REM DEDICATE SONG TO G8 LEADERS

The band get political on a rain-soaked evening in Hull...

REM dedicated a song to the G8 leaders at a rain-soaked gig in HULL last night (July 5).

The band, who played the Live 8 concert in London on Saturday (July 2), are firmly behind the campaign to encourage the G8 leaders to drop the debt owed by poverty-stricken African nations. And at the Kingston Communication Stadium they played the politically charged ’Welcome To the Occupation’ from 1987’s ’Document’ on the eve of the G8 summit in Scotland.

The band had to cope with an evening of torrential rain, and marked the occasion by playing ’I’ll Take The Rain’ from the 2001 album ’Reveal’, as well as a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ’Have You Ever Seen The Rain?.

Other highlights included another cover - ’Teenage Kicks’ by The Undertones - and fan favourites like ’Seven Chinese Brothers’ and ’Pilgrimage’.

The set was:

’Bad Day’
’What’s The Frequency Kenneth?’
’I’ll Take The Rain’
’Have You Ever Seen The Rain?’
’Orange Crush’
’The Outsiders’
’Pilgrimage’
’Drive’
’Animal’
’Seven Chinese Brothers’
’Wanderlust’
’Everybody Hurts’
’Electron Blue’
’Electrolite’
’Leaving New York’
’Welcome To the Occupation’
’Final Straw’
’The One I Love’
’Walk Unafraid’
’Losing My Religion’

Encore:

’Imitation Of Life’
’The Great Beyond’
’I’ve Been High’
’Teenage Kicks’
’I’m Gonna DJ’
’Man On The Moon’

The rest of the tour calls at:

Nottingham Forest Football Club (6)
Ipswich Town Football Club (8)
London Hyde Park (9)
Cardiff Millennium Stadium (10)

For ticket availability for the UK shows click here or call the NME Ticketline on 0870 1 663 663.