Look To The Stars News: The Police

Bono's RED(Wire) To Launch Next Week

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:00:00 -0000

A new digital music service offered by Bono’s (RED) campaign is set to launch on Monday, December 1 – the 20th anniversary of World AIDS Day.

The singer announced the new system in July, saying: “We are working on [a way that] will help change the way music is received, as well as change the lives of Africans who will die without the AIDS drug that (RED) can provide.”

RED (Wire) will be a subscription-based service that will deliver weekly magazine style installments. For $5/month, subscribers will receive an exclusive song from one of the world’s top artists, a song by an emerging artist, a piece of non-music content called a “Crackerjack surprise,” and stories of how (RED) funds are being used to combat the deadly disease.

MSN will host Monday’s launch, with new songs and videos from U2, Coldplay, Death Cab for Cutie, Dixie Chicks, Jay-Z, John Legend and Sheryl Crow to be available at red.msn.com. Bob Dylan, REM, and The Police will also have videos available exclusively on RED (Wire), and there will also be a special Christmas duet between The Killers and Elton John.

“I like that it stands alone as a creative and fun thing to both receive and participate in,” said Michael Stipe. “And it would be that with or without the charity aspect.”

The Police Auction Signed Instruments

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

There is still a chance for you to get your hands on instruments signed by Sting and The Police in the Public Television Rocks auction.

The soon-to-be-disbanded Police play their final concert ever on August 7 at Madison Square Garden and – to prove there is still a sting in their tail – the band has donated a complete set of autographed instruments to be auctioned online through eBay.

The auction has been running for the last few weeks, and the band has already raised over $50,000 for Public Television Rocks! from the sale of VIP ticket packages to the final show.

Beginning August 4, a complete set of The Police’s instruments will be available for bidding, including Sting’s Signature Bass and Sennheiser Microphone (used during the 2007/2008 World Police tour); Andy Summer’s Signature Fender Telecaster; plus Stewart Copeland’s Tama Star Drum Set (played at the 2007 Grammy Awards) that features his current set up of Paiste cymbals including the Signature Blue Bell Ride, which Paiste developed in collaboration with the legendary drummer. All of the items are autographed and come with letters of authenticity.

100% of the proceeds from the auctions will benefit Public Television Rocks!, an initiative formed between NY Public Television stations, Thirteen/WNET (www.thirteen.org) and WLIW21 (www.wliw.org). The Police chose to support these stations in recognition of their contributions to art, music, and culture – both in New York and nationally. For more information, visit www.publictelevisionrocks.org.

The auction is running on eBay until August 14.

Sting And The Police Offer Jean Therapy At Charity Auction

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

They once sung about “walking on the moon”, but The Police probably didn’t wear the jeans that were auctioned off for US$19,800 in Sydney on Wednesday whilst gallivanting around in outer space.

The denim trousers were part of the 2008 Celebrity Jeans For Genes auction, an annual event to raise funds for the Children’s Medical Research Institute. Every year a host of international celebrities donate a pair of their personally signed jeans to the cause, which are then transformed into unique and valuable pieces of artwork by talented artists who volunteer their time.

This year’s event – which celebrated 50 years of the Children’s Medical Research Institute – was held at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, and raised a total of $250,000 for the charity. It also raised awareness of the Jeans for Genes Day on August 1, which aims to encourage people to wear jeans to work and donate money to the institute.

Other stars who donated their jeans to the cause included Cameron Diaz, David Duchovny, Suzi Quatro, and Keith Urban. Jackie Chan didn’t just stop at his jeans – he donated a shirt as well.

Previous years auctions have included jeans from Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Caton, Kurt Russell, Richard Branson, and Ashley Judd.

VIP Tickets For The Police's Final Concert Up For Grabs

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

The Police will play their final concert ever on August 7, and they want YOU to be there. To celebrate, the band has released a limited number of once-in-a-lifetime concert experiences and memorabilia to be auctioned online through eBay Giving Works.

The band is auctioning off four very special VIP packages to the Madison Square Garden show that will include intimate meet and greets, personal photos with the band, front row seats, access to the final sound check, special pre-concert dinner and cocktail reception invitations, and limited edition concert souvenirs. And if that is not enough, the boys are also putting a complete set of their autographed instruments up for grabs, including Sting’s Signature Bass, Sennheiser Microphone and Stand (used during the 2007/2008 world Police tour); Andy Summers’ Signature Fender Telecaster; and Stewart Copeland’s Tama Star Drum Set ( which he played at the 2007 GRAMMY Awards).

And not to be left out, support band The B52’s have also put a special VIP concert package up for auction, featuring a private meet and greet, access to their sound check, four front row seats, and four one-of-a-kind signed memorabilia gift sets.

