy Ehrlich)
13. Slave Fort Trailblazing (Steve Jablonsky)
14. Different Faces (Pete Briquette)
15. In Our Beginnings (First Flight Klaus Badelt)
16. Dogon Country (Bansouri Didier Malherbe/Loy Ehrlich)
17. Kinshasa Chaos (Pete Briquette)
18. New Dawn Desert Scent (Patrick Cassidy)
19. Burnt Lands (Pete Briquette)
20. Exodus Stark Salvation (Geoff Zanelli)

Disc 2
01. Rocco Littoria (Pete Briquette)
02. Apocalypse Still (Pete Briquette)
03. iKnshasa Chaos (Full length version Pete Briquette)
04. Timbuktoo (read by Bob Geldof in Arouane in the Sahara dessert)
     (Bob Geldof/Pete Briquette)
05. The Kabina Groove (Pete Briquette)
06. The Domo Sunrise (Pete Briquette)
07. Ofringa (Pete Briquette)
08. One Night in Harar (Rimbaud read by Bob Geldof in the poets house in Harar, Ethiopia) (Pete Briquette)
09. The Cobbo River (Pete Briquette)

---

Geldof In Africa 2 disc DVD
Release Date and Details

The scheduled release date for the Geldof In Africa DVD's is 7th November 2005

R2 - Will only play on European Region 2 or multi-region DVD players.

Bob Geldof makes a personal journey through Africa to understand ordinary Africans and, through their experiences, understand the forces that make the continent tick.

Travelling through West Africa (Ghana, Benin and Mali), Central Africa (DR Congo and Uganda) and East Africa (Ethiopia, Tanzania and Somalia), Geldof explores the continent that the rest of the world seems to be leaving behind.

This double disc release features all six episodes of the BBC series and the episodes comprise:

1. The Luminous Continent: Life in Africa has always been a battle against nature, climate and geography. Bob Geldof follows the evolutionary trail of mankind from our 'Rift Valley' origins in the Laetoli Gorge, Tanzania to the point on the north-eastern coast of Africa where people first left to colonize the rest of the world. En route he travels through the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Masailand and encounters a group of the last few hundred remaining Hadsa people who still live as man did fifty thousand years ago.

2. Coco Slaves And Good: Bob travels along the West African coast in a battered old Peugeot 504 with his driver Ossie. On his way through Ghana he visits the old British slave fort of Cape Coast, a real life 'Willy Wonka' cocoa plantation in Bisiasi where he's inaugurated a king and the Vatican City of Voodoo, Ouidha in Benin. He reflects on the horrors of past and present slavery to the crippling modern day trade restrictions placed upon African countries.

3. Apocalypse Still: The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a country badly in need of government, any government. Bob journeys north up the river Congo on a UN patrol boat reflecting on the political chaos that rips Africa apart perpetuates corruption and stifles hope. He visits the City of Kisangani, not to long ago a Hollywood haven for stars like Humphry Bogart and Catherine Hepburn and investigates a rumour that here, AIDS began as a result of trials of Western medicine, today this rumour prevents people trusting modern cures for disease.

4. Perfect Zero: Bob leaves the silence and emptiness of the Sahara desert from an isolated settlement of sand covered buildings that are the town of Arouane. He travels 250 kilometres south to the legendry City of Timbuktu, the gate way to the desert, where he reflects on traditional and modern ways of education, largely believed to be a key to Africa's success. He then journeys by river to the cosmopolitan port of Mopti and on to the largest mud building in the world, a mosque, in Djenne. He finishes his journey on the spectacular Bandiagara escarpment in Dogon country, Mali, where he stumbles upon a modern day tribe of slaves trying to break free from their chains through learning.

5. Four Horsemen: War, Famine, Plague & Death are the four horsemen of the Apocalypse and these days they're riding hard through the back roads of Africa. Bob begins in northern Uganda where there is a little heard about war going on and to his disgust learns of the carnage and monstrous atrocities conducted by the Lord's Resistance Army towards children. Moving across the border into Northern Kenya Bob visits the largest UN relief base in the world, Lokichoggio then heads into one of the most dangerous places on the planet the Sudan on a UN relief mission.

