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Telegraph
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Tyson Fury's early evening f-bomb sums up strange appeal of Soccer Aid
1984. Appalled by a BBC news report about the Ethiopian famine, Boomtown Rat Bob Geldof calls Ultravox's Midge Ure. Together they devise the modern template for the charity single. They will form a supergroup of the era's biggest talents (and Marilyn) and call it Band Aid. 2025. A creaking Old Trafford opens its doors for a mixed-gender game between footballers and celebrities, to raise money for Unicef. Bella Ramsey, 5ft 1in star of The Last Of Us, attempts to close down Nemanja Vidic. The bloke from Baby Reindeer is marking one of One Direction. It can only be Soccer Aid. Commentator Sam Matterface called it the best match of the weekend and he had a point, given the competition was Bayern Munich 10 Auckland City 0 in the Club World Cup. Despite the peculiarities of England vs the World XI, ITV's coverage occasionally attempted to ape traditional football broadcasting. Some truisms remained accurate, even in this surreal sphere. The World XI had Rivaldo in attack, Edwin van der Sar in goal and David Trezeguet out wide. Surely no match for an England team carrying dead weights such as YouTuber Angryginge, pop star Tom Grennan and Wayne Rooney? In fact England were fully in control in the first half, proving that a united team always beats a collection of talented individuals. Credit here to the left-field management duo of Harry Redknapp and Tyson Fury. Redknapp announced the starting line-up to his squad with the ease of a veteran stand-up. He was born for the job of Soccer Aid manager and seeing him at work made you wonder if he could have bantered England's Golden Generation to a trophy. His heavyweight assistant took a more direct approach. The 'How long can Tyson Fury go without swearing?' challenge lasted roughly until his 14th word of the evening, at a watershed-horrifying time of 6.25pm. Geeing up his team he called them 'f---ing Spartans'. Immediate apologies from host Alex Scott, but if you will insist on putting cameras into dressing rooms… Back on the pitch it was time for the punditry soft launch of Mary Earps, presumably a late call-up for plinth duty after her withdrawal from the England Euros squad. A natural presence, you can foresee a big future for her on TV although this was a tough debut. Dermot O'Leary seemed to be leaning on her to provide conventional tactical insight but it is hard to deliver that when you are a B-plot to Lee Mack and Big Zuu gags. 'They've taken the microphone off him I see,' said co-commentator Jason Manford when he spotted Fury in the tunnel before kick-off. When the game started Rooney scored early and Edwin van der Sar looked delighted. They may be former team-mates but Van der Sar had conceded the goal. What an odd occasion this is. Diamond from Gladiators could find no joy on the flank occupied by Grennan. Angryginge cleared a shot off the line. A Mexican wave broke out after 25 minutes. 'Famously, Soccer Aid is a very different game in the second half,' said a hopeful-sounding Manford. During a break in play Scott spoke to Fury on the bench: 'I've been screaming and shouting instructions and s--t like that.' 'Once again,' said Scott, 'I apologise for Tyson's swearing.' The charitable element was handled with an expertly light touch and with none of the telethon whiplash that blights Comic Relief. No uncomfortable juxtapositions between newsreaders horsing around and horrifying footage of war zones. The segments highlighting various Unicef initiatives were touching, clear and effective. I lasted until the second appeal of the night before texting in my donation. It would be interesting to see when those donations come across the course of the evening. Matterface peppered his regrettably pun-filled commentary with sobering stats. The world hunger sort, not Rivaldo's pass completion. A phalanx of not-quite-famous-enough celebs manned the phones. Call now for your chance to talk to Catherine Tyldesley off Corrie! The actual match was comfortably the least engaging part of a four-hour broadcast, until Carlos Tevez realised he had the beating of Paddy McGuinness in goal in the second half, leading the World XI to a 5-4 win. This is a gentle light entertainment show ruined by sub-testimonial football. Class is permanent. 🇦🇷 Watch Soccer Aid for UNICEF 2025 live on @ITV, @ITVX and @WeAreSTV 📺 — Soccer Aid (@socceraid) June 15, 2025 There are still many worse ways to spend a Sunday night and with £15 million raised shortly after the final whistle, it is evidently a successful vehicle for inspiring charity. To borrow a phrase credited to Geldof, which you can also imagine from the mouth of Fury: give them your f---ing money.
