Sir Bob Geldof speech at the Brit Awards 1996

wednesday

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I always thought Sir Bob Geldof's speech at the 1996 Brit Awards was one of the finest ever given about Michael Jackson. Short but on point and very sweet. I've always wondered since whether Geldof is a fan. He must be.

"Any words one speaks or writes are sort of redundant in the face of what we've just seen or heard." Bob Geldof referring to Michael's performance of Earth Song

 
" When Michael Jackson sings it is with the voice of angels, and when his feet move you can see god dancing " What more is there to say?
 
Was it after that jerk Jarvis Cocker went on stage to try to ruin the performance? If so then it was especially nice of Bob to say this and show support to Michael.
 
I remember Bob saying afterwards that Michael called him the next day to thank him for saying such nice things but Bob had cut the speech short because he was so sickened by it's content. Lost any respect I might have had for Bob after he said that.
 
I remember Bob saying afterwards that Michael called him the next day to thank him for saying such nice things but Bob had cut the speech short because he was so sickened by it's content. Lost any respect I might have had for Bob after he said that.

So what he said was meant in a negative way?

I really wonder what was so upsetting about this performance for these people? They always say it upset them that Michael "posed as Jesus". I'd kind of understand this if this had been some kind of religious congregation, but c'mon, we are talking about ppl like Jarvis Cocker and Bob Geldof... I guess they just saw it as an ego-trip by Michael, totally misunderstanding the whole thing.
 
I loved Bob's speech and thought it was from him, but my mood got dampened after I did further search on Geldof and this speech:(

Remembering Michael
Bob Geldof

Bob Geldof appeared with Michael Jackson on "We Are the World."

I remember when I presented him with an award at the Brits in London, and I was reading the script, and I just couldn't get through all the encomiums, so I stopped. And then he performed "Earth Song" and Jarvis Cocker got up and did his thing. Michael didn't understand why people had been laughing. He rang me at 3 in the morning to ask about it. I just told him "Go to bed; don't worry." "Earth Song" was a little hubristic, but it was still a cool song. He was a pop singer; he hadn't invented penicillin. But what do you expect when you have a kid who never went to school, and then he was thrust into this mad existence? My favorite track is "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," but the most important is "We Are the World." I was never that crazy about the song, but at the time most Americans didn't know where Africa was. I don't think Michael understood the issues, the politics and economics; it didn't interest him, but when he was asked to help, he did.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1907409_1907413_1907553,00.html #ixzz2KxoAlbs9

I don't like his assumption that Michael didn't understand politics and economics.
 
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Is he mad? Seriously, Mike didnt understand the politics and economics? Did he think he was stupid or what, i find that very insulting. Someone jealous he wasnt getting those praises...
 
Wow, I'm so disappointed. :sad: I only ever liked Geldof because of that speech. I didn't know he said those things. And you know, Bob Geldof has not invented penicillin either, he, too, is only a musician, yet he received an honorary knighthood by the Queen and he never rejected this honor. So it probably really is only jealousy on his part to speak about Michael the way he did. Very sad.

And they all think they are so very smart to denounce Michael as some kind of retarded naiv man when it's really people like Cocker and Geldof and so many others that judge others, like Michael, that prove to be dumb and naiv in their judgement.

Almost sorry I put this speech up. BUT, whoever wrote the speech, if it wasn't Geldof himself, still did a nice job.
 
Was it after that jerk Jarvis Cocker went on stage to try to ruin the performance? If so then it was especially nice of Bob to say this and show support to Michael.

Yes, same night. And naturally, on British television they had to defend this moron.

 
Here's Michael's fantastic performance. As far as I know this was the second performance after that clown interrupted the first one:



I really love Michael's performance of Earth Song at the 1996 World Music Awards in Monaco though. A lot of people that love him were also there that night, Diana Ross, Celine Dion and Debbie Allen among others:



:wub:
 
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Here's Michael's fantastic performance. As far as I know this was the second performance after that clown interrupted the first one:



I really love Michael's performance of Earth Song at the 1996 World Music Awards in Monaco though. A lot of people that love him were also there that night, Diana Ross, Celine Dion and Debbie Allen among others:



:wub:

No he only performed it once on the Brits, which Cocker intrerrupted. The bottom performance however is a combination of two takes. You can see how the fans shift from the back to the front of the stage in different shots. Also if you listen carefully to when Michael is greeted on stage by Prince Albert afterwards, you can hear him say "thanks for letting me do it again." Michael simply wasn't satisfied with the first performance so they did another take. The tv broadcast was an edit of both.
 
Oh, I see. Sorry, for messing that up!

We know Michael was so upset and angry about this, but you couldn't tell from the way he so gracefully accepted his Artist of the Generation Award. Always sweet and always the professional.
 
It's actually unbelievable he mimed that.

His swag to come and do it so blatantly is awesome though.

Who's the older lady at the end (in the red?) shouting "bravo!".
 
It's actually unbelievable he mimed that.

His swag to come and do it so blatantly is awesome though.

Who's the older lady at the end (in the red?) shouting "bravo!".