6. A Terrible Beauty: Ethiopia. Where Bob's personal long march for justice began. On this the twentieth anniversary of Live Aid he returns to the country that first triggered his and our indignation over the mass famine and the dieing tens of thousands in Northern Ethiopia. But there is another Ethiopia, an Ethiopia as diverse and as rich with its cultures, peoples and histories as any in Europe.

Live 8 At The Eden Project

Africa Calling DVD available

‘Africa Calling – Live 8 At Eden’ features performances from leading African artists who took part in the concert held at Eden in association with WOMAD as part of the Live 8 celebrations.

The 2-disc DVD, enhanced by stunning DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, contains performances from a line-up of world-class African artists including: Congolese Soukous star Kanda Bongo Man; legendary creator of Chimurenga music Thomas Mapfumo with his group the Blacks Unlimited from Zimbabwe; the charismatic Angelique Kidjo from Benin; award-winning Senegalese rappers Daara J; and Saharan roots rockers Tinariwen, who are currently creating a huge stir on the world music scene and beyond. The DVD also features Dido and Youssou N’Dour’s moving rendition of ‘7 Seconds’ which they performed at the Hyde Park and Paris Live 8 concerts on the same day.

The DVD also features the speech given by Nelson Mandela in full and DVD extra features include the BBC documentary ‘Africa Calling At Eden’ plus exclusive backstage artist interviews conducted by Anna Gabriel.

To order a copy, please visit www.edenstore.co.uk.

Bob Geldof Solo Back Catalogue 
due for release this Autumn

The back-catalogue of Bob Geldof's solo material is due for release in October, no specific release date as yet. Currently Pete Briquette is working on the re-mastering of the back-catalogue.  We will inform you of further details as we have them to hand.

There will also be a Best Of Geldof solo album, which is provisionally due for release in November.

It is also rumoured that a DVD of Geldof solo work will be released in the near future, we will again announce the details as we get the to hand.

Here's the full announcement, with the tracklisting of the four discs:

THE GREATEST SHOWS ON EARTH 
TO BE RELEASED ON DVD
EMI are proud to announce the DVD release of Live 8 on 7th November 2005 (8th November - USA).

On 7th November 2005 (8th November - USA) the biggest live event DVD project of its kind will be released. Live 8 brings together performances from the amazing series of concerts which took place around the world on 2nd July 2005.
 
Live 8 - One Day One Concert One World
The 4-disc set contains three discs of live footage taken from the Live 8 shows staged in London and Philadelphia alongside key highlights from the seven other events staged across the world. Every artist who performed at London's Hyde Park and Philadelphia's Museum Of Art appear on the DVD, many of them with their full sets.
 
'It was 20 years ago today': Live 8 opens with U2 and Paul McCartney's crowd-rousing rendition of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and also features Pink Floyd's historical reunion, Robbie Williams's show-stopping performance and Madonna's breathtakingly energetic set. Younger artists such as Snow Patrol, The Killers and Joss Stone comfortably intertwine with rock 'n' roll legends such as The Who and Sting. One-off duets come from Paul McCartney and George Michael, Stevie Wonder and Adam Levine (Maroon 5), Elton John and Pete Doherty and Coldplay and Richard Ashcroft. Disc 3 closes as the London concert closed on 2 July with the stars of Live 8 Hyde Park taking to the stage for the stunning 'Hey Jude' finale.
 
Along the way the Kaiser Chiefs waved the flag for Britain in Philadelphia and their vigorous performance is captured alongside American superstars Destiny's Child, Bon Jovi, Black Eyed Peas and soul legend Stevie Wonder.
 
Also threaded through the UK and US acts are performances from artists who appeared at the Live 8 concerts in Rome, Paris, Berlin, Toronto, Johannesburg and Moscow. Tracks from Green Day, Brian Wilson and Roxy Music in Berlin and Neil Young in Toronto are included along with the Pet Shop Boys in Moscow, Duran Duran in Rome, Vusi Mahlasela in Johannesburg and Placebo and Muse in Paris.
 
Disc 4 features exclusive extras including a never-before-seen backstage documentary filmed at Hyde Park, Pink Floyd's Live 8 reunion rehearsal, more acts from Live 8's global concerts including McFly and Bjork in Tokyo, films by The Who and Travis and a contribution from Ricky Gervais. The special features section will offer highlights from Edinburgh's Final Push concert at Murrayfield on July 6 which will include performances from James Brown, Travis and The Proclaimers.
 