The Advertiser
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Bob Geldof blasts 'sociopathic loser' Elon Musk
Bob Geldof has branded Elon Musk a "prime w*****" for disregarding empathy. The 73-year-old musician and Live Aid pioneer spoke to the audience after the opening night of Just For One Day: The Live Aid Musical on London's West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre, and he took aim at the billionaire. In a video shared by he said: "A couple of weeks ago, that prime w***** Elon Musk said something seriously wrong. He said, 'The great weakness of Western civilisation is empathy'. "The great weakness? ... You sociopathic loser. Empathy is the glue of civilisation. Empathy is the glue of humanity. "It's how we do things together. It's how we sit here together and clap because we actually understand that this is the stuff that works." During a recent interview with Joe Rogan in February, Musk insisted while "you should care about other people", empathy was being "weaponised". He added: "The fundamental weakness of Western civilisation is empathy, the empathy exploit." The musical - which started at The Old Vic in January 2024 before moving to the US and now returning to London - retells the events leading up to the Live Aid benefit concert in 1985, which raised money for the famine in Ethiopia. Geldof - who also called out United States President Donald Trump, his vice president JD Vance, and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer - used his passionate speech to encourage people to help those in need. He continued: "We need to be helped, we need to help the NHS, we need to re-arm because there's a thug currently invading our continent, but really? "All that intellect, that's all you can do? Snatch it from those people? It can't work like that. It doesn't have to work like that. "It began working like that in 1985, and we took it all the way 20 years later to Live 8. That really tipped the balance in the favour of those we wanted to help." Bob Geldof has branded Elon Musk a "prime w*****" for disregarding empathy. The 73-year-old musician and Live Aid pioneer spoke to the audience after the opening night of Just For One Day: The Live Aid Musical on London's West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre, and he took aim at the billionaire. In a video shared by he said: "A couple of weeks ago, that prime w***** Elon Musk said something seriously wrong. He said, 'The great weakness of Western civilisation is empathy'. "The great weakness? ... You sociopathic loser. Empathy is the glue of civilisation. Empathy is the glue of humanity. "It's how we do things together. It's how we sit here together and clap because we actually understand that this is the stuff that works." During a recent interview with Joe Rogan in February, Musk insisted while "you should care about other people", empathy was being "weaponised". He added: "The fundamental weakness of Western civilisation is empathy, the empathy exploit." The musical - which started at The Old Vic in January 2024 before moving to the US and now returning to London - retells the events leading up to the Live Aid benefit concert in 1985, which raised money for the famine in Ethiopia. Geldof - who also called out United States President Donald Trump, his vice president JD Vance, and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer - used his passionate speech to encourage people to help those in need. He continued: "We need to be helped, we need to help the NHS, we need to re-arm because there's a thug currently invading our continent, but really? "All that intellect, that's all you can do? Snatch it from those people? It can't work like that. It doesn't have to work like that. "It began working like that in 1985, and we took it all the way 20 years later to Live 8. That really tipped the balance in the favour of those we wanted to help." Bob Geldof has branded Elon Musk a "prime w*****" for disregarding empathy. The 73-year-old musician and Live Aid pioneer spoke to the audience after the opening night of Just For One Day: The Live Aid Musical on London's West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre, and he took aim at the billionaire. In a video shared by he said: "A couple of weeks ago, that prime w***** Elon Musk said something seriously wrong. He said, 'The great weakness of Western civilisation is empathy'. "The great weakness? ... You sociopathic loser. Empathy is the glue of civilisation. Empathy is the glue of humanity. "It's how we do things together. It's how we sit here together and clap because we actually understand that this is the stuff that works." During a recent interview with Joe Rogan in February, Musk insisted while "you should care about other people", empathy was being "weaponised". He added: "The fundamental weakness of Western civilisation is empathy, the empathy exploit." The musical - which started at The Old Vic in January 2024 before moving to the US and now returning to London - retells the events leading up to the Live Aid benefit concert