A Conspiracy of Hope was a short tour of six benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place in the United States during June 1986. Held not to raise funds but to increase awareness of Amnesty on the 25th anniversary of its work for human rights, the shows were headlined by Sting and U2, and also featured Bryan Adams, Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Joan Baez, and The Neville Brothers. The last three shows featured a reunion of The Police. Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is a pressure group that promotes human rights. ... June 4 is the 155th day of the year (156th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... June 15 is the 166th day of the year (167th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is a pressure group that promotes human rights. ... The Secret Policemans Other Ball was the fourth of the benefit shows staged by the British Section of Amnesty International to raise funds for its research and campaign work in the human rights field. ... U2 are a rock band from Dublin, Ireland. ... The Unforgettable Fire Tour was a concert tour by Irish rock band U2, which took place in 1984 and 1985 in support of groups album The Unforgettable Fire. ... The Joshua Tree Tour was a concert tour by the Irish rock band U2, which took place during 1987, in support of their album The Joshua Tree. ... The Police are a three-piece rock band consisting of singer/bassist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers, and drummer Stewart Copeland. ... The Police Reunion Tour is a 2007 concert tour by long-estranged reggae-rock band The Police, marking the 30th anniversary of their beginnings. ... A benefit concert is a concert featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. ... Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is a pressure group that promotes human rights. ... For professional wrestler Steve Borden, see Sting (wrestler). ... U2 are a rock band from Dublin, Ireland. ... Bryan Adams OC, OBC, (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian rock singer, guitarist, songwriter and photographer. ... Peter Brian Gabriel (born February 13, 1950, in Chobham, Surrey, England) is an English musician. ... Lewis Allan Lou Reed[1] (born March 2, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... Joan Chandos Baez (born January 9, 1941) is an American folk singer and songwriter known for her highly individual vocal style. ... The Neville Brothers, an R&B, Soul and Jazz group, was formed in 1976 in New Orleans, LA. // Aaron Neville Art Neville Charles Neville Cyril Neville Ivan Neville The Neville Brothers (March 1978) Fiyo on the Bayou (April 1981) Nevillization I (September 1982) Nevillization II (February 1983) Neville-ization (June... The Police are a three-piece rock band consisting of singer/bassist Sting, guitarist Andy Summers, and drummer Stewart Copeland. ...

Background

The tour was conceived by the Executive Director of Amnesty International's U.S. section, Jack Healey, and producer Martin Lewis, who had first recruited musicians to work with Amnesty several years before for The Secret Policeman's Balls series of benefit shows in England (1976-1981). The tour was run by famed rock promotor Bill Graham. Martin Lewis. ... The Secret Policemans Ball — The Complete Edition (2004 DVD box set - cover) The Secret Policemans Balls is the collective name informally used to describe a long-running series of benefit shows staged in England to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. ... Cover of Bill Graham Presents Bill Graham (January 8, 1931–October 25, 1991) was a well-known rock concert promoter, who flourished from the 1960s until his death. ...

Tickets were sold by mail-order lottery, a method popular in the 1970s for high-demand shows but here used for pretty much the last time, with computerized services such as Ticketron rapidly taking over. The concert in Denver was the worst attended show, even with all of the top names on the bill. The local promoter blamed the title of the concert for radio stations believing there truly was a conspiracy, hence the concert was virtually empty.^{[citation needed]} Ticketron was a computerized event ticketing technology that was in operation from the 1960s until it was purchased by Ticketmaster in 1991. ...