Single disc sets for the French, German, Italian and Canadian Live 8 concerts have also been produced. These will focus further on each country's concert and will be available globally:


Live 8 DVD - international single discs


'I hope this will be the biggest selling DVD of all time. It deserves to be. More importantly perhaps, it should be, for it will help us achieve our goal of changing the lives of the extreme poor for the better and making our generation the one that helped end the disgrace of poverty.' Says Live 8 organiser Sir Bob Geldof.
 
Money raised from sales of the Live 8 DVD will go to the Band Aid Trust for the relief of hunger and poverty in Africa.
 
Live 8 was held on 2 July 2005. Nine simultaneous, free concerts starring the cream of international rock and pop artists were staged in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Tokyo, Moscow, Toronto, Johannesburg and Philadelphia. The concerts acted as a starting point for The Long Walk To Justice in support of the Make Poverty History and Global Call To Action campaigns and was timed to focus attention on the critical decisions made by the G8 summit four days later.
 
'You're such a lovely audience, we'd like to take you home with us' sang Bono. Now the million-strong live audience and 5 billion viewers around the world can take Live 8 home with them...
 
TRACKLISTING - Disc 1
Paul McCartney & U2 - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
U2 - Beautiful Day
U2 - Vertigo
U2 - One
Coldplay - In My Place
Coldplay with Richard Ashcroft - Bittersweet Symphony
Coldplay - Fix You
Elton John - The Bitch Is Back
Elton John - Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting
Elton John with Pete Doherty - Children Of The Revolution
Dido & Youssou N'Dour - 7 Seconds
Stereophonics - Bartender And The Thief
REM - Everybody Hurts
REM - Man On The Moon
Ms Dynamite - Dy-Na-Mi-Tee
Keane - Somewhere Only We Know
Black Eyed Peas - Where Is The Love
Black Eyed Peas - Let's Get It Started
Black Eyed Peas with Stephen Marley - Get Up Stand Up
Duran Duran - Wild Boys (Rome)
Bob Geldof - I Don't Like Mondays
Muse - Time Is Running Out (Paris)
Travis - Sing
Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot
Kaiser Chiefs - Everyday I Love You Less And Less
UB40 with Hunterz & The Dohl Blasters - Reasons
UB40 - Red Red Wine
Green Day - American Idiot (Berlin)
Snoop Dogg - Signs
Snoop Dogg - Who Am I (What's My Name)?
Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer
Annie Lennox - Why
Annie Lennox - Sweet Dreams
 
TRACKLISTING - Disc 2
Destiny's Child - Survivor
Destiny's Child - Girl
Razorlight - Somewhere Else
Razorlight - Golden Touch
Bryan Adams - All For Love
Kanye West - Diamonds From Sierra Leone
CBC Ethiopian Famine Film
Madonna - Like A Prayer
Madonna - Ray Of Light
Madonna - Music
Will Smith - Getting' Jiggy Wit It
Will Smith - Switch
Will Smith - The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air
Brian Wilson - Good Vibrations (Berlin)
Snow Patrol - Run
Toby Keith - Stays In Mexico
The Killers - All These Things That I've Done
Dave Matthews Band - American Baby
Daniel Powter - Bad Day
Linkin Park - In The End
Linkin Park with Jay-Z - Numb
Joss Stone - Super Duper Love
Joss Stone - Some Kind Of Wonderful
Jars Of Clay - Show You Love
Scissor Sisters - Laura
Scissor Sisters - Take Your Mama
Alicia Keys - For All We Know
Velvet Revolver - Fall To Pieces
Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me
Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl?
Sarah McLachlan & Josh Groban - Angel
Sting - Message In A Bottle
Sting - Driven To Tears
Sting - Every Breath You Take
 