in 1985, which raised money for the famine in Ethiopia. Geldof - who also called out United States President Donald Trump, his vice president JD Vance, and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer - used his passionate speech to encourage people to help those in need. He continued: "We need to be helped, we need to help the NHS, we need to re-arm because there's a thug currently invading our continent, but really? "All that intellect, that's all you can do? Snatch it from those people? It can't work like that. It doesn't have to work like that. "It began working like that in 1985, and we took it all the way 20 years later to Live 8. That really tipped the balance in the favour of those we wanted to help." Bob Geldof has branded Elon Musk a "prime w*****" for disregarding empathy. The 73-year-old musician and Live Aid pioneer spoke to the audience after the opening night of Just For One Day: The Live Aid Musical on London's West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre, and he took aim at the billionaire. In a video shared by he said: "A couple of weeks ago, that prime w***** Elon Musk said something seriously wrong. He said, 'The great weakness of Western civilisation is empathy'. "The great weakness? ... You sociopathic loser. Empathy is the glue of civilisation. Empathy is the glue of humanity. "It's how we do things together. It's how we sit here together and clap because we actually understand that this is the stuff that works." During a recent interview with Joe Rogan in February, Musk insisted while "you should care about other people", empathy was being "weaponised". He added: "The fundamental weakness of Western civilisation is empathy, the empathy exploit." The musical - which started at The Old Vic in January 2024 before moving to the US and now returning to London - retells the events leading up to the Live Aid benefit concert in 1985, which raised money for the famine in Ethiopia. Geldof - who also called out United States President Donald Trump, his vice president JD Vance, and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer - used his passionate speech to encourage people to help those in need. He continued: "We need to be helped, we need to help the NHS, we need to re-arm because there's a thug currently invading our continent, but really? "All that intellect, that's all you can do? Snatch it from those people? It can't work like that. It doesn't have to work like that. "It began working like that in 1985, and we took it all the way 20 years later to Live 8. That really tipped the balance in the favour of those we wanted to help."
Times
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Just for One Day review — on stage and off, Geldof goes on the attack
How did Bob Geldof corral the world's biggest pop stars into making first Band Aid and then Live Aid happen? Seeing the real Sir Bob speak to the gala night crowd at the Shaftesbury Theatre at opening night made it all come into focus even more keenly than the sometimes powerful, sometimes goofy, sometimes earnest musical about the events of 1984 and 1985 that preceded it. Geldof was electric. His hair white yet shaggy, his clobber casual yet sharp, he first saluted the show itself for its essential accuracy, never mind his character being some 'cartoon arsehole … just saying 'f***', basically'. The actor Craige Els, who plays Geldof, is actually one of the show's big successes, stalking around all night in double denim with a hangdog expression and a can-do attitude. He's so good you almost forget he's not actually Bob Geldof. Oh, until the real thing comes on to enthuse about how the 10 per cent cut the Band Aid charity gets from ticket prices has already raised almost £1 million. And then moves on to attack the American president's decision to remove funding for USAid on February 1, claiming that since then '300,000 people have died because of Musk, because of Trump, because of Vance'. He chided Keir Starmer for cutting Britain's foreign aid budget too. 'But mainly,' he added, 'this is the most fun in the West End you're ever going to have.' On that point, let's quibble. Not because Just for One Day is a horror — this larky-cum-lyrical reinvention of Geldof and co's incredible achievements is tighter than it was when it opened last year at the Old Vic, and features some breathtaking moments of music. Yet it's at least as frustrating as it is inspiring. It's neither a straight jukebox retelling — much though it is fuelled by dozens of the songs played in London and Philadelphia on July 13, 1985 — nor quite its own thing, much though it presents everything through a modern prism. A young character, Jemma, notes the surfeit of white straight males on stage at Live Aid, but they are in the minority on stage at the Live Aid musical. It's all retold by Suzanne, who was at Wembley as an 18-year-old. Her 18-year-old, Jemma, is up for hearing mum's memories, dubious of the lyrics of Do They Know It's Christmas. Geldof puts paid to such 'white saviour' quibbles so swiftly it was barely worth