My First Article!
The picture above is from my high school newspaper back in 2005 in which I wrote an article about the Live 8 event and the effect it had. Back then, the curators of the local 9News Website told our newspaper class that one of the articles would be picked for publication. Lo and behold I won and for many years it lived on the 9News website. Sadly it has been a few years since I looked and it appears to have gone. For fun and for archive purposes I wanted to share on my website and keep it around a little while longer. I have liked looking back at this because from to then to where I am now, I feel I have since become a WAY better writer. I just though it would be fun to share some high school work and hope you enjoy. Below is a transcript of the article, warts and all, for a better read. Until next time!
“Sweet Symphony: Live 8: The Day Music changed the world…again.”
By Zack Ellafy
Every three seconds someone dies. Out of the three thousand that die a day, 60% of them are children. Horrible figures for a horrible thing. Back in 1985, these facts were brought to light in a world famous and disturbing news report. A man by the name of Bob Geldof went to Africa to study the economics and the poverty. After his trip he decided to hold an ensemble song called “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, in which all proceeds would go to African relief. After the hit single was out, many artists wanted to help so they decided to hold Live Aid. Live Aid was held on July 13th, 1985 with great bands such as The Who, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Led Zeppelin and many others gracing the stage. Freddie Mercury, in many fans opinions his shining moment, strutted his stuff to Wembley Stadium. U2 pounded the crowd, also Phil Collins played with Eric Clapton in America. (Phil Collins played both Philadelphia and London, which made it so cool he was at both). The concert rose over 100 million dollars, with the help of hundreds of musicians. But twenty years go by before Africa was mentioned again…
In 2005 the world is a very different place. The world is terrorist conscious after that terrible day in September of 2001. Prices of gas and even a war going on has many people angry and confused. Many artists have picked up Live Aid on DVD to watch and wish it would happen again. Then in May, Bob Geldof told the world there was going to be another concert, but this time it would be called Live 8. There would be ten concerts in 8 of the world’s most powerful countries. The worlds most powerful countries are Japan, The United States, The UK, Germany, Russia, China, Canada and Africa. Many people were anxious to see it and it delivered. Bono before air time said, “This is our time, the time for this generation to say we made a difference, I was there.” The day started officially in Japan with acts such as Good Charlotte and Bjork. But for many the day started when U2 and Paul McCartney graced the stage in Hyde Park for “Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.” After, U2 rocked with their songs “Vertigo”, “One”, “Beautiful Day” and even a tribute to Paul McCartney with “Blackbird”. Coldplay was the second act for the day in London doing their song “In My Place” and “Fix You”, plus they teamed with Richard Ashcroft for “Bittersweet Symphony”. Another highlight of the day was Green Day in Berlin. Green Day exploded in Germany with “American Idiot, “Holiday”, and “Minority” and did a great cover of Queen’s “We Are The Champions". In Philadelphia Linkin Park got the crowd jumping with “Breaking The Habit”, “In The End”, “Crawling” and “Somewhere I Belong”. Bon Jovi did their thing with “It’s My Life” and “Livin’ on a Prayer”. THE most talked about thing, however at Live 8was the reunion of Pink Floyd. David Gilmour and Roger Waters played “Wish You Were Here” and “Comfortably Numb”. The crowd was in a frenzy through their set list. Also, The Who and Paul McCartney rounded out the day/night with “Get Back, “Helter Skelter”, and a duet with George Michaels on “Drive My Car”. At the end of the night everyone at Hyde Park sang in unison to “Hey Jude”. Sadly when the concerts were done a week later terrorists bombed London, but a while later the G8 summit concluded they were going to help Africa. A day that changed the world with over 1,000 musicians playing for the same cause and to save lives was a victory.