Live 8 — a global spectacle designed to inform the world about African poverty — unfolded today over eight stages and dozens of performances. Highlights were plenty, most notably when U2 and Paul McCartney opened the show in London with “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”, and when the Verve’s Richard Ashcroft joined Coldplay onstage to perform “Bittersweet Symphony.” London had the world’s most rock-oriented stage, with legendary acts like McCartney, U2, a reunited Pink Floyd, Madonna, the Who, Elton John, and R.E.M. sharing the bill with upstarts like the Killers, Razorlight, Snow Patrol, and Pete Doherty. Here in the States, R&B, hip hop, and country got the spotlight at Philadelphia’s Live 8 stage where over 1 million people gathered to watch Kanye West, Stevie Wonder, Black Eyed Peas, Will Smith, Toby Keith, and more.
Spin‘s Peter Gaston hunkered down for 12 hours of Live 8 coverage online and on TV. Click here to read his hour-by-hour commentary on the show.
Vote on the best Live 8 collaboration in our poll by clicking here.