The VIP ticket auctions run until July 24, and the opportunity to get your hands on the instruments runs until August 14. All of the auctions can be accessed through eBay.

Police To Bail On Career After Final Charity Gig

Thu, 08 May 2008 09:29:57 -0000

Written by Myrlia Purcell

The Police plan to finish up where they began, with their final performance of their reunion tour taking place in New York this summer. The group said in a statement: “We kicked off our very first American tour at CBGB’s in 1978, and this summer, 30 years later, our journey will come full circle as we play our final show here in New York City.”

Proceeds of the concert will benefit public television, and the band also plans to give more, donating $1 million to a city program that aims to plant 1 million trees by 2017.

Sting said, “We have a long history here. We wanted to leave a gift with our last performance that would keep on giving year after year, decade after decade — the gift of trees does do that.”

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city will match their donation, providing for the planting of 10,000 trees across the city. Unable to resist, Bloomberg said the contribution will “ensure that ‘every breath we take’ is cleaner and greener.”

Sting’s 20th Year Saving Rainforests

Mon, 05 May 2008 11:44:38 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler, will celebrate their 15th annual Rainforest Foundation Fund benefit concert, Some Kinda Legacy, at Carnegie Hall May 8.

The Rainforest Foundation Fund (RFF) came out of Sting and Styler’s Rainforest Foundation International (RFI), created in 1989 to raise awareness about the need to conserve tropical forests, support indigenous peoples, their land, their rights and to develop resource management. RFI began its focus on Brazil and then spread throughout Latin America, Africa and Asia. RFF has continued funding the programs and creating new ones to this end since 1999.

To help raise awareness of both the rainforest and the Fund’s mission, the Mayor’s office has declared May “Rainforest Awareness Month” and the Empire State Building will be lit in green Thursday evening during the event.

Besides Sting, the many other performers at the concert will include Billy Joel, James Taylor and Brian Wilson, followed with a gala dinner at the Grand Ballroom at Plaza Hotel, and then impressive items will be up for auction, such as a smart car, an opera night in Paris and stay at the Ritz, Bruce Springsteen memorabilia and concert tickets, tickets to a Police concert, a meeting with Tiger Woods, a visit to the set of Law & Order, and more.

Tickets to the concert range from $150 to $600, and can be purchased through Carnegie Hall

Charity Folks Help Charity Drives

Mon, 05 May 2008 11:42:02 -0000

Written by Elizabeth Willoughby

Charity Folks takes on the daunting task of organising online auctions for celebrity-driven fund raisers for charity.

Winning bidders acquire celebrity memorabilia or attend various types of events, such as television show tapings, concerts, trips abroad or the opening game, donated by celebrities, musicians, sport stars and high-profile personalities, all to support non-profit organisations.

Right now you can bid on meeting hip-hop icon Ludacris at his restaurant opening and dine with 11 of your friends on a special chef’s menu, your donation benefiting the Magic Johnson Foundation. Or you could bid on meeting Magic Johnson himself. Or two tickets to the new Sex And The City movie to support ACLU of Southern California, front row tickets to a Police concert to benefit Unitus, or tickets to the Broadway production of South Pacific and a backstage tour for Only Make Believe.

Charity Folks arrange the auction from beginning to end, from design, promotion, managing the auction and collecting the payments, and have raised over $6 million for nonprofit organizations around the world to date. Click here to see what else is up for auction this month.

Baldwin Brothers Behind Breast Cancer Auction

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:23:15 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

A private falconry lesson with Robert Kennedy Jr is just one of the more unusual items up for grabs in a new online auction this month, with the proceeds going to a charity set up by a brave woman who wants to benefit others affected by a deadly disease.

Actor William Baldwin is behind the auction, which is being held on the Charity Folks website until the end of October. Twenty unique and once in a lifetime items are on auction to raise funds for the Carol M. Baldwin Cancer Research Fund, a charity set up by Baldwin’s mother after she underwent a double mastectomy in 1996. The 70 year old turned her tragedy into courage to assist other women who are affected by breast cancer, and the Fund, which has raised over $2.6 million since its inception, donates money to researchers investigating the causes, prevention, and treatment of the disease. Both William Baldwin and his brother, Alec Baldwin, sit on the board of the Fund.

“I was very lucky to get a significant number of people on board and committed,” said Baldwin, who approached many of his friends to donate items to the auction. “I think that sort of created somewhat of an aura, where people were like, ‘You know, I want to be in on this’.”

The 44 year old star of movies such as Backdraft and the current ABC series Dirty Sexy Money has certainly managed to attract an impressive amount of friends. Lots include a day on the campaign trail with Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of presidential candidate John Edwards, an afternoon playing pool with Baldwin and Chevy Chase at Chevy’s home, a walk-on role in the series “30 Rock” with Alec Baldwin, backstage passes to concerts with Melissa Etheridge and Sheryl Crow, as well as front row seats to The Police live at Madison Square Garden in New York. Sting has also donated an autographed bass guitar, and Bruce Springsteen has supplied an autographed CD set. A number of vacation and dinner packages are also on offer.

