World AIDS Day: Bono Speaks Out For Freddie, HIV AIDS, Queen And The Mercury Phoenix Trust You might wonder what Queen and U2 front man Bono have in common. The straightforward answer is that Queen and Bono have between them spent more than two decades on the frontline of the global fight for an AIDS free future – Queen through its Mercury Phoenix Trust which band members Roger Taylor and Brian May together with their manager Jim Beach founded in 1992. Bono, a tireless campaigner whose determination to take on the fight against the virus gained focus in 2006 when he created (RED), his mission to bring business and people together in action. Along the way, Queen and Bono have staunchly supported each other’s campaign efforts. Working together - with musician Dave Stewart - they founded the Nelson Mandela 46664 global anti-AIDS campaign in October 2003 which took form and gained global recognition when the following month they together headlined a massive outdoor concert in Cape Town raising millions to fights AIDS in South Africa. The work of 46664 continues to this day. Earlier this month, Queen gifted a new band track originally recorded with Freddie Mercury but now being heard for the first time, ‘Let Me In Your Heart Again’, to the Coca-Cola and Bono’s (RED) Share the Sound of an AIDS Free Generation initiative. The month-long global program running through to World AIDS Day on December 1st, 2014 through music shares a message of hope and unity to inspire and empower today’s youth to understand they can be the generation to end the AIDS crisis. In the spirit of ‘giving back’, Bono now speaks out for Queen’s Mercury Phoenix Trust, filming a special appeal message to be seen on the MPT site on World AIDS Day. In his 1 minute 40 second message Bono reflects on the loss of Freddie “…taken from us all in 1991 – stolen from us actually. This larger than life, dynamic vocal genius – stolen from us…stolen by a little virus, HIV”. He reminds us that while things are improving, there is yet much to be done, with the stark reminder: “The AIDS pandemic has now claimed the lives of 39 million lives. Think about that, 39 million people’s lives.” He also delivers some hope, with the fact that “last year for the first time since AIDS appeared four decades ago more people were put on the treatment than contracted the virus.“ “The balance is slowly tipping in the right direction… dreams of a world free of AIDS are no longer just dreams.” “But…we have to keep up the pressure and one of the ways of keeping up the pressure is by donating to the Mercury Phoenix Trust to support what the rest of the band (Queen) are doing. Bono ends his message with a personal tribute to the band: “Queen. Extraordinary band. Still active. Respect.” To see Bono’s full filmed message (and to donate) you can go to the Mercury Phoenix Trust website: mercuryphoenixtrust In the last 21 years the Mercury Phoenix Trust has given away over 15 million dollars in Freddie Mercury’s name and funded over 700 projects in the global battle against HIV/AIDS. mercuryphoenixtrust
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 15:39:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015