LIVE AID 30th ANNIVERSARY
G'day folks,
Live Aid was staged
on Saturday, July 13, 1985. About 75 different acts performed live for about
170,000 people in London and Philadelphia. Meanwhile, an estimated 1.5 billion
people in 110 countries watched it via a live television stream from 13
satellites. More than 40 nations also held telethons for African famine relief
during the broadcast.
In our current
digital age, these numbers may seem quaint, but in 1985, there was no World
Wide Web, no email, no live blogging and no Twitter. Most people still listened
to music by listening to the radio or playing vinyl records and cassette tapes;
compact discs (CDs) only became widely available this same year.
The event was a spectacular success, though
not without its problems. Satellite links between London and Philadelphia
failed several times. But in an ultimate triumph of technology and good will,
the event raised more than $125 million in famine relief for Africa.
Origins: Band Aid and USA for Africa
Live Aid was the brainchild of Bob Geldof, the singer of Irish rock group the
Boomtown Rats, whose biggest hit was “I Don’t Like Mondays.” In 1984, news
reports of a horrific famine that had killed hundreds of thousands of
Ethiopians and threatened to kill millions more prompted Geldof to travel to
Ethiopia. Upon returning to London, he gathered some of the United Kingdom’s
top pop artists Culture Club, Duran Duran, Phil Collins, U2, Wham!, and others
to form Band Aid.
Released on December 3, 1984, “Do They Know
It’s Christmas?” written by Geldof and Ultravox singer Midge Ure and performed
by Band Aid was the best-selling single in the U.K. to that date. Its proceeds
raised more than $10 million for Ethiopian famine relief. Also a No. 1 hit in
the United States, the song inspired U.S. pop artists to come together.
On January 28, 1985,
USA for Africa recorded “We Are the World,” a song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie. Producer Quincy Jones organized the U.S.
ensemble, which featured Jackson, Ritchie, Geldof, Harry Belafonte, Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, and many others. That
single eventually raised $44 million for famine relief.
An Ambitious Event
As the famine continued in Ethiopia and
spread to neighboring Sudan, Geldof proposed Live Aid, a dual charity concert
aimed at raising more funds and increasing awareness of the plight of many
Africans. Organized in just 10 weeks, Live Aid was nothing if not ambitious.
The event consisted of two concerts, one in London’s Wembley Stadium and the
other in Philadelphia’s JFK Stadium, which ran almost simultaneously. While one
show took a break to change sets and equipment, the other featured an act that
kept television audiences glued to the screen and, it was hoped, not far from
their phones.
Around
midday (London time) on July 13, 1985, Prince Charles and Princess Diana officially kicked
off Live Aid and an unprecedented 75 artists performed, sometimes joining each
other onstage. Continuing on at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, the “super
concert” clocked in at 16 hours.
Concert Highlights
Phil Collins performed at Wembley concert and
then memorably boarded the turbojet-powered supersonic passenger jet the
Concorde, which delivered him to Philadelphia where he performed again. Later
in the show, he filled in for the late John Bonham to play drums in a reunion
of the surviving members of Led Zeppelin.
The London bill included the Boomtown
Rats, Adam Ant, Elvis Costello, Sade, Sting, Bryan Ferry, U2, Dire Straits, Queen, David Bowie, The Who, Elton John, and Paul McCartney. Being included in the event was a big
break for U2 and Bono famously made the most of it by pulling
15-year-old Kal Khalique out of the audience slow dancing with her (for about
20 seconds) as the band played on.
Musically,
the critics seemed to concur that Queen stole the show as the band had never
sounded better.
Over in Philadelphia, performers included Joan Baez, The Four Tops,
Black Sabbath, Run DMC, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Judas Priest, Bryan Adams,
Beach Boys, George Thorogood & the Destroyers (also with Bo Diddley & Albert
Collins), Simple Minds, The Pretenders, Santana (also with Pat Metheny),
Ashford & Simpson with Teddy Pendergrass, Madonna, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Robert Plant, Duran Duran, Patti LaBelle, Mick Jagger (also with Tina Turner), Bob Dylan, Keith Richards and Ron Wood.
Beatle Paul McCartney and The Who’s Pete Townsend held Bob Geldof aloft on their
shoulders during the London finale, which featured a collective performance of
“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Six hours later, the U.S. concert ended with “We
Are the World.”
Live Aid’s Legacy: Live 8 and Beyond
The funds Live Aid raised and the
publicity it generated encouraged Western nations to make available enough
surplus grain to end the immediate hunger crisis in Africa. Queen Elizabeth II later knighted Geldof for his efforts
and he has remained a committed activist.
In early July 2005, Geldof staged a
series of “Live 8″ concerts in 11 countries to help raise awareness of global
poverty. It was purposely scheduled days before the annual G8 summit in an
effort to increase political pressure on G8 nations to address issues facing
the extremely poor around the world. An estimated 3 billion people watched
1,000 musicians perform in 11 shows, which were broadcast on 182 television
networks and by 2,000 radio stations.
Unlike Live Aid, Live 8 was not billed as a
fundraiser. Geldof’s slogan was, “We don’t want your money; we want your
voice.” Perhaps in part because of the spotlight brought to such issues by Live
8, the G8 subsequently voted to cancel the debt of 18 of the world’s poorest
nations, make AIDS drugs more accessible, and double levels of annual aid to
Africa, to $50 billion by 2010.
Geldof has said he
sees “no political logic” to staging such another Live Aid but Band Aid (this
time featuring Chris Martin of Coldplay, Elbow,
Foals, Sinead O’Connor and Bono) did release a new
version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas” with updated lyrics in November 2014.
Proceeds from its sales will go toward fighting against Ebola in Africa.
Now, check out the famous song that joined millions of folks and rock stars.
Clancy's comment: This event was one of the highlights of my life. Love the song! The star list is massive. Just shows what can be achieved when people get together for a good cause.
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