raising them. Indeed, there is a simpler, probably better version of this show that just gets on with biffing out the hits of that day loud and proud and in period style. After all, the six-piece band on the riser upstage are as tremendous as Geldof (the real one) says they are. But no: like some theatrical Red Nose Day, Luke Sheppard's production and John O'Farrell's script are a bumpy blend of some funny routines, some unfunny routines and some strenuously serious routines. Geldof is a great impression, George Ure (no relation) is a lifelike Midge Ure, and Julie Atherton excels as a twin-set-and-pearly-wearing Margaret Thatcher, bursting into Elton John's I'm Still Standing. Beyond that, though, verisimilitude is verboten. The large multitasking chorus play the real-life characters in their own voices and sing the song extracts (really well) their own way. Fine, but when it's so bitty there is little time for the music to build up a head of steam, to feel better than second-hand. When it does — on an extended version of Message in a Bottle or My Generation, say, or when the Queen songs get the most out of the massed chorus of voices — it can take your breath away. Shame a rock musical doesn't trust more in the power of rock. ★★★☆☆ 150min Shaftesbury Theatre, London, to Jan 10,
Irish Independent
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
‘I despise them' – Bob Geldof brands Elon Musk a ‘sociopathic loser' in blistering tirade against UK and US leaders
©Evening Standard Today at 21:30 Bob Geldof has branded Elon Musk a 'sociopathic loser' and condemned political leaders in the UK and US for what he described as a betrayal of the world's 'most vulnerable'. The outspoken singer delivered a fiery address at London's Shaftesbury Theatre following a performance of Just For One Day, the musical inspired by the 1985 Live Aid concerts he co-founded.
Wales Online
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Bob Geldof blasts 'sociopathic loser' Elon Musk in fiery rant at Live Aid musical
Bob Geldof blasts 'sociopathic loser' Elon Musk in fiery rant at Live Aid musical The 73-year-old musician and Live Aid pioneer spoke to the audience after the opening night of Just For One Day Bob Geldof (Image: One Young World ) Bob Geldof has branded Elon Musk a "prime w*****" for disregarding empathy. The 73-year-old musician and Live Aid pioneer spoke to the audience after the opening night of Just For One Day: The Live Aid Musical on London's West End at the Shaftesbury Theatre, and he took aim at the billionaire. In a video shared by he said: "A couple of weeks ago, that prime w***** Elon Musk said something seriously wrong. He said, 'The great weakness of Western civilisation is empathy'. "The great weakness? ... You sociopathic loser. Empathy is the glue of civilisation. Empathy is the glue of humanity. "It's how we do things together. It's how we sit here together and clap because we actually understand that this is the stuff that works." During a recent interview with Joe Rogan in February, Musk insisted while "you should care about other people", empathy was being "weaponised". Article continues below He added: "The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy, the empathy exploit." The musical - which started at The Old Vic in January 2024 before moving to the US and now returning to London - retells the events leading up to the Live Aid benefit concert in 1985, which raised money for the famine in Ethiopia. Geldof - who also called out United States President Donald Trump, his vice president JD Vance, and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer - used his passionate speech to encourage people to help those in need. He continued: "We need to be helped, we need to help the NHS, we need to re-arm because there's a thug currently invading our continent, but really? "All that intellect, that's all you can do? Snatch it from those people? It can't work like that. It doesn't have to work like that. "It began working like that in 1985, and we took it all the way 20 years later to Live 8. That really tipped the balance in the favour of those we wanted to help." While he acknowledge that the West End show is high quality entertainment with a stellar cast and live band, Geldof also wants it to inspire someone to continue the spirit of Live Aid. He said: "If there's somebody here who can take this idea and run with it in some other way that we're not capable, they can only do is. "This is insane - by doing this every night of the week, these people [on stage] are giving 10 percent of everything this makes. The rest is usually taken up in costs. "So far, these people here behind me have raised almost a million quid." He revealed that the money they've raised is already going to a good cause. He added: "The money these people have raised has already, in the place that was the epicenter of the famine in 1984, they've already built hospitals and schools and stuff like that with the money by doing their job tonight. Article continues below "That's what they've achieved."