Could be Brigitte Bardot.
 
Maybe people should read the lyrics in Michael's music and then tell me he didn't understand the economy, politics and so on.
 
If Michael didn't understand economics then how did he become a successful businessman who always knew how to market his products (albums, videos, performances) and to handle the Beatles catalogue?


The problem Geldof is that he thinks himself of some sort of master or professor in music. But the truth is that his music stinks and he is a rubbish performer. He is, however, a good philanthropist. He should stick to charity, it's what he does best.
 
Geldof is, however, a good philanthropist. He should stick to charity, it's what he does best.
Really? Do not get me started on st 'give us the f**king money' geldof. He's classed himself as a non dom so he pays no tax on his oversesas earnings, has his two multi-million £ houses registered to off-shore companies so pays no tax on them. He pleads the case for governments to give more money in aid to africa but hasn't apparently twigged that governments only have money because people pay taxes. So 'give us your f**king money' actually means 'give us your f**king money but i'll keep mine in my bank account thanks very much.' He is the biggest hypocrite, and to think he has the nerve to criticise mj for not understanding how charity works?? Out of all celebrities, mj understood the true meaning of charity.
 
Michael always said that charity should be from the heart and it shouldn't be about saying ''Look at me. Look what i'm doing''
 
I think at that time when "we are the world" came out, Michael may have not have understood all the politics and economics involved in undertaking this charity and the plight of Afrcia. He was more into the arts at that time not politics. He was just asked to do the song and he wanted to be charitable to help as Bob said. (That's a good thing) I didn't take his words as saying something terrible about Michael. He didn't demean Michael's "character" in any way. I didn't see anything mean spirited in his statement, just his observation. The thing bothered me most was the statement he was just a pop singer he didnt create penicilion. I thought is was a little insulting but still was not saying anything demeaning against his character. He observed him as a caring person. He liked him and he like some of his music. I just thinks it unfair to harshly judge every person that doesn't see Michael though our eyes. Now if he would have attacked his character then I would be upset. But I didn't see that.
 
I think "May God help him" was more aimed at the people who would surround him and come after him for being the most famous person on earth. or a reference to the pitfalls of fame. but not a dig.. just Truth ..
 
The brits didn't make any reference at all to mj after he died. Thought that was just poor. It's a shambles of a ceremony.

I heard jarvis cocker on a radio 4 prog a year or 2 ago and he is STILL dining out on that mj story, it must be one of the few interesting things about his life. He claimed at the time that he was acting in part because of the chandler allegations and so didn't like the messianic act mj had supposedly going on. But in this radio prog he mentioned something about going to watch the brit rehearsals and being ticked off that mj had a 'closed' rehearsal and ordered everyone out and jarvis felt mj was being far too self-important. So he wasn't 'feeling' mj before earth song had even started.
 
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I think "May God help him" was more aimed at the people who would surround him and come after him for being the most famous person on earth. or a reference to the pitfalls of fame. but not a dig.. just Truth ..

Yes, that's what I chose to believe back then, that's what I hoped he meant, but the way he said it was always odd and the way he obviously talked about Michael afterwards leads me to believe otherwise.
 
The brits didn't make any reference at all to mj after he died. Thought that was just poor. It's a shambles of a ceremony.

I heard jarvis cocker on a radio 4 prog a year or 2 ago and he is STILL dining out on that mj story, it must be one of the few interesting things about his life. He claimed at the time that he was acting in part because of the chandler allegations and so didn't like the messianic act mj had supposedly going on. But in this radio prog he mentioned something about going to watch the brit rehearsals and being ticked off that mj had a 'closed' rehearsal and ordered everyone out and jarvis felt mj was being far too self-important. So he wasn't 'feeling' mj before earth song had even started.

If that is true than little Jarvis just has to accept that not all singers are poor little B-stars like himself. re are stars, there are legends, and there is Michael Jackson. If Michael wanted to have closed rehearsals and if they made it possible for him, than I guess Michael must have been important enough to have it granted. And I guess he knows that had he wanted the same treatment he wouldn't have got one.

Are you the ghost of jealousy Jarvis?
 
I see Bob G.'s comment as a putdown when he says that MJ never went to school--what do you expect? etc. Jarvis C. went to Cambridge or Oxford or some such school so I think there is a class thing behind all this. Poor uneducated MJ bs. MJ was essentially self-educated for the most part (although tutored through the high school years) but had more intelligence, more knowledge and way more class than Bob G or Jarvis for sure.

So who wrote that beautiful speech??
 
I see Bob G.'s comment as a putdown when he says that MJ never went to school--what do you expect? etc. Jarvis C. went to Cambridge or Oxford or some such school so I think there is a class thing behind all this. Poor uneducated MJ bs. MJ was essentially self-educated for the most part (although tutored through the high school years) but had more intelligence, more knowledge and way more class than Bob G or Jarvis for sure.

So who wrote that beautiful speech??

Whoever wrote it you can bet ain't anyone gonna write such a speach to Jarvis or Geldof! Michael on the other hand had received many speaches like that during his lifetime.
 
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