Look To The Stars News: Keane

Keane Drummer Visits Death Row Inmate

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:00:00 -0000

The drummer of British band Keane traveled to the US state of Georgia last week to visit a prisoner on Death Row.

Drummer Richard Hughes claims the case against Troy Davis is a “terrifying illustration” of why the death penalty should be banned.

“I am going to Georgia with [”Amnesty International":http://www.looktothestars.org/charity/19-amnesty-international] to meet this remarkable man and his family; to show my support for him and to try to shine a little light on his case and the terrible effects of continuing to execute people in the name of justice," said Hughes. “Troy is innocent, yet he has been on the brink of execution, only last-minute judgements keeping him alive. He continues to fight for the chance to prove his innocence.”

Davis was convicted of killing a police officer in 1989, despite authorities being unable to find evidence linking him to the crime. Seven of nine witnesses in the case later changed their initial testimonies against him in sworn affidavits.

To find out more and sign a petition, click here.

British Bands To Play For Youth Music Charity

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

British band The Enemy and singing sensation Little Boots are to play gigs as part of a forthcoming exhibition project by photographer Rankin for children’s music charity Youth Music.

Youth Music is the UK’s largest children’s music charity, set up in 1999 to promote and support music making opportunities and to provide advice to children from birth – 18 with the least access, including some of the UK’s most disadvantaged young people. Youth Music works alongside the formal and community-based sectors to support music-making and training.

The acts are set to play at London’s Phillips de Pury Gallery on November 12 and 13, and are part of a week-long series of music and art events.

Photographer Rankin has asked a host of top musicians and acts – such as Blur’s Alex James, Alanis Morissette, Beth Orton, Kylie Minogue, Keane, Jarvis Cocker, Kasabian and REM’s Michael Stipe – to customise a picture of themselves for the exhibition, titled Destroy.

Tickets will go on sale on September 28 from here.

Celebrities Do Whatever It Takes For Charity

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A huge selection of celebrity-designed bags and T-shirts are currently available at the UK’s premiere celebrity charity auction website, Buy Once Give Twice.

The auction site is hosting the auction for Whatever It Takes, a unique charity artwork project which inspires hope by gathering artworks from leaders in all fields; royalty, film, music, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, sports, literature etc. The artworks are used to ethically produce Whatever It Takes products which are then sold to raise funds for charitable causes chosen by each contributing leader.

Going under the hammer in the auction are T-shirts featuring designs by The Killers, Pink, Snoop Dogg, Nicole Kidman, Hilary Duff, Lucy Liu, Toni Collette, Coldplay, Minnie Driver, Keane, Whoopi Goldberg, Green Day, Barry Manilow, Penelope Cruz, Melanie C, Annie Lennox, and the Kaiser Chiefs. There are also bags and purses designed by Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, Lucy Liu, Kanye West, Slash, David Bowie, Ozzy Osbourne, and Stella McCartney.

Charities supported by Whatever It Takes include: Adopt-A-Minefield, Anti-Slavery International, Breast Cancer Campaign, CARE, Children of the Andes, Children’s Medical Research Institute, Christian Children’s Fund, City at Peace, Comic Relief, Dreams Can Be Foundation, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Greenpeace, Healthlink Worldwide, Heifer International, Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, Red Cross, LIFEbeat, LifeLine & Rape Crisis PMB, Opportunity International, Oxfam, ROTA, Rights and Humanity, S.A.F.E., Save the Children, Sharon Osborne Colon Cancer Program, Snoop Youth Football League, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Teenage Cancer Trust, The BRIT Trust, Christina Noble Children’s Foundation, Little Dreams Foundation, Lotus Outreach, Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, Toothfairy Foundation, Trade plus Aid, UNHCR, UNICEF, and WaterAid.

To make a bid in the auction, which runs until June 30, click here.

The Killers Play Surprise Charity Gig

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

The Killers played an unannounced acoustic set at the first of Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions in London on Saturday night.

The British rockers made their surprise appearance at a show that also featured Glasvegas, White Lies and Cage The Elephant. They played 3 songs, including Human, Smile Like You Mean It, and an inspired performance of Cyndi Lauper’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun.

Surprise acoustic performances are a traditional part of Mencap’s Little Noise Sessions. Last year, Bono and The Edge from U2 took to the stage unannounced and played four acoustic songs.

The sessions take place over eleven nights at Islington’s Union Chapel to raise money for the charity, which works with people who suffer from learning disabilities. Kasabian, Stereophonics, Keane, and Razorlight are all scheduled to perform over the next week and a half, and tickets are available from the Mencap Music website.

British Rockers To Go Acoustic For Mencap

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:00:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Kasabian, Stereophonics, Keane, and Razorlight have all signed up to perform at this year’s Mencap Little Noise Sessions which take place across eleven days in November.

The acoustic shows will take place at Islington’s Union Chapel to raise money for the charity, which works with people who suffer from learning disabilities.

“We are really looking forward to playing the show for the Little Noise Sessions on behalf of Mencap,” said Kelly Jones from the Stereophonics. “To be able to do an acoustic show in such an intimate venue and be able to support such a worthy cause will be a really special thing to do and something we rarely get the chance to do. It will be beautiful.”

