Bono Plans Lending a Hand to Third World

Bono still believes that pop music can change the world--specifically, the Third World.

Focusing on the issue of the huge sums owed the World Bank by Third World countries for development loans, the U2 singer is trying to organize a massive event to draw attention to a proposal that those debts be forgiven or restructured, allowing impoverished developing nations to devote more resources to the needs of their populace and less to loan repayments.

The rocker has been personally contacting the pop elite--his wish list includes Madonna, the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, the Beastie Boys and R.E.M.--to join U2 in Cologne, Germany, on June 19, where the G8 (the heads of state of the eight wealthiest nations) will be meeting to address the proposed economic plan, among other issues.

Bono is envisioning a series of unique performances in unusual settings (train stations, public squares, cathedrals, army barracks) that would be broadcast in a live, three-hour television special around the globe. The result, he believes, would be a public groundswell of pressure on the global leaders to relieve the heavy financial burden crippling poorer nations.

“He’s been trying to enlist other artists in support of Jubilee 2000, a group of charities that have come to the conclusion that there are many countries in the world who have huge debts that they cannot completely pay off,” says one person close to U2.

Bono had originally floated an idea for a huge New Year’s Eve concert in Dublin supporting the same cause. But though liking the symbolism of having the event coincide with the new millennium, he decided action was needed sooner if it was to have an impact on the proposal’s progress.

One potential hitch is that a series of Beastie Boys-spearheaded Tibetan Freedom Concerts is also being scheduled for June, with five all-star concerts to be held in a two-day period in Amsterdam, Chicago and Sydney.

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BACK ON BOARD: Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, fired from the Smashing Pumpkins following the 1996 drug overdose death of keyboardist Jonathan Melvoin, has been rehired by the band and is working with it on material for a new album in Chicago. Sources close to the band say that Chamberlin has overcome his own addiction problems and that his presence has re-energized the group, especially leader Billy Corgan.

The incident occurred when Chamberlin was using heroin with Melvoin, the band’s touring keyboardist, at a New York hotel. Both passed out, and when the drummer awoke he was unable to rouse Melvoin. Paramedics were called but were unable to revive the musician.

Chamberlin was arrested the day after Melvoin’s death and charged with misdemeanor drug possession. He entered a drug rehab program immediately and later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct, with jail time waived in exchange for his completion of treatment.

The death, which followed the drug-related deaths of Kurt Cobain and Blind Melon singer Shannon Hoon and the high-profile drug problems of Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland, stimulated calls in the music business for policies and programs to stem drug use.

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SMALL FISH, BIG POND: The Los Angeles-based electronic dance music label 1500 Records, started as a joint venture with A&M;, wouldn’t figure to have a place in the new world order of Universal Music, with A&M; absorbed into Interscope. After all, 1500’s biggest seller, a tribute album to Depeche Mode, has reached only 200,000 sales worldwide--minuscule by major-label hit standards.

But 1500 has been embraced enthusiastically by the Interscope brass for two reasons: They believe that 1500 President Gary Richards has proven himself an astute judge of taste who knows his scene very well, and even with limited sales, the deals he has made have been profitable.

“We wanted to figure out how to take him with us and build it into our future,” says Interscope Chairman Tom Whalley. “The idea is he will find things we might not be attuned to, . . . things that might one day build to the mainstream. And he does it so that when he sells 50,000 of a record, it’s still a good deal.”

Richards founded 1500 in 1997 with concert promoter Phil Blaine (who has since left the company) and built a roster of acts touted for their potential, including L.A. group God Lives Underwater, Irish deejay David Holmes and English act the Dub Pistols. He recently added young Long Beach hip-hop outfit Ugly Ducklings, which is building a strong buzz for a debut EP due next month.

“When I first met with Interscope executives, I was afraid that maybe we weren’t on the playing field they were looking for,” Richards says. “But they said, ‘Who’s going to serve up the next generation of acts for us?’ They can’t all be multi-platinum right from the start. New acts have to come from somewhere. And if we spend sensibly and stay on the level, some of our acts will someday be their big acts.”

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FOO FOR THOUGHT: The Foo Fighters, whose “key man” clause with former Capitol Records President Gary Gersh allowed the band to terminate its deal with the company when Gersh was let go late last year, is fielding offers from suitor labels for a new contract. The group, fronted by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, has been meeting with executives at several major labels, with speculation centering on the Sony Music group and--verifying the turnaround of a once-hapless company--RCA.

The Foo Fighters have been a solid success through two albums. The latest, “The Colour and the Shape,” has remained a steady seller for nearly a year and a half, totaling 1.3 million U.S. sales and getting a fresh boost now due to the prominence of the song “My Hero” in the soundtrack of the hit movie “Varsity Blues.”

A sidelight is the situation of the G.A.S. Company, the new venture being launched by Gersh and John Silva, the Foo Fighters’ manager. The firm is being set up as a combination management house and record label, with financial backing believed to be coming from Michael Ovitz and label distribution via BMG (RCA’s parent). But the Foo Fighters negotiations are apparently being done independently of any deal involving the G.A.S. label.