Moscow Music Peace Festival

Last updated
Moscow Music Peace Festival
Moscow Music Peace Festival - Volume 2.jpg
Cover of the Moscow Music Peace Festival, Vol. 2 video release
Genre
Dates12 and 13 August 1989
Location(s) Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR
Years active1989
Founded by

The Moscow Music Peace Festival was a rock concert that took place in the USSR on 12 and 13 August 1989 at Central Lenin Stadium (now called Luzhniki Stadium) in Moscow. Occurring during the glasnost era, it was one of first hard rock and heavy metal acts from abroad that were granted permission to perform in the capital city, (being the first the ten shows the British band Uriah Heep played from 7 to 16 December 1987 at the Olympic Stadium). Over 100,000 people attended [2] and it was broadcast live to 59 nations [3] including MTV in the United States. The event promoted understanding between the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War [4] [5] and also raised money to help those addicted to drugs and alcohol. The concert featured six bands from abroad and three Russian bands. The concert ended with the various band members participating in jam session. An album and documentary were released.

Contents

It inspired the 1990 song "Wind of Change" by Scorpions, one of the bands that performed at the concert. The song became one of the best selling singles of all time. [6]

Modeled as a "Russian Woodstock" the concert was a joint production by Russian musician Stas Namin and American music manager Doc McGhee. [7] [8]

Artists

Setlist

Skid Row

  1. "Holidays in the Sun" (Sex Pistols cover)
  2. "Makin' a Mess"
  3. "Piece of Me"
  4. "Big Guns"
  5. "18 and Life"
  6. "Youth Gone Wild"

[9]

Gorky Park

  1. "Action"
  2. "Hit Me with the News"
  3. "Within Your Eyes"
  4. "Danger"
  5. "Try to Find Me"
  6. "Bang"
  7. "Child of the Wind"
  8. "My Generation" (The Who cover)

[10]

Cinderella

  1. "Bad Seamstress Blues"
  2. "Somebody Save Me"
  3. "If You Don't Like It"
  4. "Push Push"
  5. "The Last Mile"
  6. "Coming Home"
  7. "Gypsy Road"
  8. "Nobody's Fool"
  9. "Shake Me"

[11]

Mötley Crüe

  1. "All in the Name of..."
  2. "Live Wire"
  3. "Shout at the Devil"
  4. "Looks That Kill"
  5. "Wild Side"
  6. "Smokin' in the Boys Room" (Brownsville Station cover)
  7. "Girls, Girls, Girls"
  8. "Jailhouse Rock" (Elvis Presley cover)

[12]

Ozzy Osbourne

  1. "I Don't Know"
  2. "Flying High Again"
  3. "Shot in the Dark"
  4. "Miracle Man"
  5. "Sweet Leaf" *
  6. "War Pigs" *
  7. "Tattooed Dancer"
  8. "Suicide Solution"
  9. "Crazy Train"
  10. "Paranoid" *

* = Black Sabbath songs

[13]

Scorpions

  1. "Blackout"
  2. "Big City Nights"
  3. "Bad Boys Running Wild"
  4. "Rhythm of Love"
  5. "The Zoo"
  6. "No One Like You"
  7. "The Song of the Volga Boatmen" (Russian folk song)
  8. "Holiday"
  9. "Still Loving You"
  10. "Dynamite"
  11. "Rock You Like a Hurricane"

[14]

Bon Jovi

  1. "Lay Your Hands on Me"
  2. "I'd Die for You"
  3. "Wild in the Streets"
  4. "You Give Love a Bad Name"
  5. "Let It Rock"
  6. "Living in Sin"
  7. "Blood on Blood"
  8. "Runaway"
  9. "Wanted Dead or Alive"
  10. "Livin’ on a Prayer"
  11. "Bad Medicine"

[15]

Jam session

  1. "Hound Dog" (Elvis Presley cover) - Bon Jovi, Cinderella, Scorpions
  2. "Long Tall Sally"/"Blue Suede Shoes" - Scorpions, Gorky Park, David Bryan
  3. "Rock and Roll" (Led Zeppelin cover) - Skid Row, Mötley Crüe, Zakk Wylde, Jason Bonham [16]
  4. "Give Peace a Chance" (Plastic Ono Band cover)

[15]

Album

Stairway to Heaven/Highway to Hell was a 1989 compilation album featuring bands that performed at the Moscow Music Peace Festival. It was released by the Make a Difference Foundation. Each song is a cover of a famous solo artist or rock band who had suffered a drug- or alcohol-related death.

