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UK Music Stars Rally to Raise Tsunami Aid Funds
01/03/2005 4:24 PM, Reuters
Veteran pop star Sir Cliff Richard ,
flamboyant singer Boy George and other British musicians plan
to release a song to raise money for victims of the devastating
Asian tsunami, the tune's composer said.
Radio DJ Mike Read wrote the song "Grief Never Grows Old"
before the Dec. 26 disaster, but said he was now getting stars
on board to release it within weeks.
"We've tracked down quite a few people, who have said,'Yes
I would love to do a few lines on it,"' Read told Sky News
television, adding that Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees and opera
singer Russell Watson were also taking part.
Richard said: "I have always felt that those of us that
have these kind of careers, whether it be broadcasting or
singing, acting, dancing, we are in an incredibly privileged
group of people and it's just nice to feel you can actually
play a part."
Charity singles have proved hugely popular fundraisers in
Britain, where the reworked Band Aid 20 charity single "Do They
Know It's Christmas," featuring Dido, Jamelia and other stars,
recently spent several weeks at the top of the charts.
The single was knocked off the top spot on Sunday by
"Against All Odds" from Steve Brookstein after the winner of
talent show "The X factor" pledged all proceeds from his debut
single would go to victims of the tsunami.
Separately, managers at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff,
Wales, said they were planning a charity concert at the
74,500-seat venue on Jan. 22-23, and hoped to raise more than 1
million pounds ($1.92 million) for tsunami-stricken Asian
countries.
"As the largest indoor arena in Europe we feel we have the
best chance of pulling off something like this. It's too early
to come up with any names, but we've been chasing a strong list
of 'A' list acts to see if they would be willing to take part,"
said general manager Paul Sergeant.
Britons, haunted by images of the disaster, have donated up
to 1 million pounds an hour in the country's fastest ever
charity appeal.The government's donation of 50 million pounds
has been dwarfed by the 60 million pounds given by the public.
Stories from the thousands of British tourists who were
holidaying in the region to escape the gray winter at home have
filled the country's newspapers.
The British death toll stood at 40 on Monday, with the
overall toll at about 145,000.
Reuters/VNU
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