Moscow Music Peace Festival

The Moscow Music Peace Festival was held on August 12 and 13, 1989, exactly 20 years after the legendary Woodstock Festival, the Moscow Olympic Stadium. The festival is also known as the Woodstock of the USSR and recorded 260,000 spectators.

Background

The former manager of Mötley Crüe, Skid Row and the Scorpions, Doc McGhee, had become delinquent, as he supported a smuggler ring to bring large amounts of marijuana from Colombia to the United States. On January 19, 1987, he had to first answer to the North Carolina Federal Court, where he pleaded guilty. Instead of the originally imposed five -year prison sentence McGhee was sentenced to pay a fine in the amount of $ 15,000, the detention was suspended. McGhee had to organize, among other things, an anti - drug campaign in addition to the fine.

As part of this commitment McGhee organized together with the Soviet Stas Namin concert organizers and the "Moscow Music Peace Festival ". To this end, he brought 641 people and 64 transport vehicles with two aircraft of type Boeing 757 to Moscow without ever own a permit for it. He also produced the television broadcasting of the event and took care of the transfer in 51 countries of the world. Occurring artists and bands were ( in alphabetical order)

  • Bon Jovi
  • Brigada S
  • Cinderella
  • The Russian rock band Gorky Park (Russian Парк Горького )
  • Mötley Crüe
  • Nuance
  • Ozzy Osbourne
  • Scorpions
  • Skid Row

Even during the concert came backstage to arguments of the musicians involved on the appearance order. The Scorpions, due to a previous tour of the USSR clearly the most famous of the western bands, were to the annoyance of Ozzy Osbourne and Mötley Crüe headlined, Mötley Crüe also complained that McGhee management have Bon Jovi clearly preferred. Osbourne was already down in the wake of disputes to the airport to take the next plane back to the UK, but could be moved to the gig.

Publication

The concert was released in 1989 on two video cassettes and later as " Remastered " on four DVDs. In addition, an LP or CD was released with the title Stairway to Heaven / Highway to Hell. It contained eight recorded by the bands involved in the studio cover versions of popular songs. In addition, the live recording of a jam session was included, which was recorded at the festival in Moscow. The session consisted of the titles Hound Dog; Long Tall Sally / Blue Suede Shoes and Rock & Roll.

Trivia

While staying in Moscow the song Wind of Change, written by Scorpions singer Klaus Meine was born:

" The idea is me in U.d.S.S.R. came when I was sitting in a summer night in Gorky Park Center and have looked on the Moskva River. The song is my personal work-up of what has happened in recent years in the world. The title is Wind of Change. "

Rock music August 13 Skid Row (American band) Film producer Cinderella (Band) Gorky Park (Band) Stairway to Heaven/Highway to Hell Hound Dog (song) Wind of Change (Scorpions song)
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