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Live Aid was a multi-venue

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...

held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by

Bob Geldof Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter, and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as lead singer of the Rock music in Ireland, Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved ...

and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a movement that started with the release of the successful charity single "

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

" in December 1984. Billed as the "global jukebox", Live Aid was held simultaneously at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, attended by about 72,000 people, and

John F. Kennedy Stadium John F. Kennedy Stadium, formerly Philadelphia Municipal Stadium and Sesquicentennial Stadium. was an open-air stadium in Philadelphia that stood from 1926 to 1992. The South Philadelphia stadium was on the east side of the far southern end of ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, attended by 89,484 people. On the same day, concerts inspired by the initiative were held in other countries, such as the Soviet Union, Canada, Japan, Yugoslavia, Austria, Australia and West Germany. It was one of the largest satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time; an estimated audience of 1.9 billion, in 150 nations, watched the live broadcast, nearly 40 percent of the world population. The impact of Live Aid on famine relief has been debated for years. One aid relief worker stated that following the publicity generated by the concert, "humanitarian concern is now at the centre of foreign policy" for Western governments. Geldof has said, "We took an issue that was nowhere on the political agenda and, through the ''

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...

'' of the planet – which is not English but rock 'n' roll – we were able to address the intellectual absurdity and the moral repulsion of people dying of want in a world of surplus." In another interview he stated that Live Aid "created something permanent and self-sustaining" but also asked why Africa is getting poorer. The organisers of Live Aid tried to run aid efforts directly, channelling millions of pounds to

NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

in Ethiopia. It has been alleged that much of this went to the Ethiopian government of

Mengistu Haile Mariam Mengistu Haile Mariam ( am, መንግሥቱ ኀይለ ማሪያም, pronunciation: ; born 21 May 1937) is an Ethiopian politician and former army officer who was the head of state of Ethiopia from 1977 to 1991 and General Secretary of the Wor ...

– a regime the UK Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

opposed – and it is also alleged some funds were spent on guns. The

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

stated in 2010 there was no evidence money had been diverted, while the former British Ambassador to Ethiopia,

Brian Barder Sir Brian Leon Barder (20 June 1934 – 19 September 2017) was a British diplomat, author, blogger and civil liberties advocate. Life and career Barder was born in Bristol, the son of Harry and Vivien Barder. He was educated at Sherborne School ...

, states, "the diversion of aid related only to the tiny proportion that was supplied by some NGOs to rebel-held areas."

Background

The 1985 Live Aid concert was conceived as a follow-on to the successful charity single "

" which was also the brainchild of Geldof and Ure. In October 1984, images of hundreds of thousands of people starving to death in Ethiopia were shown in the UK in

Michael Buerk Michael Duncan Buerk (born 18 February 1946) is a British journalist and newsreader. He presented BBC News from 1973 to 2002 and has been the host of BBC Radio 4's '' The Moral Maze'' since 1990. He was also the presenter of BBC One's docudrama ...

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

reports on the 1984 famine."Live Aid: The show that rocked the world"
BBC. Retrieved 15 September 2011 The BBC News crew were the first to document the famine, with Buerk's report on 23 October describing it as "a biblical famine in the 20th century" and "the closest thing to hell on Earth". The reports featured a young nurse,

Claire Bertschinger Dame Claire Bertschinger, DBE, DL (born 1953) is an Anglo-Swiss nurse and advocate on behalf of suffering people in the developing world. Her work in Ethiopia in 1984 inspired Band Aid and subsequently Live Aid, the biggest relief programme ev ...

, who, surrounded by 85,000 starving people, told of her sorrow of having to decide which children would be allowed access to the limited food supplies in the feeding station and which were too sick to be saved. She would put a little mark on the children who got chosen, with Geldof stating of her at the time, "In her was vested the power of life and death. She had become God-like and that is unbearable for anyone." Traumatised by what she experienced she did not speak about it for two decades, recalling in 2005, "I felt like a Nazi sending people to the death camps. Why was I in this situation? Why was it possible in this time of plenty that some have food and some do not? It is not right". Shocked by the report, the British public inundated relief agencies, such as

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization established in the United Kingdom in 1919 to improve the lives of children through better education, health care, and economic ...

, with donations, with the report also bringing the world's attention to the crisis in Ethiopia. Such was the magnitude of Buerk's report it was also broadcast in its entirety on a major US news channel—almost unheard of at the time. From his home in London Geldof also saw the report, and called Ure from Ultravox (Geldof and Ure had previously worked together for charity when they appeared at the 1981 benefit show ''

The Secret Policeman's Ball ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' is a series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but lat ...

'' in London) and together they quickly co-wrote the song, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in the hope of raising money for famine relief. Geldof then contacted colleagues in the music industry and persuaded them to record the single under the title ' Band Aid' for free. On 25 November 1984, the song was recorded at

Sarm West Studios Sarm Studios is an independent recording studio in London. Originally founded in east London in 1973, the studio's original location was renamed Sarm East Studios in 1982 when Jill Sinclair and Trevor Horn purchased Basing Street Studios from Isl ...

