Peace Not War, the producers of last year’s double-CD anti-war musical compilation - featuring Public Enemy, Ms Dynamite, Billy Bragg and Ani DiFranco among its contributors - are back with another fund-raising spectacular, the Peace Not War Music Festival, which is expected to raise £250,000 for the anti-war movement.

To mark the anniversary of the huge global anti-war protests on February 15th, which drew two million onto the streets of London, the peace movement celebrates with a four-night concert next February at the Hackney Ocean and the release of a series of 4 new CDs. (See below for activists’ discounts.)

Peace Not War producer Mudge said: “The hundreds of bands who’ve sent us CDs demonstrate that most of the world wants to end warfare. The first Peace Not War compilation CD’s Big Issue -style fundraising system will have raised over £43,000 by the end of 2003.

“If the Festival sells out, we expect the system to raise a further £250,000 through the sales of the new CDs, which will be given to anti-war groups for free. Selling them for £10 each will enable them get on with their work. Another equally important effect of these CDs is giving people in the movement musical inspiration, to keep positive and moving towards peace.”

CONFIRMED PERFORMERS AT HACKNEY OCEAN, 12-15 FEBRUARY 2004:

Adam Free*land
Ahmed Mukhtar
Alabama 3
Asian Dub Foundation Soundsystem
Bobby Friction
CarpetFace
Conflict
Crass (with Coldcut)
DJ DisOrientalist
DJ Hype
DJ Rubbish
Double Negative
Est’elle
Extremists
Faithless
Fun~da~mental
Gertrude
GM Baby
Hermione (Brown Girl)
Howie B
IDC
John Lester
Micke Morphingaz
Motiv
Narmin Zangana
Nemo Jones
Oddur & Jo
Phi-Life-Cypher
Pok
Raw Hill Kru
Rythms of Resistance
Rootsman
Seize the Day
Skinnyman
Slovo
State of Bengal
Stereo MCs
SuparNovar & MudFam
TaskForce
The Rub
The Unpeople
Visionary Underground
+ many more to be confirmed - check the website soon for updated line-up  http://www.peace-not-war.org

2 music stages, visuals by RAYA, a room for films and workshops, wheelchair access everywhere:

Hackney Ocean, Mare St, Hackney, East London - opposite Hackney Town Hall  http://www.ocean.org.uk

Thursday 12th = rock, punk, indie
Friday 13th February = hiphop, r&b, reggae
Saturday 14th February = dance
Sunday 15th February = acoustic, folk, jazz

TICKETS £17.50 per night + booking fee.

ADVANCE TICKETS FOR PEACE ACTIVISTS: all four nights £50, no booking fee: send cheques payable to “Peace Not War”, PO Box 44212, London E3 4WB. Phone 020 7515 4702. You must include your name, street address, email + role in the peace movement (eg group membership). First 100 tickets only.

The Peace Not War Music Project funds a full spectrum of groups in the global peace movement. Proceeds from these gigs go to manufacturing the new series of anti-war CDs, which will be donated to peace groups for them to sell. Each ticket contributes at least 2 double CDs, which can be sold for at least £20 by peace groups. UK peace groups who will receive donations include: ARROW, Campaign Against the Arms Trade, Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases, CND (national + local), Globalise Resistance, Grassroots Opposition to War, Network for Peace, Peace News, Rising Tide, Stop the War Coalition (national + local), Trident Ploughshares, Voices in the Wilderness, Wombles, Women in Black and others. If your peace group wants a donation, apply online now.

The Peace Not War Music Festival is supported by Anonymous, Big Issue, Festival of Flight, New Internationalist, RAYA, Ocean, OnMusic and others.