Moscow Music Peace Festival
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The Moscow Music Peace Festival was a one-time gathering of high-profile hard rock acts who put on a concert for the people in Moscow, Soviet Union in 1989 to promote world peace and establish international cooperation in fighting the drug war in Russia. It was part of a pinnacle turning point in the Soviet Union, in which democracy was on the march and communism was collapsing. In 1991, the Soviet Union officially dissolved, and Russia became an independent country once again.
The concert exposed the Soviet Union to western culture, rock music, and united what was considered a very divisive world previously. The concert was also a pinnacle moment in glam metal and the peak in hard rock music's popularity.
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[edit] Problems
Noted in books such as Bang Your Head: The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal, the concert also showcased the ego clashes which eventually helped lead to the collapse of pop metal shortly thereafter. Many of the bands argued over who went on before who, and many were envious of Jon Bon Jovi whose band not only headlined the event, but also had a much more theatrical stage spectacle and longer set times; each band was supposed to do a stripped-down show with just music and no spectacular theatrics. Bon Jovi even offered his headlining spot to Ozzy Osbourne after he threatened to not go through with his set. Conflicts often erupted between the younger rebellious act Skid Row and other musicians. The members of Mötley Crüe were so incensed about preferences shown to Bon Jovi that they first punched out then fired manager Doc McGhee backstage at the venue, opting to fly back to the US on their own. The concert was also often chided by the bands themselves as being hypocritical, as many of the musicians were drinking or using drugs at the time despite the ties with the Make a Difference Foundation.
Nevertheless, whatever happened backstage generally stayed backstage, and what went on onstage happened to turnout to be a spectacular rock festival that positively inspired people and epitomized the fall of the Soviet Union, the globalization of culture, and the glory of 1980s pop-metal.
[edit] Management
The concert was put together by the Make a Difference Foundation, rock producer Doc McGhee, and other major players in the Soviet Union and the United States.
[edit] Venue
The event was held over two days in Moscow's largest stadium, Lenin Stadium, which has a seating capacity of about 85,000. However, as the concert also included specators on the field, the number of attendees was probably around 100,000 or more. The event was the first rock concert to be held at the stadium, which was previously primarily used for sporting events.
[edit] Artists
- Cinderella: Tom Keifer, Fred Coury, Jeff LaBar, Eric Brittingham
- Gorky Park: Alexie Belov, Nikolai Noskov, Sasha Minkov, Jan Ianenkov, Sasha Lvov
- Scorpions: Klaus Meine, Matthias Jabs, Francis Buchholz, Herman Rarebell, Rudolf Schenker
- Skid Row: Sebastian Bach, Dave Sabo, Rob Affuso, Rachel Bolan, Scotti Hill
- Mötley Crüe: Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, Mick Mars
- Ozzy Osbourne: Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, Randy Castillo, Geezer Butler, John Sinclair
- Bon Jovi: Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Alec John Such, Tico Torres, David Bryan
- Special Guest (for finale): Jason Bonham
[edit] Performances
Each band performed about a 6-song set, however the time lengths for some of the set's, particularly by Bon Jovi, are substantially longer. At the end of the concert was a collaboration of musicians equally representing the bands peforming a stunning rendition of "Rock and Roll" by Led Zeppelin.
The performances were shown on TV and are recapped in a video directed by Wayne Isham. Bootlegged copies of the performances are also available widespread on the Internet.
[edit] Album
The bands were all featured on the 1989 compilation album Stairway To Heaven/Highway To Hell, put out the Make a Difference Foundation. Each band recorded a song originally by some famous rock artist who had suffered a drug- or alcohol-related death. These included songs from The Who, the Sex Pistols, Jimi Hendrix, Tommy Bolin, Thin Lizzy, and Janis Joplin, along with a collaboration for Led Zeppelin's "Moby Dick" (for John Bonham), and a live collaboration where the bands perform a medley of Elvis Presley and Led Zeppelin songs.
Despite the intended anti-drug message of the album, some bands later admitted in interviews that the Moscow Music Peace Festival period ironically included much drug use.
[edit] Trivia
The event is being known for inspiring the song "Wind of Change" by the Scorpions, a ballad which became a soundtrack to the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the Soviet Union, and communism in general.
[edit] References
- Moscow Music Peace Festival (1989) (TV)
- Book: Bang Your Head: The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal