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

, London, and was released four days later.The 20th anniversary of Band Aid
BBC. Retrieved 15 December 2011 It stayed at number one for five weeks in the UK, was

Christmas number one In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...

, and became the fastest-selling single ever in Britain and raised £8 million, rather than the £70,000 Geldof and Ure had initially expected. Geldof then set his sights on staging a huge concert to raise further funds. The idea to stage a charity concert to raise more funds for Ethiopia originally came from

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singer ...

, the lead singer of Culture Club. George and Culture Club drummer Jon Moss had taken part in the recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and in the same month, the band were undertaking a tour of the UK, which culminated in six nights at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

. On the final night at Wembley, 22 December 1984, an impromptu gathering of some of the other artists from Band Aid joined Culture Club on stage at the end of the concert for an encore of "Do They Know It's Christmas?". George was so overcome by the occasion he told Geldof that they should consider organising a benefit concert. Speaking to the UK music magazine ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' at the beginning of January 1985, Geldof revealed his enthusiasm for George's idea, saying, "If George is organising it, you can tell him he can call me at any time and I'll do it. It's a logical progression from the record, but the point is you don't just talk about it, you go ahead and do it!" It was clear from the interview that Geldof had already had the idea to hold a dual venue concert and how the concerts should be structured: On how Geldof got artists to agree to play, Live Aid production manager Andy Zweck states, "Bob had to play some tricks to get artists involved. He had to call Elton and say Queen are in and Bowie's in, and of course they weren't. Then he'd call Bowie and say Elton and Queen are in. It was a game of bluff."

Organisation

Among those involved in organising Live Aid were

Harvey Goldsmith Harvey Goldsmith (born 4 March 1946 in Edgware, Middlesex) is an English performing arts promoter. He is best known as a promoter of rock concerts, charity concerts, television broadcasts for the Prince's Trust and more recently the Teenag ...

, who was responsible for the Wembley Stadium concert, and Bill Graham, who put together the American leg. On promoting the event, Goldsmith states, "I didn't really get a chance to say no. Bob eldofarrived in my office and basically said, 'We're doing this.' It started from there." The concert grew in scope, as more acts were added on both sides of the Atlantic.

Tony Verna Anthony F. Verna (November 26, 1933 – January 18, 2015) was a producer of television sports and entertainment blockbusters. Biography Verna was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He died in Palm Desert, California at the age of 81. Early ...

, inventor of

instant replay Instant replay or action replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred which was both shot and broadcast live. The video, having already been shown live, is replayed in order for viewers to see again and analyze what had j ...

, was able to secure

through his friendship with Philadelphia Mayor Goode and was able to procure, through his connections with

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's prime time chief, John Hamlin, a three-hour prime time slot on the ABC Network and, in addition, was able to supplement the lengthy program through meetings that resulted in the addition of an ad-hoc network within the US, which covered 85 per cent of TVs there. Verna designed the needed satellite schematic and became the Executive Director as well as the Co-Executive Producer along with

Hal Uplinger Harold Francis Uplinger (September 30, 1929 – February 1, 2011) was an American professional basketball player and television producer. A 6'4" (1.93 m) guard from Long Island University, Uplinger spent the 1953–54 NBA season with the Baltimo ...

. Uplinger came up with the idea to produce a four-hour video edit of Live Aid to distribute to those countries without the necessary satellite equipment to rebroadcast the live feed.

Collaborative effort

The concert began at 12:00 British Summer Time (BST) (7:00 Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)) at

in the United Kingdom. It continued at

(JFK) in the United States, starting at 13:51 BST (8:51 EDT). The UK's Wembley performances ended at 22:00 BST (17:00 EDT). The JFK performances and whole concert in the US ended at 04:05 BST 14 July (23:05 EDT). Thus, the concert continued for just over 16 hours, but since many artists' performances were conducted simultaneously in Wembley and JFK, the total concert's length was much longer.

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

intended to perform a transatlantic duet, with Bowie in London and Jagger in Philadelphia. Problems of synchronisation meant the only practical solution was to have one artist, likely Bowie at Wembley, mime along to prerecorded vocals broadcast as part of the live sound mix for Jagger's performance from Philadelphia. Veteran music engineer David Richards (

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

and

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

) was brought in to create footage and sound mixes Jagger and Bowie could perform to in their respective venues. The BBC would then have had to ensure those footage and sound mixes were in sync while also performing a live vision mix of the footage from both venues. The combined footage would then have had to be bounced back by satellite to the various broadcasters around the world. Due to the time lag (the signal would take several seconds to be broadcast twice across the Atlantic Ocean), Richards concluded there was no way for Jagger to hear or see Bowie's performance, meaning there could be no interaction between the artists, essentially defeating the whole point of the exercise. On top of this, both artists objected to the idea of miming at what was perceived as a historic event. Instead, Jagger and Bowie worked with Richards to create a video of the song they would have performed, a cover of "

Dancing in the Street "Dancing in the Street" is a song written by Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson and Ivy Jo Hunter. It first became popular in 1964 when recorded by Martha Reeves & The Vandellas whose version reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

", which was shown on the screens of both stadiums and broadcast as part of many TV networks' coverage. Each of the two main parts of the concert ended with their particular continental all-star anti-hunger anthems, with Band Aid's "

" closing the UK concert, and

USA for Africa United Support of Artists for Africa (USA for Africa) was the name under which 47 predominantly U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily locat ...