Controversies

The concert was put together by the Make a Difference Foundation, its founder, rock producer and manager Doc McGhee, Stas Namin [17] [18] and other major players in the Soviet Union and the United States. It is often stated that McGhee agreed to bring his artists to Moscow after becoming involved in a drug scandal himself and wishing to avoid a jail sentence, but he explicitly denied that in 2011. "We always wanted to go over to Moscow and do the first rock show in the Soviet Union. I wanted to do their Woodstock." Since it had also been part of that plan that the proceeds would go to Make a Difference and doctors would be brought to the USSR to teach methods of treating addiction (Soviet doctors at the time primarily used electroshock therapy for that purpose), he did not expect the sentencing judge would have denied him the opportunity. [19]

Mötley Crüe have been on record stating they were upset with McGhee at this point in time. They felt McGhee was favoring Bon Jovi, whom he also managed, and whom Crüe disdained. When Bon Jovi closed the show, they used pyrotechnics, which Mötley Crüe had been told they could not do (McGhee claims it was a malfunction on one side of the stadium that he did not hear because he was backstage). Sebastian Bach of Skid Row, whom McGhee also managed, says Tommy Lee went over to him and said "Your manager's a fucking asshole" and chugged most of a bottle of vodka Bach had been drinking (up to this point, Lee has said, it was the first time the band had done a show sober). Then he ran up to McGhee, punched him in the face and told him he could go manage The Chipmunks because he was no longer Mötley Crüe's manager. Bon Jovi fired him as well shortly afterwards. Lee and his bandmates were still so angry they refused to fly home on the same plane as McGhee. [19] 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.

The event was held over two days in Moscow's largest stadium, Central Lenin Stadium (now called Luzhniki Stadium), which has a seating capacity of about 100,000. However, as the concert used a proscenium stage rather than an arena stage, about a thousand seats behind the stage were not occupied. About 120,000 tickets were sold in total. The event was the first rock concert to be held at the stadium, which had previously been used primarily for sporting events.

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 glam metal shortly thereafter. Many of the bands argued over who went on before whom, and many were envious of Bon Jovi, who 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. Jon Bon Jovi supposedly offered his headlining spot to Ozzy Osbourne after Ozzy threatened to not go through with his set. Ozzy's set was initially scheduled before Mötley Crüe's set. Apparently, Ozzy felt his band was bigger and he should go on after Mötley Crüe. To solve the problem, Mötley Crüe went on before Ozzy but the tape was edited so it appeared Ozzy went on before Mötley Crüe to the viewers back in the U.S. Those involved in the show's production felt this was an egotistical bush move on Ozzy's behalf since this was supposed to be for charity, and left many in the rock 'n roll community confused since Ozzy and Mötley Crüe toured together for Ozzy's Bark at the Moon and Mötley Crüe's Shout at the Devil albums, respectively, and became fast friends during the tour.

The event became known for inspiring the song "Wind of Change" by the Scorpions, a ballad which became a soundtrack to the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the end of Soviet Union The Crooked Media podcast "Winds of Change" [20] provides some evidence to suggest that Doc McGhee was covertly leveraged by the US Government to produce this concert as a vehicle to create an origin story for the Scorpions song as part of a secret culture operation to influence the Soviet government.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mötley Crüe</span> American heavy metal band

Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California in 1981. Bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee first joined together with guitarist/lead vocalist Greg Leon. But after some time, Leon was replaced by guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Michael White respectively. The latter was soon replaced by Vince Neil and the Mötley Crüe moniker was chosen soon after that. The band has sold over 100 million albums worldwide. They have also achieved seven platinum or multi-platinum certifications, nine Top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 chart, twenty-two Top 40 mainstream rock hits, and six Top 20 pop singles. The band has experienced several lineup changes over the years, leaving Sixx as the only constant member; these included the introduction of lead vocalist John Corabi and drummers Randy Castillo and Samantha Maloney, both of whom filled in for Lee following his departure from Mötley Crüe in 1999; he returned to the band in 2004. In October 2022, after 41 years of service, Mars announced his retirement from touring with the band, with former Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 replacing him.

<i>Skid Row</i> (Skid Row album) 1989 studio album by Skid Row

Skid Row is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Skid Row, released on January 24, 1989, by Atlantic Records. After signing with manager Doc McGhee, Skid Row signed with Atlantic and began recording its debut. The album was recorded in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin with producer Michael Wagener, and received mixed reviews upon its release. The band toured behind the album mainly as an opening act, supporting Bon Jovi and Aerosmith in 1989–1990. The album peaked at number six on the Billboard 200 and was certified 5× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1995 for shipping five million copies in the United States. It generated four singles: "Youth Gone Wild", "18 and Life", "I Remember You" and "Piece of Me", all of which were accompanied by music videos and received heavy rotation on MTV. The album's commercial and critical success made Skid Row a regular feature in rock magazines and brought the group nationwide popularity.