TRACKLISTING - Disc 3
Mariah Carey - Make It Happen
Mariah Carey - Hero
Vusi Mahlasela - When You Come Back (Johannesburg)
Roxy Music - Do The Strand (Berlin)
Maroon 5 - This Love
Maroon 5 - She Will Be Loved
Neil Young - Four Strong Winds (Toronto)
Pet Shop Boys - Go West (Moscow)
Robbie Williams - We Will Rock You
Robbie Williams - Let Me Entertain You
Robbie Williams - Feel
Robbie Williams - Angels
Keith Urban - Somebody Like You
Placebo - Twenty Years (Paris)
Rob Thomas - Lonely No More
Faithless - We Come 1 (Berlin)
Stevie Wonder - Master Blaster (Jammin')
Stevie Wonder & Rob Thomas - Higher Ground
Stevie Wonder & Adam Levine - Signed Sealed Delivered
Stevie Wonder - So What The Fuss/Superstition
The Who - Who Are You?
The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again
Pink Floyd - Speak To Me
Pink Floyd - Breathe
Pink Floyd - Money
Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb
Paul McCartney - Get Back
Paul McCartney & George Michael - Drive My Car
Paul McCartney - Helter Skelter
Paul McCartney - The Long And Winding Road
Finale - Hey Jude
 
TRACKLISTING - Disc 4 - EXTRAS
Edinburgh - The Final Push: Highlights from the Murrayfield concert held on 6 July
The Walk to Edinburgh - Highland Fling
The Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)
Wet Wet Wet - Love Is All Around
1 Giant Leap - My Culture
George Clooney
Annie Lennox - Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves
Bono
Nelson Mandela
Bob Geldof - The Great Song Of Indifference
The Thrills - Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)
Herbert Gronemeyer & Claudia Schiffer
Midge Ure & Eddie Izzard - Vienna
Texas - Say What You Want
Katherine Jenkins - Nessun Dorma
Travis - Why Does It Always Rain On Me?
James Brown - I Got You (I Feel Good)
James Brown & Will Young - Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
Bob Geldof, Bono, Midge Ure
Murrayfield crowd - Flower Of Scotland
McFly - All About You (Live 8 Tokyo)
Good Charlotte - Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous (Live 8 Tokyo)
Dreams Come True - Love Love Love (Live 8 Tokyo)
Bjork - All Is Full Of Love (Live 8 Tokyo)
Tim McGraw - Live Like You Were Dying (Live 8 Roma)
Faith Hill - Breathe (Live 8 Roma)
Shakira - Whenever, Wherever (Live 8 Paris)
Audioslave - Black Hole Sun (Live 8 Berlin)
Audioslave - Like A Stone (Live 8 Berlin)
"Who Are You?" Film - The Who
"Why Does It Always Rain On Me?" film - Travis
Ricky Gervais - Enjoy the day
Backstage at Hyde Park
Pink Floyd rehearsal and interview footage
McFly - All About You (Tokyo)
Good Charlotte - Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous (Tokyo)
Dreams Come True - Love Love Love (Tokyo)
Bjork - All Is Full Of Love (Tokyo)
The Who - 'Who Are You?' film
Travis - 'Why Does It Always Rain On Me?' film
Ricky Gervais - Enjoy The Day
Behind The Scenes At Hyde Park
Pink Floyd rehearsal
Additional bonus international performances may be added
 
DVD SPECIFICATIONS:
Format: 4 Disc PAL DVD (Europe) / NTSC DVD (US)
Packaging: Fold-out Digipack in slipcase (12-page booklet)
Picture: 16:9 / Colour
Audio: DTS 5.1 Surround Sound; Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Stereo
Subtitles: English, Dutch, French

OUT NOW!
The Official Live8 Book
published on 1st August 2005 by Random House/Century

From Geldof's initial reluctance to stage another Band Aid event to the lead up to the concerts around the world and the day itself, this book is a unique record of an extraordinary day witnessed by over 85% of the world's population.

The book will also contain backstage images, exclusive photographs from the concerts around the world, reflections and quotes from the many performers.

Live 8 includes text and pictures reminding us exactly what the day was about and what is now required in the battle towards making poverty history. Includes reflections on the outcome of the landmark G8 summit in Edinburgh.

Price £15.99 - CLICK here to order your copies.

The Official Live 8 Book
Foreword by Bob Geldof
Copyright Bob Geldof 2005

Three days ago, in the late bright afternoon, I wandered across the scissor-mown lawns at Gleneagles. I found a little clearing amongst some trees and hunched down. Overhead the humming bird helicopters clattered and thumped in the evening air as the world's most powerful people left what the Secretary General of the United Nations called the most successful and important G8 Summit for Africa there has ever been.

