In a 1986 interview on the NBC Today Show, Sting said, "I've been a member of Amnesty for five years and a supporter because of an entertainment show which was called 'The Secret Policeman's [Other] Ball' which I was involved in. And before that I didn't know about Amnesty's work and so in a sense I'm a success story". In 2004, in an interview with BBC-TV, Sting added, "The seed was planted at Amnesty for Bob Geldof. He saw what they were doing. He saw how entertainment could help that process and then he took the "Ball" and ran with it. Further than anybody could possibly imagine".