Music stars release album in aid of Sudan refugees

AN ALBUM featuring exclusive tracks from rock stars Ash, REM and David Gray was released yesterday to raise money for people driven from their homes in Sudan’s troubled Darfurregion.

Faithless, Futureheads and Badly Drawn Boy will also feature on the 14-track album being launched for Oxfam’s Sudan appeal.

More than 30,000 people have been killed and 1.4 million displaced following 18 months of fighting between government troops and rebels in what the UN has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Food and medicine are desperately needed in 147 refugee camps scattered across a region the size of France.

The violence erupted when two African movements rebelled against the Khartoum regime, accusing it of siding with the Arab tribes in disputes over scarce water and arable land.

Badly Drawn Boy, aka Damon Gough, said: “Men, women, and children are still dying every day in Sudan. People like us might not have the power to stop the violence but at least we can try and help the people affected by it.”

All artists and record labels donating tracks to the album are forgoing their royalties.

Members of the public can also donate at http://www.oxfam.org.uk/sudanemergency.

Meanwhile, the first official download chart was unveiled yesterday with Westlife’s Flying Without Wings at number one.

The chart is based on music legally downloaded from the internet in Britain.

Many predict it will spell the end of the traditional top 40 and hasten the demise of record shops.

But although the download chart represents the future of the music industry, it was a re-released track from 1999 which claimed the top spot.

Westlife re-issued Flying Without Wings especially for the occasion and fans downloaded it in their thousands to help the band secure a place in chart history.

The Irish boyband outsold the likes of Blazin’ Squad, Maroon 5 and Keane.

More than two million tracks have been legally downloaded since January. The arrival of Apple’s iTunes, where songs are available for as little as 79p each, has fuelled demand.

The scale of the download market is vast when compared with the traditional singles market.

While 200 or so singles are available to buy in record shops each week, the download chart is registering sales of more than 40,000 different tracks per week.

As sales are not restricted to new releases, classic songs could make their way into the chart.

Flying Without Wings and the number two track, Blazin’ Day by Blazin’ Squad, are both download exclusives. Maroon 5, currently on tour, have three entries in the download top 20.