's "

We Are the World "We Are the World" is a charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album '' We Are the World''. Wi ...

" closing the US concert (and thus the entire event itself). Concert organisers have subsequently said they were particularly keen to ensure at least one surviving member of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, ideally

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, took part in the concert as they felt that having an 'elder statesman' from British music would give it greater legitimacy in the eyes of the political leaders whose opinions the performers were trying to shape. McCartney agreed to perform and has said it was "the management" – his children – who persuaded him to take part. In the event, he was the last performer (aside from the Band Aid finale) to take to the stage and one of the few to be beset by technical difficulties; his microphone failed for the first two minutes of his piano performance of "

Let It Be Let It Be most commonly refers to: * ''Let It Be'' (Beatles album), the Beatles' final studio album, released in 1970 * "Let It Be" (Beatles song), the title song from the album It may also refer to: Film and television * ''Let It Be'' (1970 ...

", making it difficult for television viewers and impossible for those in the stadium to hear him. He later joked by saying he had thought about changing the lyrics to "There will be some feedback, let it be".

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

performed at both Wembley Stadium and JFK, travelling from Wembley by helicopter (piloted by UK TV personality

Noel Edmonds Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948) is an English television presenter, radio DJ, writer, producer, and businessman. Edmonds first became known as a disc jockey on Radio Luxembourg before moving to BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He has presente ...

) to

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

, then took a

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

flight to New York City, before taking another helicopter to Philadelphia. As well as his own set at both venues, he also played the drums for

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

, and played with the reuniting surviving members of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

at JFK. On the Concorde flight, Collins encountered actress and singer

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

, who was unaware of the concerts. Upon reaching the US, she attended the Philadelphia concert and can be seen performing as part of the concert's "

" finale. In a 1985 interview, singer-songwriter

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

stated that he had considered performing at the event, but ultimately chose not to because he had difficulties getting his band together and did not want to perform by himself.

Broadcasts

Broadcaster Richard Skinner opened the Live Aid concert with the words: The concert was the most ambitious international satellite television venture that had ever been attempted at the time. In Europe, the TV feed was supplied by the

...
, whose broadcast was presented by Richard Skinner,

Andy Kershaw Andrew J. G. Kershaw (born 9 November 1959) is a broadcaster and disc jockey, predominantly on radio, and known for his interest in world music. Kershaw's shows feature a mix of country, blues, reggae, folk music, African music, spoken word ...

Mark Ellen Mark Ellen (born 16 September 1953) is a British magazine editor, journalist and broadcaster who lives in West London. Early life Ellen was born in Fleet, Hampshire, England. Whilst at Oxford University in the 1970s, he briefly played bass alo ...

, David Hepworth,

Andy Batten-Foster Andrew Batten-Foster (born May 1953) is a former BBC music presenter, who became a television producer and director, a university media lecturer and the owner of Cactus Pictures. Career Batten-Foster began his media career in 1977 in the newsroo ...

, Steve Blacknell,

Paul Gambaccini Paul Matthew Gambaccini (born April 2, 1949) is an American-British radio and television presenter and author in the United Kingdom. He has dual United States and British nationality, having become a British citizen in 2005. Known as "The Grea ...

Janice Long Janice Berry ( Chegwin; 5 April 1955 – 25 December 2021), known professionally by her first married name Janice Long, was an English broadcaster who was best known for her work in British music radio. In a career that spanned five decades, ...

and Mike Smith and included numerous interviews and chats in between the various acts. The BBC's television sound feed was mono, as was all UK TV audio before

NICAM Near Instantaneous Companded Audio Multiplex (NICAM) is an early form of lossy compression for digital audio. It was originally developed in the early 1970s for point-to-point links within broadcasting networks.Croll, M.G., Osborne, D.W. and Spi ...

was introduced, but the

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

feed was stereo and was simulcast in sync with the TV pictures. Unfortunately, in the rush to set up the transatlantic feeds, the sound feed from Philadelphia was sent to London via transatlantic cable, while the video feed was via satellite, which meant a lack of synchronisation on British television receivers. Due to the constant activities in both London and Philadelphia, the BBC producers omitted the reunion of

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member ...

from their broadcast. The BBC, however, did supply a 'clean feed' to various television channels in Europe.

was largely responsible for the US broadcast (although ABC themselves only telecast the final three hours of the concert from Philadelphia, hosted by

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...

, with the rest shown in syndication through

Orbis Communications Orbis may refer to: Companies * Orbis Business Intelligence, a British private intelligence firm * Orbis Technology, a British bookmaker software company now called OpenBet * Orbis (Polish travel agency), a Polish travel agency, established in ...