Of course, there is always the chance of a big surprise at the Mencap Little Noise concerts. Last year, Bono and The Edge from U2 took to the stage unannounced and played four acoustic songs.

DJ Jo Whiley will once again host the event, and tickets are available from the Mencap Music website.

Girls Aloud Show Their Humanitarian Side

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 11:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A special auction on eBay last week helped raise more than $18,000 for children’s charity War Child.

A host of celebrities, including Girls Aloud and Keane, donated items for a special celebrity auction for the charity, which raises money to support children acutely affected by conflict in some of the world’s most dangerous war zones.

A number of items at the auction gained special attention, including a pair of signed Spin paintings by Damien Hirst that sold for around $8,000 each. A pair of shoes donated by Keane vocalist Tom Chaplin sold for $900, and a painting by Girls Aloud went out for $160.

Girls Aloud, a British girl group formed in 2002, also showed their humanitarian side last week when they met a little girl backstage whose father had recently died.

Macie Nunn, five, wrote to the group to tell them about the difficult year her family has had since her dad Mark, 37, collapsed and died of an undetected heart condition at work last May.

“We were going to the concert anyway but I thought it would be extra nice if Macie could meet the girls,” said Macie’s mother, Jude. “We were amazed when we got a call on Sunday at 7am from one of the girl’s assistants saying that she’d like to organize a meet and greet for us before the concert.”

Macie was extremely excited about the band’s invitation, and it will be an experience she will remember for a long time.

“Kimberley [one of the singers] hugged, cuddled, and kissed Macie the way I do,” said Jude. “She was so nice and all of the girls were so moved by her bravery. Macie had lipstick on her cheek and she didn’t want to wash it off. It was so nice that the girls took time out to meet their fans, and Macie was over-the-moon. We’ve both been hyper ever since.”

Stars Sign Up For Mandela's Birthday Bash

Wed, 07 May 2008 10:21:30 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

The list of artists signing up for the June 27th 46664 concert in honor of Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday just keeps growing. 45,000 tickets are available for the one-day event, which will feature acts such as Eminem, Queen, Annie Lennox, Razorlight, Keane, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.

Mandela says of the event, “London wants to celebrate my birthday and I said I would go if they would raise funds for our charities. So, we have a bargain – I am going to London and they there will host a concert in Hyde Park, which will raise awareness of our continuing work and much needed funds.”

The list of expected performers, as of yesterday, includes

Leona Lewis
Sugababes
Duffy
Jamelia
Amy Winehouse
Shirley Bassey
Emmanuel Jal
Andrea and Sharon Corr
Eddy Grant
Simple Minds
Amaral
Soweto Gospel Choir
Loylso
Kurt Darren
Johnny Clegg
The Children Of Agape
Papa Wemba
Sipho Mabuse

There will also be numerous unannounced appearances, as several major artists are keeping silent about their involvement in order to take both Mr Mandela and the audience by surprise.

The 46664 campaign got its name from Mandela’s prison number during 18 of his 27 years of incarceration on the notorious Robben Island. The campaign raises awareness about the impact of AIDS, especially in Africa, and promotes effective HIV prevention measures throughout the world.

Those wishing to purchase tickets, which are priced at £65 each, must first register at the concert’s homepage.

U2 Plays Surprise Charity Gig

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 20:00:52 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Over 250 people were glad they braved the freezing London weather last week to attend one of the Mencap Little Noise Sessions charity concerts. Those who traipsed through the drizzle on Friday, November 23, were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime show when two members of U2 played unannounced as a warm up act at the gig.

Bono and The Edge played a set of four songs when they surprised concert-goers at the Union Chapel in North London, including “Stay (Faraway So Close)”, “Desire”, “Angel of Harlem”, and “Wave of Sorrow”, a song originally written in 1987 for the Joshua Tree album, but never released or played live before.

“Don’t tell Larry (Mullen Jr) and Adam (Clayton) we’ve done this,” joked Bono, referring to his absent band mates.

Rumors had reverberated around the music industry for a week that some special guests would appear at the gig, which also featured Scottish group Biffy Clyro. But no one in the audience had any idea who it would be until the duo walked on stage.

“They were actually really nervous beforehand,” said event host and BBC Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley. “After they came off stage, Bono asked me if they’d been OK, and they were also wondering whether the ‘new’ song had gone down well.”

The Mencap Little Noise Sessions are a series of concerts being held at the Union Chapel on 8 consecutive nights from November 20-27. Other artists to be involved in the acoustic gigs include Will Young, Snow Patrol, and Keane, and proceeds from the shows will go to help Mencap with running arts programs to help people with learning disabilities grow in confidence and ability.

Mencap, a non-profit organization founded in 1946, works with adults and children affected by learning disabilities, and fights to end discrimination and provide a wide range of services. Over 1.5 million people in the UK suffer from learning disabilities, which can cause difficulties in communication and doing everyday things. However, Mencap maintains that a learning disability will not prevent someone from achieving their dreams if they are given the right support.

More information on how to donate to Mencap or attend one of the remaining Little Noise Sessions can be found at www.mencap.org.uk.

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