Charity Category

The Irish Hospice Foundation is delighted to announce the publication of 'Peter & The Wolf' on 1st October 2003.

Described as "A modern take on the classic Prokofiev children's tale", Peter & The Wolf was adapted for the Friday-Seezer ensemble by Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer. Using instruments such as the accordion, the banjo and the mandolin, Gavin and Maurice have produced a clever and humorous take on the much-loved original. The enhanced CD is presented with a 64-page cloth-bound book illustrated by U2's Bono, with help from his daughters Jordan and Eve.

Peter and the Wolf is an original composition, not a book set to music. The Russian composer Prokoviev wrote the story of Peter and the Wolf when in 1935 he was asked to compose a work for The Moscow Theatre for Children.

Gavin Friday first performed the piece with the RIAM orchestra in November 2000. Gavin Friday and the Irish Hospice Foundation developed an idea to rework the old classic in order to raise funds to aid hospice care both at home and abroad. The Friday-Seezer Ensemble recorded the music for the Irish Hospice Foundation in May 2002, after which Bono was asked to illustrate the accompanying book.

The Friday-Seezer Ensemble consists of multi-wind instrumentalist Renaud Pion (Hector Zazou, Dead Can Dance), drummer Michael Blair (Lou Reed, Tom Waits), cellist Julia Palmer, guitarist Des Moore (Secret Garden, Sinead O'Connor, Riverdance), bass player Gareth Hughes and flutist Catriona Ryan.

A not-for-profit organisation, The Irish Hospice Foundation promotes the hospice philosophy and supports the development of hospice and palliative care for the seriously ill.

The Peter & The Wolf book/CD is the first Irish Hospice Foundation project to be published outside Ireland. The 16 original illustrations by U2's Bono and his two daughters Jordan and Eve will form a touring exhibition to coincide with the book's publication. The exhibition dates are:

• Ireland: 1-3 October at City Hall, Dublin
• The UK: 6-8 October at Christie's, King Street, London
• The US: 13-15 October at Christie's, Los Angeles and 20-21 November at
• Christie's, Rockefeller Plaza, New York.

The original artworks will be auctioned by Christies, New York, on 20-21 November 2003. All funds raised from the project will be administered by the Irish Hospice Foundation to aid hospice care in Ireland and internationally.

• Listen to preview (mp3)
• More photos at U2log.com.
• Publishers: Bloomsbury

Friday/Seezer ensemble photographed by Neil Gavin.
Bono photographed by Perry Ogden.

From Ireland Evening Herald, April 2003

FROM LA TO INNER CITY : Band's stunner teaches tin whistle to kids

ANDREA CORR'S THE QUEEN OF SHERRIFF ST.

Andrea Corr has been shunning the high life of late to give inner-city kids music lessons, the Diary can reveal. The Corrs singer has been accompanying her friend singer Gavin Friday on his regular visits to Sheriff Streets After Schools Education Project, an initiative aimed at discouraging local children from using drugs.

"Andrea has been down to Sheriff St with me a couple of times." confirmed Gavin "She's come down to give the kids lessons on the tin whistle and then hang around to chat with them. After a while, everybody forgets she is famous." Despite being one of the worlds biggest pop stars Andrea didn't arrive in Sheriff St with a team of bodyguards. "Andrea has never brought security with her or anything like that. But then again nobody needs security when they have Gavin Friday with them," Gavin said.

The former Virgin Prune singer first became involved with the after school education project when he was contacted by local community leaders "Attendances were down and they hoped by getting someone like me involved it would bring more kids in," he explained about the programme aimed at keeping young people aged 12-15 years off the streets and away form drug pushers. As part of the workshop youngsters are encouraged to make up a play on the spur of the moment and then act it out in the classroom.

"It could be something like Joan is pregnant but Mick wants to go to a nightclub and do some E's - how do we stop him taking E's?" "I've ended up playing the role of the bouncer at the nightclub" Gavin and Andrea work with the project came about after they teamed up for the soundtrack of Jim Sheridan's new film, In America. The pair collaborated with Bono on a song called Time Enough For Tears.

"It's a beautiful number with a jazzy feel, perfect for the mood of Jims film" raved Gavin about the track on which Andrea sings lead vocal. The recording may well get an early spin tomorrow night when Gavin and his pal Guggi man the record decks in Lillie's Bordello for a benefit in aid of the Sheriff St Project. "We'll be doing a special DJ set from 11 onwards. The money we raise will go towards buying the kids a new computer because the one they've got is banjaxed"

The kitty is sure to be swelled by the auction of two paintings, one by Gavin and one by Guggi towards the end of the night. "I don't know who'll be dropping in but I can tell you this: the music we'll be playing won't ever have been played in Lillie's before and wont ever be played there again. And that's the truth."

RTE 2FM DJ Dave Fanning rang Gavin during his show devoted to 'celebrity auctions' on Wednesday. We caught the tail end of the interview, just after Gavin announced the Peter and the Wolf box set has already made 2 million Euro for the Irish Hospice.

• Listen to part of the interview (Windows Media)