Performances

• June 4, Cow Palace, San Francisco
• June 6, The Forum, Los Angeles
• June 8, McNichols Sports Arena, Denver
• June 11, The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia
• June 13, Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois (outside Chicago)
• June 15, Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey (outside New York)

The final show at Giants Stadium show was a sold-out, all-day event, running from noon until 11 p.m., broadcast on MTV, and at an outdoor stadium rather than the indoor arenas used for the first five stops. As such, these additional artists played there: John Eddie with Max Weinberg, Third World, The Hooters, Peter Paul & Mary, Little Steven with Bob Geldof, Stanley Jordan, Joan Armatrading, Jackson Browne, Rubén Blades with Fela and Carlos Santana, Yoko Ono, Howard Jones, Miles Davis, and Joni Mitchell. Spoken introductions were made by Bill Graham, Bill Bradley, Darryl Hannah, Robert DeNiro, Christopher Reeve, Michael J. Fox, and Muhammed Ali. The Cow Palace (originally known as the California State Livestock Pavilion) is an indoor arena in Daly City, California that borders neighboring San Francisco. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... The Forum, known for a time as the Great Western Forum, is an indoor arena in Inglewood, California owned by the Faithful Central Bible Church, which uses it for its Sunday morning service. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... McNichols Sports Arena (AKA Big Mac) was an indoor arena in Denver, Colorado, USA, adjacent to Mile High Stadium. ... This article refers to the state capital of Colorado. ... The Omni Coliseum was an indoor arena located in Atlanta, Georgia. ... This article is about the state capital of Georgia. ... The Allstate Arena is a sports stadium in Rosemont, Illinois, which is home to the Chicago Wolves hockey club, DePaul University mens basketball, and the Chicago Rush arena football team. ... Rosemont is a village located in Cook County, Illinois, founded in 1956. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country United States State Illinois County Cook & DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Giants Stadium, also called The Meadowlands, is the home stadium for the New York Giants and New York Jets NFL football teams, and Red Bull New York (formerly MetroStars) of Major League Soccer. ... Map highlighting East Rutherfords location within Bergen County. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... MTV (Music Television) is an American cable television network headquartered in New York City. ... Telstra Stadium in Sydney, Australia is capable of being converted from a rectangular rugby football field to an oval for cricket and Australian rules football games This article is about the building type. ... ARENA may refer to either: Nationalist Republican Alliance, a political party in El Salvador. ... Max Weinberg on the set of Late Night with Conan OBrien. ... Third World is a Jamaican reggae band formed in 1973. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... The trio Peter, Paul and Mary (often PP&M) is one of the most successful folk-singing groups of the 1960s. ... Steven Van Zandt (born November 22, 1950) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, record producer, actor, and radio disc jockey, who frequently goes by the stage names Little Steven or Miami Steve. ... Robert Frederick Xenon Geldof, KBE[1], known as Bob Geldof (born 5 October 1951) [2], is an Irish singer, songwriter, actor and political activist. ... Stanley Jordan (July 31, 1959) is an American jazz/jazz fusion guitarist, best known for his development of the touch technique for playing guitar. ... It has been suggested that The Weakness in Me be merged into this article or section. ... Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist, whose introspective lyrics made him one of the standouts in Southern Californias confessional singer-songwriter movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. ... Rubén Blades. ... Fela Anikulapo Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, October 15, 1938 - August 2, 1997), or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick. ... Carlos Augusto Alves Santana (born July 20, 1947), known simply as Carlos Santana or Santana, is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican-born American Latin rock musician and guitarist. ... Yoko Ono Lennon (小野 洋子 Ono Yōko(ONO Yōko), born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese-American artist and musician. ... Howard Jones (born John Howard Jones, 23 February 1955) is an English singer and songwriter. ... Miles Dewey Davis III (26 May 1926 – 28 September 1991) was one of the most influential musicians of the latter half of the 20th century. ... Joni Mitchell, CC (born Roberta Joan Anderson on November 7, 1943) is a noted Canadian musician, songwriter, and painter. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Daryl Christine Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is a popular American actress. ... Robert De Niro Robert De Niro, Jr. ... Christopher DOlier Reeve[1] (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, director, producer and writer. ... For other persons named Michael Fox, see Michael Fox (disambiguation). ... Other people with this name: Muhammad Ali of Egypt, Mehemet Ali (Turkey) Muhammad Ali-Haj (born January 17, 1942 as Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. ...

