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Eddie Vedder helps raise $1.7 million for Obama
Indie | Monday 24th September 2012 | Osh
The Pearl Jam singer slammed Mitt Romney in an intimate gig to help fund the President’s re-election campaign.
At $20,000 per ticket, it was certainly one of the more exclusive shows of late. Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder played four songs, including a cover of Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’, on a mandolin, in a fund raising event for Barack Obama’s campaign to get re-elected. 85 guests attended the show at the Florida home of singer-songwriter Don Miggs.
In a speech given afterwards, Vedder quipped that he had never played so many songs in a suit before. He also criticised Mitt Romney’s “47 per cent” comments, talking about his life before Pearl Jam. He recalled a government training program where he was trained as a security guard, stating that "It was that job which allowed me to keep affording guitars and microphones. For me, it all began with that ability to get the proper training for a decent job."
Obama praised the singer for his story, which the President believes “speaks volumes… about this country.”
By Dave Rees
