The Wolf went mental

As the editor of U2log.com and GavinFriday.com and someone who has followed the Peter and the Wolf project from its very conception, I am very disappointed with the project’s recent press coverage. Tabloids, broadsheets, online media alike, all seem to conspire to get the facts wrong. Even the BBC let us down.

This morning coming into work I read in the Dutch newspaper ‘Spits’ that ‘Bono is recording Peter and the Wolf’. Bull, as they say, shit.

So before I blow my top, dear readers, ladies and gentlemen of the press, I am crying wolf. Here are the simple facts:

1. Peter and the Wolf is a piece of music composed by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. It was intended to introduce the sounds and instruments of an orchestra to children. Each character in the story, told by a narrator, is represented by a tune and instrument. Many artists have recorded the 22 minute piece, including Sean Connery, Sir John Gielgud, David Bowie and even Terry Wogan.

2. The recent Peter and the Wolf project we’ve been hearing so much about was initiated by Gavin Friday and the Irish Hospice Foundation . A one-off live performance in Dublin City Hall in 2001 eventually led to a new arrangement of Prokofiev’s music by Gavin Friday and his musical partner Maurice Seezer. Friday worked on the arrangement during the 9 weeks he spent recovering from spinal surgery.

3. The Friday/Seezer ensemble recorded their version of Peter and the Wolf narrated by Gavin Friday in Spring 2002. They used accordion, mandolin, cello, percussion, bass clarinet, flute, piccolo, piano and double bass instead of a full orchestra. The CD is in aid of the Irish Hospice Foundation.

4. The Irish Hospice Foundation had previously done projects such as the Whoseday book (1999) and the Art:Pack (2001) to generate funds for their foundation.

5. The CD is accompanied by a book which Bono agreed to illustrate with the help of his daughters. Bono spent one day illustrating the book.

6. The paintings will be auctioned for the Irish Hospice Foundation later this year at Christie’s in New York.

7. It’s not. all. about. Bono.

8. it’s the 8th of October. Happy birthday, Mr Friday.

The moral of this story? Hacks should check their facts. Quack.