A Conspiracy of Hope
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| A Conspiracy of Hope | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Benefit tour by Amnesty International | ||
| Location | United States | |
| Start date | June 4, 1986 | |
| End date | June 15, 1986 | |
| Legs | 1 | |
| Shows | 6 | |
| Amnesty International benefit events chronology | ||
| The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (1981) |
A Conspiracy of Hope (1986) |
Human Rights Now! (1988) |
| U2 tour chronology | ||
| Unforgettable Fire Tour (1984-1985) |
A Conspiracy of Hope (1986) |
Joshua Tree Tour (1987) |
| The Police tour chronology | ||
| Synchronicity Tour (1983-1984) | A Conspiracy of Hope (1986) |
Reunion Tour (2007-2008) |
A Conspiracy of Hope was a short tour of six benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place in the United States during June 1986. Held not to raise funds but to increase awareness of Amnesty on the 25th anniversary of its work for human rights, the shows were headlined by Sting and U2, and also featured Bryan Adams, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Joan Baez, and The Neville Brothers. The last three shows featured a reunion of The Police.
Contents |
[edit] Background
The tour was conceived by the Executive Director of Amnesty International's U.S. section, Jack Healey, and producer Martin Lewis, who had first recruited musicians to work with Amnesty several years before for The Secret Policeman's Balls series of benefit shows in England (1976-1981). The tour was run by famed rock promotor Bill Graham.
Tickets were sold by mail-order lottery, a method popular in the 1970s for high-demand shows but here used for pretty much the last time, with computerized services such as Ticketron rapidly taking over. The concert in Denver was the worst attended show, even with all of the top names on the bill. The local promoter blamed the title of the concert for radio stations believing there truly was a conspiracy, hence the concert was virtually empty.[citation needed]
[edit] Performances
- June 4, Cow Palace, San Francisco
- June 6, The Forum, Los Angeles
- June 8, McNichols Sports Arena, Denver
- June 11, The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia
- June 13, Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois (outside Chicago)
- June 15, Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey (outside New York)
The final show at Giants Stadium show was a sold-out, all-day event, running from noon until 11 p.m., broadcast on MTV, and at an outdoor stadium rather than the indoor arenas used for the first five stops. As such, these additional artists played there: John Eddie with Max Weinberg, Third World, The Hooters, Peter Paul & Mary, Little Steven with Bob Geldof, Stanley Jordan, Joan Armatrading, Jackson Browne, Rubén Blades with Fela and Carlos Santana, Yoko Ono, Howard Jones, Miles Davis, and Joni Mitchell. Spoken introductions were made by Bill Graham, Bill Bradley, Darryl Hannah, Robert DeNiro, Christopher Reeve, Michael J. Fox, and Muhammed Ali.
Jackson Browne had also performed at the San Francisco and Los Angeles shows. Comedian Robin Williams performed an impromptu stand-up set at the Chicago show.
Pete Townshend was scheduled to play the Giants Stadium show, but canceled at the last moment, when his father, Cliff Townshend, became gravely ill. This would have been Pete Townshend's first ever US solo appearance.
[edit] Musical themes
The tour artists generally arranged their sets around themes of politics, freedom, and courage. Multiple performers joined U2 for Little Steven's "Sun City", while the assembled multitude sang Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" at the end. Bono sometimes joined The Police for the Troubles-flavored "Invisible Sun", while Fela and Santana joined the Neville Brothers as well. Some of the less rock-oriented acts lost crowd attention during the long Giants Stadium event (notably Joni Mitchell, who admonished the audience from the stage for their rowdy behavior during her set), although Baez was well received with a diverse set that included Fela and the Nevilles assisting on Tears for Fears' "Shout". (Curt Smith of Tears for Fears was in the audience at the Cow Palace show, and joined Baez and the Nevilles on that show's performance of this song.)
The tour enhanced the growing stature of both Peter Gabriel and U2, who were on upswings of popularity and whose "Shock the Monkey" and "Bad" respectively showed percussive, hypnotic power in large settings. Sting was originally slated for the tour with his solo act, but he reconvened The Police for the final three concerts (with their first appearance, in Atlanta, being unannounced) in order to receive top billing with U2, and to further assist Amnesty's fund-raising and profile-raising with the enhanced value of a Police reunion. These were the last public Police performances until their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2003.
[edit] Impact
As with all such concerts, there was the question of how many attendees were hearing the message versus how many were just waiting for the next set to begin. A Philadelphia rock radio station sent an interviewer into the Giants Stadium concessions line, who seemed shocked to encounter an audience member who not only knew what Amnesty was but had already been a member.
Bono put paid to such doubters with a quote in Rolling Stone shortly before the tour began in which he said that he knew first-hand the value of attending such shows. "The audience is going to be great. I know that because I was part of that audience once. I saw 'The Secret Policemans's Ball' and it became a part of me ... It sowed a seed."
In any case, just one month after the tour, the membership of Amnesty International in the United States had increased by 45,000 members.[1]