, acting on behalf of ABC). An entirely separate and simultaneous US feed was provided for cable viewers by

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, whose broadcast was presented in stereo, and accessible as such for those with stereo televisions. At the time, before

multichannel television sound Multichannel Television Sound, better known as MTS, is the method of encoding three additional audio channels into an analog NTSC-format audio carrier. It was developed by the Broadcast Television Systems Committee, an industry group, and somet ...

was enacted nationwide, very few televisions reproduced stereo signals and few television stations were able to broadcast in stereo. While the telecast was run advertisement-free by the BBC, both the MTV and syndicated/ABC broadcasts included advertisements and interviews. As a result, many songs were omitted due to the commercial breaks, as these songs were played during these slots. The biggest issue of the syndicated/ABC coverage is that the network had wanted to reserve some of the biggest acts that had played earlier in the day for certain points in the entire broadcast, particularly in the final three hours in prime time; thus, Orbis Communications had some sequences replaced by others, especially those portions of the concert that had acts from London and Philadelphia playing simultaneously. For example, while the London/Wembley finale was taking place at 22:00 (10:00 pm) London time, syndicated viewers saw segments that had been recorded earlier, so that ABC could show the UK finale during its prime-time portion. In 1995, VH1 and

MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...

aired a re-edited ten-hour re-broadcast of the concert for its 10th anniversary. The Live Aid concert in London was also the first time that the BBC

outside broadcast Outside broadcasting (OB) is the electronic field production (EFP) of television or radio programmes (typically to cover television news and sports television events) from a mobile remote broadcast television studio. Professional video camera a ...

sound equipment had been used for an event of such scale. In stark contrast to the mirrored sound systems commonly used by the rock band touring engineers, with two 40–48-channel mixing consoles at the

front of house In the performing arts, front of house (FOH) is the part of a performance venue that is open to the public. In theatres and live music venues, it consists of the auditorium and foyers, as opposed to the stage and backstage areas. In a theatre, t ...

and another pair for monitors, the BBC sound engineers had to use multiple 12-channel desks. Some credit this as the point where the mainstream entertainment industry realised that the rock concert industry had overtaken them in technical expertise.

Stages and locations

Wembley Stadium

The

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

band opened with the "Royal Salute", a brief version of the national anthem "

God Save the Queen "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, bu ...

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

were the first act to appear and started their set with "

Rockin' All Over the World "Rockin' All Over the World" is a rock song written by John Fogerty, formerly of Creedence Clearwater Revival. It made its debut on Fogerty's second solo album in 1975. It was also released as a single, spending six weeks in the US top 40, pea ...

", also playing " Caroline" and fan favourite "Don't Waste My Time". "Bob told me, 'It doesn't matter a fuck what you sound like, just so long as you're there,'" recalled guitarist and singer

Francis Rossi Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, (born 29 May 1949) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He is the co-founder, lead singer, lead guitarist and the sole continuous member of the rock band Status Quo. Early life Rossi was born o ...

. "Thanks for the fucking honesty, Sir Bob." This would be the band's last appearance with bassist and founder member

Alan Lancaster Alan Charles Lancaster (7 February 1949 – 26 September 2021) was an English musician, best known as a founding member and bassist of the rock band Status Quo, playing with the band from 1967 to 1985, with brief reunions in 2013 and 2014. As ...

and drummer

Pete Kircher Peter Derek Kircher (born 21 January 1945, Folkestone, Kent) is a retired English rock/pop drummer. Between 1982 and 1985 he was a member of Status Quo, performing with the band at Live Aid and on the albums '' Live at the N.E.C.'' and '' Back ...

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

and Prince Charles were among those in attendance as the concert commenced.

performed with the rest of the Boomtown Rats, singing "

I Don't Like Mondays "I Don't Like Mondays" is a song by Irish new wave group the Boomtown Rats about the 1979 Cleveland Elementary School shooting in San Diego. It was released in 1979 as the lead single from their third album, ''The Fine Art of Surfacing''. Th ...

". He stopped just after the line "The lesson today is how to die" to loud applause.Live Aid 1985: A day of magic
CNN. Retrieved 22 May 2011 According to

Gary Kemp Gary James Kemp (born 16 October 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and principal songwriter for the New Romantic band Spandau Ballet. Kemp wrote the lyrics and music ...

, "Dare I say it, it was evangelical, that moment when Geldof stopped 'I Don't Like Mondays' and raised his fist in the air. He was a sort of statesman. A link between punk and the New Romantics and the Eighties. You would follow him. He just has a huge charisma; he'd make a frightening politician." He finished the song and left the crowd to sing the final words.

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

sang a version of the Beatles' "

All You Need Is Love "All You Need Is Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in July 1967. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was Britain's contribution t ...

", which he introduced by asking the audience to "help imsing this old northern English folk song".