Glam metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam rock.

<i>Shout at the Devil</i> 1983 studio album by Mötley Crüe

Shout at the Devil is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, released on September 23, 1983. It was the band's breakthrough album, establishing Mötley Crüe as one of the top selling heavy metal acts of the 1980s. The singles "Looks That Kill" and "Too Young to Fall in Love" were moderate hits for the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luzhniki Stadium</span> Stadium In Moscow, Russia

Luzhniki Stadium is the national stadium of Russia, located in its capital city, Moscow. The full name of the stadium is Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex. Its total seating capacity of 81,000 makes it the largest football stadium in Russia and the ninth-largest stadium in Europe. The stadium is a part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, and is located in Khamovniki District of the Central Administrative Okrug of Moscow city. The name Luzhniki derives from the flood meadows in the bend of Moskva River where the stadium was built, translating roughly as "The Meadows". The stadium is located at Luzhniki Street, 24, Moscow.

<i>New Tattoo</i> 2000 studio album by Mötley Crüe

New Tattoo is the eighth studio album by the American heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, released in 2000. Artistically, New Tattoo shows the band returning to the earlier musical style that gave them commercial success in the 1980s and early 1990s. This is the only album by the band not to feature drummer Tommy Lee, who left the band a year before, and was replaced by former Ozzy Osbourne drummer Randy Castillo on the album. The album also marked Castillo’s final full-length studio recording project that he was involved in before his death in March 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinderella (band)</span> American rock band

Cinderella was an American rock band formed in the suburbs of Philadelphia in 1983. The band emerged in the mid-1980s with a series of multi-platinum studio albums and hit singles whose music videos received heavy MTV rotation and popularity. Cinderella initially had a glam metal sound throughout the late 1980s before shifting into a more blues rock-based sound during the early to mid 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monsters of Rock</span> Former heavy metal music festival

Monsters of Rock is a hard rock and heavy metal music festival. It was originally held annually in Castle Donington, England, from 1980 to 1996, taking place every year except 1989 and 1993. It later branched into other locations such as the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Sweden, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the United States, and Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Rock</span> Canadian record producer

Robert Jens Rock is a Canadian record producer, sound engineer and musician, best known for producing rock bands and music artists such as Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, the Tragically Hip, the Cult, 311, Our Lady Peace, Bryan Adams, the Offspring, Michael Bublé, Black Veil Brides, David Lee Roth, and Ron Sexsmith.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skid Row (American band)</span> American rock band

Skid Row is an American rock band formed in 1986 in Toms River, New Jersey. Their current lineup comprises bassist Rachel Bolan, guitarists Dave Sabo and Scotti Hill, drummer Rob Hammersmith and vocalist Erik Grönwall. The group achieved commercial success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with its first two albums Skid Row (1989) and Slave to the Grind (1991) certified multi-platinum, the latter of which reached number one on the Billboard 200. Those two albums also produced some of Skid Row's most popular hits, both in and outside of the United States, including "18 and Life" and "I Remember You", which peaked in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, and other charting singles such as "Youth Gone Wild", "Monkey Business", "Slave to the Grind", "Wasted Time", and "In a Darkened Room". The band's third album Subhuman Race (1995) was also critically acclaimed, but failed to repeat the success of its predecessors. Those three albums featured the band's "classic" lineup, which consisted of Bolan, Sabo, Hill, drummer Rob Affuso and frontman Sebastian Bach. The band had sold 20 million albums worldwide by the end of 1996. Amid rising tensions, Bach and Affuso both left Skid Row towards the end of that year, after which the band entered a three-year hiatus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gorky Park (band)</span> Russian rock band

Gorky Park, aka GP, or Парк Горького is a Soviet and Russian hard rock band formed in 1987 by musician, composer and producer Stas Namin at his producing centre SNC in Moscow. It is the only Soviet and Russian band to have some success on the MTV and Billboard charts and become world famous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mississippi Coliseum</span> Multipurpose arena in Jackson, Mississippi

The Mississippi Coliseum is a 6,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Jackson, Mississippi, built in 1962 and located on the Mississippi State Fairgrounds complex. The arena has 6,812 seats available for basketball, and can be expanded to 10,000 for concerts. It sits 2900 feet atop the extinct Jackson Volcano.