The auction can be viewed at www.charityfolks.com/baldwin, and more information on the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund can be found at www.findacure.org.

Richard Branson Attends Virgin Festival in Baltimore

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 12:55:09 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Soaring temperatures of over 100°F did not stop 80,000 music lovers from attending a massive two-day charity concert held at the Pimlico Raceway in Baltimore on August 4 and 5. The Baltimore Virgin Festival was part of a series of concerts being held this year, partly organized by Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin brand.

Concert goers were treated to performances by 40 groups and artists, including Sting and The Police, Ben Harper, The Beastie Boys, Iggy Pop, and The Smashing Pumpkins. $1.50 from every ticket sold was donated directly to Virgin Unite, the charitable arm of the Virgin Group, dedicated to “tackling some of the tougher social challenges by uniting people and Virgin’s global resources.”

The concert also featured a huge tent village which housed a mall of philanthropy booths, where concert attendees could find out more about non-profit organizations such as Oxfam, The Living Classrooms Foundation (which uses maritime settings to train at-risk youth), StandUp For Kids (which helps homeless children), and Youth Noise (a website where teens can talk about significant issues and raise money for their chosen causes).

Branson joined actress Daryl Hannah at the event, and stated that the festivities were extremely eco-friendly, with 99% of the fuels used to power the concert being the cleanest biofuel available.

The Virgin Festival in Baltimore followed a similar concert held in Vancouver in May, and the next event will be in Toronto in September.

Also rocking out on August 4 and 5 was another huge concert, the Lollapalooza Festival, an annual event founded in 1991. 165,000 people crammed Grant Park in Chicago to see 140 acts, including Pearl Jam, Ben Harper, and Snow Patrol. A portion of every ticket sale went to the Parkways Foundation, a non-profit organization working with the Chicago Park District.

Live Earth Rocks the Planet

Mon, 09 Jul 2007 13:16:25 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

They came, they rocked, they conquered. 07/07/07 saw the Live Earth concerts take place on 7 continents, and the event will go down in history and in people’s hearts as one of the greatest spectacles ever staged.

The nine concerts held around the globe attracted hundreds of thousands of music lovers, and another 9 million internet streams – a world record internet audience. Many more are expected to watch replays over the next few weeks. Concert-goers partied for a total of 22 hours at the events organized by Al Gore to raise awareness of climate change and environmental issues.

“You are Live Earth,” Gore told the crowd in New Jersey, on a stage made from recycled tires. “Today 2 billion of us have come together in over 130 countries… Times like these demand action.”

Despite the rain and low temperatures, 30,000 fans in Hamburg enjoyed stunning and energetic performances by Yusuf – formerly known as Cat Stevens – Shakira, Snoop Dogg, Enrique Iglesias, and former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell. German comedian Elton joked about the inclement conditions with the comment “We’re here to fight against global warming in such c—p weather.”

It was also a cold affair in Antarctica, where a previously unknown band Nunatak – made up of polar researchers – played for 17 fellow scientists, allowing Gore to keep his promise to hold concerts in all seven continents.

45,000 people turned out in warmer circumstances in Sydney, where they were treated to performances by Jack Johnson, Toni Collette’s band The Finish, and a newly reformed Crowded House. Sydney was the first of the concerts to open, and was followed by Japan, where thousands rocked to performances by Linkin Park, Rihanna, and a host of local acts.

Johannesburg, experiencing its first snow in ten years, swayed to the rhythms of some of their best known local acts, as well as an intense performance by Joss Stone.

It was a smaller and quieter affair in Washington, where a subdued crowd was entertained by a few lesser known blues and hip hop acts.

The most popular concerts were held in London and New York. The newly refurbished Wembley Stadium was rocking under the weight of 70,000 concert-goers, all enthralled by stellar performances from the Beastie Boys, Kasabian, Metallica, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 1980’s comedy rock act Spinal Tap reformed for the event to perform their new single, “Warmer Than Hell”, and there was also a touching performance by singer/songwriter Terra Naomi. Naomi wrote the track “Say It’s Possible” after seeing An Inconvenient Truth, and was asked personally by Al Gore to perform it at Live Earth.

The finale of the Wembley show was a set by Madonna, which included “Hey You”, the song she wrote especially for Live Earth. She also thanked Gore “for giving the world the wake-up call it so badly needs, and for starting the avalanche of awareness that we are running out of time.”