's twenty-one minute performance, which began at 6:41 pm, was voted the greatest live performance in the history of rock in a 2005 industry poll of more than 60 artists, journalists and music industry executives. Freddie Mercury at times led the crowd in unison refrains,Minchin, Ryan, dir. (2005
"The World's Greatest Gigs"
Initial Film & Television. Retrieved 21 May 2011 and his sustained note—"Aaaaaay-o"—during the

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

section came to be known as "The Note Heard Round the World". The band's six-song set opened with a shortened version of "

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack o ...

" and closed with "

We Are the Champions "We Are the Champions" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released from the band's sixth album ''News of the World'' (1977). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it remains among rock's most recognisable anthems.

"."Queen: Live Aid"
''Ultimate Queen''. Retrieved 21 May 2011 Later in the evening, Mercury and band member

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...

sang the first song of the three-part Wembley event finale, " Is This the World We Created...?" Other well-received performances on the day included those by U2 and

. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' cited Live Aid as the event that made stars of U2. The band played a 12-minute rendition of " Bad". The length of "Bad" limited them to two songs; a third, "

Pride (In the Name of Love) "Pride (In the Name of Love)" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the second track on the band's 1984 album, ''The Unforgettable Fire'', and was released as its lead single in September 1984. The song was produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lano ...

", had to be dropped. During "Bad", vocalist

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

jumped off the stage to join the crowd and dance with a teenage girl. In July 2005, the woman said that he had saved her life. She was being crushed by people pushing forwards; Bono saw this, and gestured frantically at the ushers to help her. They did not understand what he was saying, and so he jumped down to help her himself. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' described David Bowie's performance as "arguably Bowie's last triumph of the 1980s", observing that "as approximately two billion people sang along to 'Heroes' .. he still seemed like one of the biggest and most vital rock stars in the world". Dire Straits and

(both accompanied by Sting) also received praise for their performances at Wembley. The

transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film) ...

broadcast from Wembley suffered technical problems and failed during

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

's performance of their opening song "

My Generation "My Generation" is a song by the English rock band the Who, which became a hit and one of their most recognizable songs. The song was named the 11th greatest song by ''Rolling Stone'' on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It becam ...

", immediately after

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...

sang "Why don't you all fade ..." (the last word "away" was cut off when a blown fuse caused the Wembley stage TV feed to temporarily fail). The broadcast returned as the last verse of " Pinball Wizard" was played. John Entwistle's bass wouldn't work at the start, causing an awkward delay of over a minute before they could start playing. The band played with

Kenney Jones Kenneth Thomas "Kenney" Jones (born 16 September 1948) is an English drummer best known for his work in the groups Small Faces, Faces, and the Who. Jones was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of Small Faces/Faces ...

on drums and it was their first performance since disbanding after a 1982 'farewell' tour. The Who's performance was described as "rough but right" by ''Rolling Stone'', but they would not perform together again for another three years. At 32 minutes

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

had the longest set on the day; his setlist included the first performance of "

Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" is a song written by English musician Elton John and his lyricist Bernie Taupin. It was originally recorded by John for his eighth studio album, '' Caribou'' (1974), and was released as a single that peaked a ...

" with George Michael. While performing "

" near the end of the Wembley show, the microphone mounted to

's piano failed for the first two minutes of the song, making it difficult for television viewers and the stadium audience to hear him. During this performance, the TV audience were better off, audio-wise, than the stadium audience, as the TV sound was picked up from other microphones near McCartney. The stadium audience, who could obviously not hear the electronic sound feed from these mics, unless they had portable TV sets and radios, drowned out what little sound from McCartney could be heard during this part of his performance. As a result, organiser and performer Bob Geldof, accompanied by earlier performers David Bowie, Alison Moyet and Pete Townshend returned to the stage to sing with him and back him up (as did the stadium audience despite not being able to hear much), by which time McCartney's microphone had been repaired. At the conclusion of the Wembley performances, Geldof was raised onto the shoulders of the Who's guitarist

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...

and Paul McCartney. Geldof stated that he hadn't slept "in weeks" in the lead-up to the concert, and when asked what his plans were post-Live Aid, he told an interviewer, "I'm going to go home and sleep." The Wembley speaker system was provided by Hill Pro Audio. It consisted primarily of the Hill J-Series Mixing Consoles, Hill M3 Speaker System powered by the Hill 3000 amplifiers. In an interview with Studio Sound in December 1985, Malcolm Hill described the concept for the system in detail.

John F. Kennedy Stadium

Live Aid at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, PA

Live Aid after dark at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, PA

The host of the televised portion of the concert in Philadelphia was actor

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...

. The opening artist

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing more ...

announced to the crowd, "this is your

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

, and it's long overdue", before leading the crowd in singing "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

" and "We Are the World". Despite the ambient temperature, Madonna proclaimed "I ain't taking shit off today!" during her set, referring to the recent release of early nude photos of her in ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' and ''

Penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building *Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine *Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...

