Human Rights Now!: the tour with Springsteen, Sting and Peter Gabriel

On September 2, 1988, one of the most unforgettable tours in the history of rock opened at Wembley Stadium in London: for a month Peter Gabriel, Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Youssou N’Dour and Tracy Chapman shared the stage, playing in support of human rights and Amnesty International.

The ‘Human rights now!’ tour would have lasted and seen twenty concerts in four continents, stopping also in places usually little-traveled such as India, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast and Zimbabwe. The idea was not only to raise funds, but above all to generate awareness on the issue. In fact, it is no coincidence that the artists held press conferences in each country and chose as their symbolic song “Get up stand up” by Bob Marley, which invites people to defend their rights.

The tour is unforgettable for many reasons, including the frequent collaborations on stage between artists who had never played together before: Sting and Springsteen – at the time already at the height of their worldwide popularity – often sang “The river”. “Chimes of freedom” by Bob Dylan (which Springsteen had played on the previous tour, that of “Tunnel of love”, in the Byrds’ version and shortly before released as an EP) was sung in chorus by all the singers.

The only Italian date took place the week after the debut in London, on September 8, 1988 at the Turin municipal stadium, where Bruce Springsteen had played only three months earlier, on June 11, with the “Tunnel of Love Express Tour”. The concert was broadcast live by Radio Rai.

A specific wish of the artists was to host local artists on stage at the opening of each concert. Claudio Baglioni was chosen for Italy. The Roman musician, perceived by the audience as a stranger to the rock proposed by the other artists, was the object of a loud protest from a part of those present.

The tour concluded with a concert on October 15 at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires in front of 75,000 people. For the occasion, the local guests called to bring their artistic contribution were the singer-songwriter Leon Gieco and the pianist and producer Charly Garcia. This concert was made into a special broadcast on TV networks around the world.