They couldn't see or hear me and I didn't really understand it, but I began to sob. I felt weird, empty.  I don't know… it was over. It was over.

Because of this thing - this concert, event, lobby, protest, gathering, moment. Because of you. And the bands.  And the crews and technicians and thousands of people who made this thing that was Live 8. Because of all this, the men in those helicopters had just written a cheque to double aid to $50 billion for the poor of Africa over the next few years. Unbelievable.

I thought, 'Now we have to make sure they cash it', and we will. We will get them to spend the money, we will name the corrupt who try to take one percent of it and we will speed up the 100% debt cancellation for the poorest countries that was also confirmed at Gleneagles.

I think I cried because I was never sure it was going to work. That billions of us could force the men in charge to move. I was worried that they would remain forever remote, unreachable in the isolated vacuum of their national power. But it did work. In the end there were just too many of us.

In other places in this book you will see what it was all about and what it means for the future of the poorest and weakest people in our world. You already know  how we roared on behalf of those who were mute, how we moved power for the powerless, how we walked that long walk for many who cannot even crawl and how billions of us stood up for the beaten down and put-upon.

We were lead there by our bands, by musicians who articulate us better than we can ourselves. They talk a language understood by all humanity, and they have lead us on this long 20 year journey from Live Aid. In their music is the sum of our longing for universal decency. They communicate dismay and disgust at the daily carnival of dying that parades across our TV screens. In the nightly pornography of poverty hundreds of thousands die annually simply because they are too poor to stay alive.

What a glorious, magnificent day. What a rejection of the defeat of cynicism, I thought as I watched the TV monitor side stage showing me four continents, nine countries and their greatest artists, nine cities and their greatest sites, millions physically present and thousands of millions spiritually there as we watched this one concert, one moment, one idea winding itself around what was truly one world that afternoon. And then I got a bizarre tickling sensation, thinking just maybe this is going to work.

Three days ago, crouched down among the chopper beaten trees of Gleneagles I was shocked that 'the plan' had indeed worked. The Commission for Africa on which I worked was no longer just a theory for the reconstruction of a continents economic life and, as a result, a better life for its inhabitants, it was a paid up reality.

The long walk. Over. The Summit . Over. The concert? The concert plays out daily in my head. The magnificent bands. The brilliant young Turks and the ageless greats. I know them - they are not like what you read. They are not the mean-spirited midgets those tiny thorns of tabloid spite would have you believe. I know them as they appeared on that stage. They are great. And they are good.

As are you. At home. In the parks or street or stadia or squares of the world on 2^nd July 2005. This was the day we pulled it off. This was the day the powerful were powerless. When they bent in the force of our noisy gale. When we drowned out their endless No's by our boundless Yes.  Where the promise of 20 years ago was realised. Everything that rock 'n' roll and had ever been about to me, or seemed to suggest or vaguely promised was made real on that beautiful day.

We should never need another event like it.  But if we do, new generations know what must be done and they will not fail. The power of this wild music to call us to gather 'bout the electronic hearth of the TV or PC screen will continue. But will it, can it ever be expressed with such power, such elegance, passion and joy as on the summers day last week?

My phone rang. I'd had it on 'loudspeaker' for weeks because it was constantly in use and I feared imminent brain cancer, ear rot, overheated temples or whatever. Now with the helicopter noise I couldn't hear. I put it on 'normal' and tried to listen. I had to go. I wiped my eyes and stopped myself being shaky. Didn't want to look silly.

That's it for me, I thought, as I clambered into our mini van. On the ground the riot police and machine gunned army waved us past the great security fences. Overhead the choppers thundered away across the glens carrying the men you had made listen.

I will never forget that day. Neither will you. Neither must you. Tell your children you were there. That you watched. That you changed the world. You and your mates. All 3.8 billion of them.  And when they say why? Tell them that you couldn't stand it.  It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. A great injustice was being done. Tell them you were not powerless. Tell them that the bands played and you danced and sang and laughed and in so doing you allowed others you would never see or meet to do the same some day in the future.

We played our hearts out. 'And we played real good for free.' Thanks for everything.

Bob Geldof