'' magazines. During his opening number, " American Girl",

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the la ...

flipped the

middle finger The middle finger, long finger, second finger, third finger, toll finger or tall man is the third digit of the human hand, located between the index finger and the ring finger. It is typically the longest digit. In anatomy, it is also calle ...

to somebody off stage about one minute into the song. Petty stated the song was a last-minute addition when the band realised that they would be the first act to play the American side of the concert after the London finale and "since this is, after all, JFK Stadium". When

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

broke a guitar string, while playing with the Rolling Stones members

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

and

Ronnie Wood Ronald David Wood (born 1 June 1947) is an English rock musician, best known as an official member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, playing guitar with a ...

, Wood took off his own guitar and gave it to Dylan. Wood was left standing on stage guitarless. After shrugging to the audience, he played

air guitar Air guitar is a form of dance and movement in which the performer pretends to play an imaginary rock or heavy metal-style electric guitar, including riffs and solos. Playing an air guitar usually consists of exaggerated strumming and picking m ...

, even mimicking

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

by swinging his arm in wide circles, until a stagehand brought him a replacement. The performance was included in the DVD, including the guitar switch and Wood talking to stage hands, but much of the footage used was close-ups of either Dylan or Richards. During their duet on the reprise of "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll",

ripped away part of

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...

's dress, leaving her to finish the song in what was, effectively, a leotard. The JFK portion included reunions of

, the original

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

with

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

, the

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

with Brian Wilson, and surviving members of

, with Phil Collins and the Power Station (and former

Chic Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...

) member Tony Thompson sharing duties on drums in place of the band's late drummer

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Led Zeppelin. Esteemed for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove,J ...

(although they were not officially announced by their group name from the stage, but were announced as Led Zeppelin on the VH1 10th Anniversary re-broadcast in 1995).

Teddy Pendergrass Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 – January 13, 2010) was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter. He was born in Kingstree, South Carolina. Pendergrass spent most of his life in the Philadelphia area, and initially rose to musi ...

made his first public appearance since his near-fatal car accident in 1982 which paralysed him. Pendergrass, along with

Ashford & Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield, South Carolina, ...

, performed "Reach Out and Touch".

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

(who came on after Judas Priest), recalled "it was bedlam backstage", before performing a four-song set, including "

Summer of '69 "Summer of '69" is a song recorded by the Canadian musician Bryan Adams from his fourth album, '' Reckless''. The song is about a dilemma between settling down or trying to become a rock star. The song was written by Adams and his longtime song ...

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

performed a four-song set which was the final time the five original band members would publicly perform together until 2003. Their set saw a weak, off-key falsetto note hit by frontman

Simon Le Bon Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is a British singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the British ...

during "

A View to a Kill ''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film and the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and is the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted ...

". The error was dubbed "The Bum Note Heard Round the World" by various media outlets, in contrast to Freddie Mercury's "Note Heard Round the World" at Wembley. Le Bon later recalled it was the most embarrassing moment of his career. The UK TV feed from Philadelphia was dogged by an intermittent buzzing on the sound during Bryan Adams' turn on stage and continued less frequently throughout the rest of the UK reception of the American concert and both the audio and video feed failed entirely during that performance and during Simple Minds' performance. Phil Collins, who had performed in London earlier in the day, began his solo set with the quip, "I was in England this afternoon. Funny old world, innit?" to cheers from the Philadelphia crowd. Collins played drums during

's 17 minute set, which included well received performances of "

Layla "Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally recorded by Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their only studio album, ''Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs'' (1970). Its contrasting movements were compos ...

" and " White Room".

Fundraising

Throughout the concerts, viewers were urged to donate money to the Live Aid cause. Three hundred phone lines were manned by the BBC, so that members of the public could make donations using their credit cards. The phone number and an address that viewers could send cheques to were repeated every twenty minutes. Nearly seven hours into the concert in London, Bob Geldof enquired how much money had been raised so far; he was told about £1.2 million. He is said to have been sorely disappointed by the amount and marched to the BBC commentary position. Pumped up further by a performance by Queen which he later called "absolutely amazing", Geldof gave an interview in which BBC presenter David Hepworth had attempted to provide a postal address to which potential donations could be sent; Geldof interrupted him in mid-flow and shouted "Fuck the address, let's get the numbers". Although the phrase "give us your fucking money" has passed into folklore, Geldof has stated that it was never uttered. '' Private Eye'' magazine made great humorous capital out of this outburst, emphasising Geldof's Irish accent which meant the profanities were heard as "fock" or "focking". After the outburst, donations increased to £300 per second. Later in the evening, following David Bowie's set, a video shot by the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

was shown to the audiences in London and Philadelphia, as well as on televisions around the world (though neither US feed showed the film), showing starving and diseased Ethiopian children set to "

Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" ...

" by

The Cars The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes (keyboards), ...

