[skippy the wonder dog]

It's pretty lame.

It's not entirely about prior commitments. It's about trying to pad the lineup with the biggest names they can find, whether those names have any contemporary relevance or not. So you get Celine Dion, for example, and a bunch of elder statesmen, but very few new acts. Matt Mays, for example, wouldn't stand a chance of getting in there.

My sources inform me, also, that Geldof required artists, like people wanting tickets, to pass a quiz before being accepted. Every band had to put their heads together and figure out how to spell "Africa."

Consequently, Billy Talent did not make the lineup -- so there is a silver lining after all.