Over 50,000 people crammed Giants Stadium in New Jersey to join Al Gore, Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, and Kevin Bacon for a night to remember. Cool rhythms from Alicia Keys and the Dave Matthews Band gave way to rockier beats later in the evening from Kelly Clarkson, Melissa Etheridge, and Jon Bon Jovi. The show ended with Sting and The Police performing a duet of their hit, “Message In A Bottle”, with rapper Kanye West . The free show in Rio De Janeiro, almost cancelled over security concerns, drew a crowd of 600,000 to listen to sun-drenched performances by Lenny Kravitz and Macy Gray, and the show in Shanghai was also a success.

The Chinese crowd were made aware of the International Energy Agency warning that China could become the top emitter of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, by later this year.

The Live Earth concerts were a great day’s entertainment for those who witnessed them, and only time will tell if they achieved their goals.

“Thank you for coming to Live Earth,” said Al Gore as the concerts ended. “Harness the energy in your hearts and help us solve the climate crisis.”

eBay Busy With Charity Auctions

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 09:27:49 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Ebay Giving Works, the program set up by the internet giant dedicated to charity auctions, is busy this month with an influx of musicians selling items for good causes.

Country singers Faith Hill and Tim McGraw lead the charge by offering a brand new 2007 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon on the eBay site. All proceeds from the auction will go towards their Neighbor’s Keeper Foundation, the non-profit organization they founded in 2005 to provide funding for community based charities.

The winner of the auction will also receive a trip for two to Las Vegas, two tickets to Hill and McGraw’s Soul2Soul concert on August 4, backstage passes with an opportunity to meet the singers, and autographed photos.

The Neighbor’s Keeper Foundation has already raised over $1 million for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and the jeep is expected to raise at least another $35,000. The auction runs from July 4 to July 14, and can be found at www.ebay.com/jeepsoul2soul.

Other musicians with items for sale this month include rock group Incubus, who have made 25 VIP packages available for their up-coming sell-out tour in America. Proceeds from the online auction will go towards the band’s Make Yourself Foundation, which funds various causes and charities around the world.

Some fans are already bidding over $400 for the packages, which include tickets to their shows, the chance to meet the band backstage, and autographed photos.The auction runs from June 11 to July 16, and is found at www.ebay.com/incubus.

Rockers Linkin Park are offering 1 VIP package to each show in their upcoming Projekt Revolution tour – 28 dates in all. Each package includes two premium tickets to the venue of your choice, a backstage meet and greet with the band, and an autographed poster.

The auction will support Music for Relief, an organization set up by the band to help victims recover and rebuild after natural disasters. It was established in 2005 to provide aid for those affected by the tragic tsunami in South Asia, and has also raised over $2 million for Hurricane Katrina and Rita victims. The auction runs from July 5 to August 9, and can be viewed at www.ebay.com/musicforrelief.

VIP packages continue to be the theme with Beyoncé Knowles’ auction at www.ebay.com/beyonce.tour. Two winning bidders will have the opportunity to watch her up-coming New York and Los Angeles shows from front row seats, meet Beyonce backstage, and receive autographed photos. All proceeds from the auction will benefit the Survivor Foundation, an organization the singer started with her family in 2005 to assist Hurricane Katrina victims. The auction runs from June 8 to July 24.

Not to be outdone by the younger generation, several classic rock acts are also running online auctions at eBay this month. Sting and The Police are offering a series of ticket packages, which include meet and greets and autographed memorabilia. All proceeds from the auction benefit MusiCares, the charitable arm of the Recording Academy.

MusiCares focuses the resources and attention of the music industry on human service issues, especially those that have a direct impact on the health and welfare of the music community. One of the VIP packages to meet the band has already sold for over $1500, and bidding for the others closes on July 6. The auction can be viewed at www.ebay.com/grammys.

Finally this month, former Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page is auctioning the double neck Gibson guitar he used on the 1971 Led Zeppelin IV tour. This is the guitar he played “Stairway To Heaven” on for every night of the tour, and 10% of the proceeds will go to MusiCares. The auction runs from July 23 to August 2 on eBay.

Ebay also expects to offer a large selection of signed Live Earth products after the Live Earth concerts on July 7.

Look To The Stars News: The Police

Bono's RED(Wire) To Launch Next Week

Related past articles

The Police Auction Signed Instruments

Related past articles

Sting And The Police Offer Jean Therapy At Charity Auction

Related past articles

VIP Tickets For The Police's Final Concert Up For Grabs

Related past articles

Police To Bail On Career After Final Charity Gig

Related past articles

Sting’s 20th Year Saving Rainforests

Related past articles

Charity Folks Help Charity Drives

Related past articles

Baldwin Brothers Behind Breast Cancer Auction

Related past articles

Richard Branson Attends Virgin Festival in Baltimore

Related past articles

Live Earth Rocks the Planet

Related past articles

eBay Busy With Charity Auctions

Related past articles