. (This would also be shown at the London Live 8 concert in 2005.) The rate of donations became faster in the aftermath of the video. Geldof had previously refused to allow the video to be shown, due to time constraints, and had only relented when Bowie offered to drop the song " Five Years" from his set as a trade-off. Geldof mentioned during the concert that the Republic of Ireland gave the most donations per capita, despite being in the midst of a serious economic recession. The largest donation came from

Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum ( ar, ٱلـشَّـيْـخ رَاشِـد بِـن سَـعِـيْـد آل مَـكْـتُـوْم, Ash-Shaykh Rāshid bin Sa`īd Āl Maktūm; 11 June 1912 – 7 October 1990) was the vice president ...

, who was part of the ruling family of Dubai, who donated £1m in a phone conversation with Geldof. The next day, news reports stated that between £40 and £50 million had been raised. It is now estimated that around £150 million in total has been raised for famine relief as a direct result of the concerts.

Criticisms and controversies

's performance generated controversy; while transitioning from "Ballad of Hollis Brown" to "When the Ship Comes In," he said: "I hope that some of the money ... maybe they can just take a little bit of it, maybe ... one or two million, maybe ... and use it, say, to pay the mortgages on some of the farms and, the farmers here, owe to the banks". He is often misquoted, as on the

Farm Aid Farm Aid is an annual benefit concert held for American farmers. History On July 13, 1985, while performing at the Live Aid benefit concert for the 1983–1985 Ethiopian famine, Bob Dylan made comments about family farmers within the United St ...

website, as saying: "Wouldn't it be great if we did something for our own farmers right here in America?". In his autobiography, ''Is That It?'' (published in 1986), Geldof was critical of the remark, saying "He displayed a complete lack of understanding of the issues raised by Live Aid. ... Live Aid was about people losing their lives. There is a radical difference between losing your livelihood and losing your life. It did instigate Farm Aid, which was a good thing in itself, but it was a crass, stupid, and nationalistic thing to say." Although Dylan's comments were criticised, his remark inspired fellow musicians

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (197 ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

and

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his catchy brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrument ...

to organise the

charity, which held its first concert in September 1985. The concert raised over $9 million for America's family farmers and became an annual event. Geldof was not happy about

the Hooters The Hooters are an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band combines elements of rock, reggae, ska, and folk music to create its sound. The Hooters first gained major commercial success in the United States in the mid-198 ...

being added as the opening band in Philadelphia. He felt pressured into it by Graham and local promoter Larry Magid. Magid, promoting the concert through Electric Factory Concerts, argued that the band was popular in Philadelphia; their first major label album ''

Nervous Night ''Nervous Night'' is a 1986 film starring American rock band The Hooters and directed by John Jopson, John Charles Jopson. Background As a follow-up to The Hooters' 1985 Columbia Records debut album ''Nervous Night (album), Nervous Night'', a f ...

'' had been released almost three months earlier and had been a hit. In an interview for ''

'', Geldof asked: "Who the fuck are the Hooters?" Ironically, in December 2004, Geldof appeared on the bill with the Hooters in Germany as ''their'' opening act.

Adam Ant Stuart Leslie Goddard, better known as Adam Ant (born 3 November 1954), is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK top ten ...

subsequently criticised the event and expressed regrets about playing it, saying, "I was asked by Sir Bob icto promote this concert. They had no idea they could sell it out. Then in Bob's book he said, 'Adam was over the hill so I let him have one number.' ... Doing that show was the biggest fucking mistake in the world. Knighthoods were made,

got it made, and it was a waste of fucking time. It was the end of rock 'n' roll." Geldof stated in his autobiography that Miles Copeland, manager of Adam Ant and Sting, asked Geldof if he had thought of asking Ant after Geldof contacted him to get Sting to appear: "I hadn't. I thought he was a bit passé. But then so were the Boomtown Rats, and each represented a certain piece of pop history, so I agreed. I also thought that might entice him to encourage Sting, or perhaps all three of

the Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...

." BBC coverage co-host

was heavily critical of the event in his autobiography ''No Off Switch'', stating, "Musically, Live Aid was to be entirely predictable and boring. As they were wheeled out – or rather bullied by Geldof into playing – it became clear that this was another parade of the same old rock aristocracy in a concert for Africa, organised by someone who, while advertising his concern for, and sympathy with, the continent didn't see fit to celebrate or dignify the place by including on the Live Aid bill a single African performer." Kershaw also described the event as "irritating, shallow, sanctimonious and self-satisfied" for failing to confront the fundamental causes of the famine and being "smug in its assumption that a bunch of largely lamentable rock and pop floozies was capable of making a difference, without tackling simultaneously underlying problems".

Led Zeppelin reunion

performed for the first time since the death of their drummer

in 1980. Two drummers filled in for Bonham:

, who had played on singer Robert Plant's first two solo albums, and Tony Thompson. The performance was criticised for Plant's hoarse vocals, Jimmy Page's intoxication and out-of-tune guitar, a lack of rehearsal, and poorly functioning monitors. Plant described the performance as "a fucking atrocity for us ... It made us look like loonies." Page later criticised Collins' performance, saying: "Robert told me Phil Collins wanted to play with us. I told him that was all right if he knows the numbers. But at the end of the day, he didn't know anything. We played '

Whole Lotta Love "Whole Lotta Love" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin. It is the opening track on the band's second album, '' Led Zeppelin II'', and was released as a single in 1969 in several countries; as with other Led Zeppelin songs, no single was ...