Doc McGhee is an American music manager, best known for working with hard rock bands Kiss, Bon Jovi and Mötley Crüe. The latter two groups experienced their rise to stardom under his management. He has also worked with Hootie & the Blowfish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">You Give Love a Bad Name</span> 1986 single by Bon Jovi

"You Give Love a Bad Name" is a song by American rock band Bon Jovi, released as the first single from their 1986 album Slippery When Wet. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and Desmond Child about a woman who has jilted her lover, the song reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on November 29, 1986, and became the band's first number-one hit. In 2007, the song re-entered the charts at No. 29 after Blake Lewis performed it on American Idol. Despite the lyrics of the chorus, the song should not be confused with "Shot Through the Heart", an unrelated song from Bon Jovi's 1984 self-titled debut album.

<i>Stairway to Heaven/Highway to Hell</i> 1989 compilation album by Various artists

Stairway to Heaven/Highway to Hell was a 1989 compilation album featuring bands that performed at the Moscow Music Peace Festival: Bon Jovi, Skid Row, Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, Cinderella, and Gorky Park. The album closes with a few collaborative efforts including a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Moby Dick" and a live medley of songs from Elvis Presley and Led Zeppelin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey Syndicate Tour</span> 1988–90 concert tour by Bon Jovi

The Jersey Syndicate Tour was the fourth concert tour by American band Bon Jovi, that ran from 1988 to 1990. The massive, highly successful world tour was put on in support of the band's fourth studio album New Jersey (1988).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayne Isham</span> American director

Wayne Isham is an American film director and music video director who has directed films and music videos of many popular artists.

Ray Brown is an Australian tailor and clothing designer. He has designed custom clothing for numerous celebrity rock musicians, and operates his own brand for stage wear, It's a Ray!

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Weiss</span> American rock music photographer

Mark Weiss is an American rock music photographer. His most widely recognized photographs capture the look and aesthetic of music and celebrity personalities of the 1980s. His work with publications such as Circus magazine and FACES helped establish Mark "Weissguy" Weiss as a name known for rock photography. He has photographed a wide range of acts including the Rolling Stones, Kiss, Madonna and Wu Tang Clan.

The No Rest for the Wicked Tour was a concert tour by heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne in 1988 and 1989, supporting his album No Rest for the Wicked.

References

  1. ↑ Austerlitz, Saul (2017-09-22). "Moscow Music Peace Festival: How Glam Metal Helped End the Cold War". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  2. ↑ Hilburn, Robert (1989-08-12). "ROCKIN', ROLLIN' RUSSIA". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  3. ↑ Sinelschikova, Yekaterina (2019-02-25). "How the 'Russian Woodstock' became a reality in the Soviet Union (PHOTOS)". Russia Beyond. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  4. ↑ "Heavy Metal Separates Iron Curtain With Moscow Concert". AP NEWS. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  5. ↑ Austerlitz, Saul (2017-09-22). "Moscow Music Peace Festival: How Glam Metal Helped End the Cold War". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  6. ↑ Bienstock, Richard (2015-09-02). "Scorpions' 'Wind of Change': The Oral History". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  7. ↑ "Moscow Marathon : Crude 'n' Rude Heavy Metal Debuts to Thousands of Soviets at Music Peace Festival". Los Angeles Times. 1989-08-14. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  8. ↑ Keller, Bill (1989-08-13). "Leather Rockers Take Moscow, A New Market for West's Fringes". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  9. ↑ "Skid Row Setlist at Music Peace Festival 1989". setlist.fm.
  10. ↑ "Gorky Park Setlist at Music Peace Festival 1989". setlist.fm.
  11. ↑ "Cinderella Setlist at Music Peace Festival 1989". setlist.fm.
  12. ↑ "Mötley Crüe Setlist at Music Peace Festival 1989". setlist.fm.
  13. ↑ "Ozzy Osbourne Setlist at Music Peace Festival 1989". setlist.fm.
  14. ↑ "Scorpions Setlist at Music Peace Festival 1989". setlist.fm.
  15. 1 2 "Bon Jovi Setlist at Music Peace Festival 1989". setlist.fm.
  16. ↑ Stairway To Heaven/Highway to Hell Original CD insert.
  17. ↑ Стас НАМИН: «Я просто живу по кайфу» Archived 2017-06-14 at the Wayback Machine . Вечерний Екатеринбург. 25 октября 2012 (in Russian)
  18. ↑ «Русский Вудсток» здесь и сейчас. Радио ЭхоМосквы. 19 мая, 2011 (in Russian)
  19. 1 2 Marks, Craig; Tannenbaum, Rob (2011). "43" . I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution. New York, NY: Dutton. pp.  498–501. ISBN   978-0-525-95230-5.
  20. ↑ "Wind of Change".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.