Jackson Browne had also performed at the San Francisco and Los Angeles shows.

Pete Townshend was scheduled to play the Giants Stadium show, but canceled at the last moment, when his father, Cliff Townshend, became gravely ill. This would have been Pete Townshend's first ever US solo appearance. Peter Dennis Blandford (Pete) Townshend (born May 19, 1945 in Chiswick, London), is an award winning English rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. ...

Musical themes

A Conspiracy of Hope Tour booklet

The tour artists generally arranged their sets around themes of politics, freedom, and courage. Multiple performers joined U2 for Little Steven's "Sun City", while the assembled multitude sang Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" at the end. Bono sometimes joined The Police for the Troubles-flavored "Invisible Sun", while Fela and Santana joined the Neville Brothers as well. Some of the less rock-oriented acts lost crowd attention during the long Giants Stadium event (notably Joni Mitchell, who admonished the audience from the stage for their rowdy behavior during her set), although Baez was well received with a diverse set that included Fela and the Nevilles assisting on Tears for Fears' "Shout". (Curt Smith of Tears for Fears was in the audience at the Cow Palace show, and joined Baez and the Nevilles on that show's performance of this song.) Sun City is a 1985 protest song written by Steven Van Zandt and recorded by Artists United Against Apartheid to convey opposition to the South African policy of apartheid. ... Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, author, musician, and poet who has been a major figure in popular music for five decades. ... I Shall Be Released is a 1967 song written by Bob Dylan. ... Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known as Bono (IPA pronunciation: ), is the lead singer and principal lyricist of the Irish rock band U2. ... For other uses, see The Troubles (disambiguation). ... Invisible Sun is a hit single by rock group The Police. ... Tears for Fears (abbreviated TFF) are a popular English pop band formed in the early 1980s by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, which emerged after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate. ... Shout is a 1984 single from Tears for Fears. ... Curt Smith (born June 24, 1961, Bath, Somerset, England) is an English singer, bassist, synthesizer player and songwriter. ...

The tour enhanced the growing stature of both Peter Gabriel and U2, who were on upswings of popularity and whose "Shock the Monkey" and "Bad" respectively showed percussive, hypnotic power in large settings. Sting was originally slated for the tour with his solo act, but he reconvened The Police for the final three concerts (with their first appearance, in Atlanta, being unannounced) in order to receive top billing with U2, and to further assist Amnesty's fund-raising and profile-raising with the enhanced value of a Police reunion. These were the last public Police performances until their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2003. Shock the Monkey is a 1982 song by Peter Gabriel. ... Bad is the seventh track from U2s 1984 album, The Unforgettable Fire. ... Sting in Budapest, 2000 Gordon Matthew Sumner, CBE (born October 2, 1951), usually known by his stage name Sting, is an English musician from Newcastle upon Tyne. ... The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at sunset. ...

Impact

As with all such concerts, there was the question of how many attendees were hearing the message versus how many were just waiting for the next set to begin. A Philadelphia rock radio station sent an interviewer into the Giants Stadium concessions line, who seemed shocked to encounter an audience member who not only knew what Amnesty was but had already been a member. Nickname: Motto: Philadelphia maneto - Let brotherly love continue Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: Country United States Commonwealth Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Government  - Mayor John F. Street (D) Area  - City 369. ...

Bono put paid to such doubters with a quote in Rolling Stone shortly before the tour began in which he said that he knew first-hand the value of attending such shows. "The audience is going to be great. I know that because I was part of that audience once. I saw 'The Secret Policemans's Ball' and it became a part of me ... It sowed a seed."

In any case, just one month after the tour, the membership of Amnesty International in the United States had increased by 45,000 members.[1]

External link

• U2's setlists from the Conspiracy of Hope Tour