', and he was just there bashing away cluelessly and grinning. I thought that was really a joke." Collins responded: "It wasn't my fault it was crap... If I could have walked off, I would have. But then we'd all be talking about why Phil Collins walked off Live Aid – so I just stuck it out... I turned up and I was a square peg in a round hole. Robert was happy to see me, but Jimmy wasn't." Led Zeppelin have blocked broadcasts of the performance and withheld permission for it to be included on the DVD release. ''

'' named it "one of the worst rock-and-roll reunions of all time", with Victor Fiorillo writing: "I'd like to be able to blame all of the awfulness on anaemic Phil Collins, who sat in on drums, and Page himself later fingered the

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

drummer for screwing up the set. But Collins was just the beginning of the bad. Go ahead. Watch and remember. It really ''was'' that terrible."

Fund use in Ethiopia

In 1986, '' Spin'' published an exposé on Live Aid's actions in Ethiopia. They claimed that Geldof deliberately ignored warnings from

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) or charity of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. M ...

, who had complained directly to Geldof even before Live Aid, about the role of the Ethiopian government under Derg leader

in causing the famine and that by working with Mengistu directly, much of the relief funds intended for victims were in fact siphoned off to purchase arms from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, thereby exacerbating the situation. Geldof responded by deriding both the articles and Médecins Sans Frontières, who had been expelled from the country, and reportedly saying, "I'll shake hands with the Devil on my left and on my right to get to the people we are meant to help". According to the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

, a certain proportion of the funds were siphoned off to buy arms for the

Tigrayan People's Liberation Front The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; ti, ህዝባዊ ወያነ ሓርነት ትግራይ, lit=Popular Struggle for the Freedom of Tigray), also called the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing ethnic nationalist paramilita ...

. This coalition battled at the time against Derg. The Band Aid Trust complained to the BBC Editorial Complaints Unit regarding the specific allegations in the BBC World Service documentary, and their complaint was upheld. In 2010 the BBC issued an apology to the Trust and stated there was no evidence money had been diverted, while the former British Ambassador to Ethiopia,

, states, "the diversion of aid related only to the tiny proportion that was supplied by some NGOs to rebel-held areas." Although a professed admirer of Geldof's generosity and concern, American television commentator Bill O'Reilly was critical of the Live Aid's oversight of the use of the funds raised. O'Reilly believed that charity organizations, operating in aid-receiving countries, should control donations, rather than "chaotic nations." Arguing that Live Aid accomplished good ends while inadvertently causing harm at the same time,

David Rieff David Rieff (; born September 28, 1952) is an American non-fiction writer and policy analyst. His books have focused on issues of immigration, international conflict, and humanitarianism. Biography Rieff is the only child of Susan Sontag, who w ...

gave a presentation of similar concerns in ''

'' at the time of

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 200 ...

Tim Russert Timothy John Russert (May 7, 1950 – June 13, 2008) was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's ''Meet the Press''. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Wa ...

, in an interview on ''

Meet the Press ''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though the current format bears little resemblance to the debut episode on November 6, 1947. ' ...

'' shortly after O'Reilly's comments, addressed these concerns to

. Bono responded that corruption, not disease or famine, was the greatest threat to Africa, agreeing with the belief that foreign relief organisations should decide how the money is spent. On the other hand, Bono said that it was better to spill some funds into nefarious quarters for the sake of those who needed it than to stifle aid because of possible theft.

Performances

London, Wembley Stadium

Presenters: * Richard Skinner—opened the show and introduced

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

and

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

Tommy Vance Richard Anthony Crispian Francis Prew Hope-Weston (11 July 1940 – 6 March 2005), known professionally as Tommy Vance, was an English radio broadcaster. He was an important factor in the rise of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), a ...

—introduced

The Style Council The Style Council were a British band formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, the former singer, songwriter and guitarist with the punk rock/ new wave/ mod revival band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previously a member of Dexys Midnight Ru ...

The Boomtown Rats The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock music, rock band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hit record, hits including "Like Clockwork", "Rat Trap", "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Banana Repub ...

Nik Kershaw Nicholas David Kershaw (born 1 March 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Kershaw came to prominence in 1984 as a solo artist. He released eight singles that entered the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart during the ...

and Dire Straits *

—introduced

* Andy Peebles—introduced

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European D ...

, Howard Jones,

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry an ...

Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...

Griff Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. Rhys Jones came to national attention in the 1980s for h ...

with

Mel Smith Melvyn Kenneth Smith (3 December 1952 – 19 July 2013) was an English comedian, actor and director. Smith worked on the sketch comedy shows ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'' and ''Alas Smith and Jones'' with his comedy partner, Griff Rhys Jones. ...

and

—introduced Sting with

and

—introduced

and Tommy Vance—introduced U2 and

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...

—introduced

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...

—introduced Freddie Mercury and

Philadelphia, John F. