:: Fahrenheit 43’s new single making political waves

By: Carmine Pascuzzi

As election fever heats up, one Melbourne band will be having their say through song as local politicians go head-to head on issues of international development, global poverty and climate change. Fahrenheit 43 will be doing acoustic performances at both the Deakin & Melbourne Make Poverty History electoral forums.

Fahrenheit 43 were invited to perform at the forums after a representative of World Vision heard their new single and world anthem, ‘The Reason’. Originally recorded by the band in honour of World Humanitarian Day 2010, the song has a strong message of hope. Fahrenheit 43‘s lead singer Richard James, says he 'hopes [their] song will be a catalyst, a spark to inspire young people around the world to stand up and take action. Young people these days are becoming more and more aware of the world around them, and many are searching for ways to get involved and make a difference. Sometimes they just need to make a connection with a cause, and we hope our song will help make that connection.’

Local electoral candidates will be in full campaign mode at the Make Poverty History forums, with all of the major parties (ALP, Liberal & Greens) represented. Representing Make Poverty History at the Melbourne electoral forum will be Oxfam Executive Director Andrew Hewett. Local candidates confirmed to speak at the Melbourne forum are Cath Bowell (ALP) and Adam Bandt (Greens).

On August 19 2010, Fahrenheit 43 will release ‘The Reason’ globally for free download. ‘The Reason’ has also attracted the attention of the United Nations and the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation - a foundation dedicated to current human rights issues, and to the memory of humanitarian & UN High Commissioner for Human Rights who was killed in the 2003 bombing of UN headquarters in Baghdad, for which World Humanitarian Day is commemorated). The SVdM Foundation have since posted ‘The Reason’ to their international website.