Less political theory, more tabloid gossip. According to the People, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure were involved in a furious back stage row as the Live 8 concert kicked off in London on Saturday. Apparently Geldof was meant to duet with his fellow Band Aid co-founder when he performed the Boomtown Rats track 'I Don't Like Mondays' in Saturday.
However Geldof took to the stage earlier than expected, without Ure, and performed the track alone. Ure, the paper claims, was not impressed, with one source telling the tabloid that: "Midge stormed around, calling Bob every name under the sun. The air was blue. Bob had promised that this time he'd be up on stage with him. But he neglected to tell Midge when that would be and strolled on without him. Midge was in the VIP hospitality area when he heard Bob. No-one knows if Bob did it deliberately or just forgot."
There have always been tensions between the two Band Aid founders, mainly because Geldof has taken centre stage ever since the original Band Aid project transformed from a charity record into an ongoing humanitarian effort. At the original Live Aid the Ultravox and Boomtown Rats sets were mysteriously swapped over at the last minute, meaning that Geldof got to perform before the Prince and Princess Of Wales left. Legend has it Geldof instigated the last minute switch, though he's always denied knowing anything about it!
Other tabloid attention was focused on Pink Floyd men Roger Waters and Dave Gilmour, who apparently continued to bicker backstage despite their glorious return to form on stage; on Pete Doherty who brought his usual shambolic style to the proceedings by bumbling through his collaboration with Elton John and then acting very strangely back stage; and on Ricky Gervais, who pissed off tabloid journalists everywhere with his quip that the concert was going to end because world leaders had agreed to boost world aid - before adding "I'm joking of course...they haven't quadrupled aid, we can carry on." The Sunday Mirror for one wasn't impressed, quoting Comic Relief co-founder and Live 8 supporter Richard Curtis as saying: "Ricky Gervais doesn't know his arse from his elbow. He was using world poverty for a gag. I don't know who invited him here." Obviously ignoring the fact that if you have to occasionally laugh about these things because, if you didn't, you'd surely have to commit suicide.