For Immediate Release: September 20th, 2004
Contact: Carla Sacks or Mary Moyer at Sacks
& Co., (212)741.1000, carla@sacksco.com
or mary@sacksco.com,
or Jeremy Woodrum or Aung Din at US Campaign
for Burma, (202) 223-0300.

ARTISTS INCLUDING U2, NATALIE
MERCHANT, R.E.M., PAUL McCARTNEY, ERIC CLAPTON,
STING, PEARL JAM, PETER GABRIEL, DAMIEN RICE,
ANI DIFRANCO AND OTHERS JOIN TOGETHER TO TAKE
ON MILITARY REGIME AND FREE THE WORLD’S
ONLY IMPRISONED NOBEL PEACE PRIZE RECIPIENT,
AUNG SAN SUU KYI

“Aung
San Suu Kyi is a real hero.”
–Bono

“Her dedication, resolve, courage
and patience are the mark of a leader. We stand
tall for her, as she will again stand tall for
herself.”
–Michael Stipe, R.E.M.

“Anytime anyone inside Burma listens to
my music, I want them to know that they are
listening to an artist that supports their freedom.”
–Eric Clapton

“Aung San Suu Kyi is truly one
of the world’s most important, yet least known,
heroes. No matter how much she suffers, she
never backs down in her quest for freedom. That’s
why Coldplay are supporting this effort, and
why everyone who believes in human rights should
buy this CD.”
–Coldplay

“Please use your liberty to promote ours.”
Taking the words of the world’s only imprisoned
Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Aung San Suu Kyi
as a call to action, many of the world’s greatest
artists such as U2, Natalie Merchant, Pearl
Jam, Coldplay, Ani DiFranco, R.E.M., Avril Lavigne,
Talib Kweli, Peter Gabriel, Ben Harper, Paul
McCartney, Eric Clapton, Sting, Bonnie Raitt,
Damien Rice, Travis, Indigo Girls and Matchbox
Twenty have joined together to create a major
benefit album, For The Lady: Dedicated to freeing
Aung San Suu Kyi and the courageous people of
Burma. Rhino Records will release the double
CD featuring 27 tracks on October 26. Proceeds
from the sale of the album will benefit the
non-profit U.S. Campaign For Burma.

Since 1988 Aung San Suu Kyi has led the National
League for Democracy (NLD) in Burma campaigning
for democracy and human rights against one of
the world’s most brutal military regimes. Known
to many as “Asia’s Nelson Mandela”,
she is a symbol of hope for those struggling
for freedom around the world, and received the
Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent work to
restore human rights to a country ravaged by
military rule. She has spent the majority of
the past 14 years placed under house arrest
by Burma’s repressive junta, and thousands of
her supporters have been arrested, tortured
and killed. Yet she is more than an activist–she’s
elected. She led her political party the National
League for Democracy to an 82% victory in Burma’s
last election–the military regime annulled
the results.

Bill Clinton, John McCain, Madeline Albright,
Colin Powell, Bono, Desmond Tutu and Vaclav
Havel have all expressed their support for Aung
San Suu Kyi and her cause. In July 2004, Damien
Rice and Ani DiFranco traveled to Thailand and
Burma to visit refugee camps and meet with pro-democracy
activists. Their trip was organized by the U.S.
Campaign for Burma to raise international awareness
about the struggle for freedom in Burma.

“For The Lady” will feature unreleased
material by R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Tom Morello’s
The Nightwatchman, Damien Rice, Lili Hadyn and
Better Than Ezra. The executive producer on
the album is Jack Healey and also features a
song banned by Burma’s military regime, “Walk
On,” which U2 dedicated to Aung San Suu
Kyi on their last album and a song in Burmese
written by a jailed student democracy activist.
Like the leaders of former communist states,
Burma’s military regime is fearful of the power
of rock and roll, and singing a freedom song
usually results in a minimum seven-year prison
sentence.

####