Friday 10 January 2014

Rock For Kampuchea


"Got To Get You Into My Life".


"Every Night", "Coming Up" from a superior Japanese source.


"Hot As Sun".

I was a Wings fan before I became a Beatles fan. And I was 17 when the 1979 Wings lineup toured the UK. I desperately wanted to go, but I was a minor and mother didn't want to let me go to the UK on my own. So it turned out to be the last Wings tour ever, and McCartney didn't hit the road again for a decade, so my first full McCartney concert was in 1989.
Meanwhile, I purchased the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea album and wore out just one of the four LP sides. And then the Rock For Kampuchea video (above) was shown on Norwegian TV late at night, and of course we videotaped it.
The film was directed by Keith McMillan and was 4 nights of concerts in Hammersmith Odeon in December, 1979, to raise money for the victims of Pol Pot's reign of terror in Cambodia. The event was organized by Paul McCartney and Kurt Waldheim (who was then Secretary-General of the U.N.), and it involved well-established artists such as McCartney, The Who and Queen as well as younger punk and new wave acts like The Clash and the Pretenders.  Since all four Beatles were alive and well at the time, there was an anticipation among the audience that a Beatles reunion could occur to close the concert. The Rockestra Band (more of 25 famous British musicians, including Wings) was a good substitution, and they did perform a Beatles song. Concert for Kampuchea did not receive American theatrical distribution until it was picked up by Miramax in 1988.
Sadly, the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea album never appeared on CD. Below is the Rockestra part of the concert.


"Lucille", "Let It Be", "Rockestra Theme".

The full Rock For Kampuchea film can be found here, and includes all the performers.
Related: Why did Cambodia change their name to Kampuchea and then back again?

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