James Brown is to take part in Edinburgh's Live 8 concert on 6 Jul at the city's Murrayfield stadium. The soul legend told reporters at a media conference in London "I know that people need help and I want to be a part of it in any way I can. The concert will raise awareness of the problems in Africa and will make people think about humanity."
As previously reported, organiser Bob Geldof has come under fire over the lack of black artists on the Live 8 bill, but Brown said that colour was irrelevant: "I'm not going to perform as a black artist, I'm going to perform as a man who makes music. You don't segregate. I've fought against that years ago. I don't care if children are black, white, red or yellow, I care that they are hungry."
Brown is on a European tour, and says that he has not been slowed down by the prostate cancer he was diagnosed with last year, for which he underwent successful surgery. "When I'm ripping and running I don't have time to worry about the situation," he said. "A lot of people have the same thing and I pray for them."
About 50,000 people are expected to attend the Edinburgh Live 8 concert, which coincides with the G8 summit in Gleneagles and anti-poverty protests in Edinburgh.