Human rights concerts

The Human Rights Concerts is the collective name informally used to describe the series of 28 rock concerts presented worldwide 1986-1998 to raise funds for and awareness of the human rights organization Amnesty International.

The concert series – organized by the US Section of Amnesty – evolved out of the Secret Policeman’s Ball series of charity galas organized by the UK Section of Amnesty starting in 1976. The British benefit shows had initially been comedy events featuring comedic performers. But from 1979 onwards, the UK shows started to include cameo appearances by some of Britain's most prominent rock musicians - including Pete Townshend, Sting, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Phil Collins, Bob Geldof, Donovan, Peter Gabriel, David Gilmour, Kate Bush and others. The Human Rights Concerts were developed with the intention of building on this new support for Amnesty among musicians and channelling it into a series of rock concerts and tours.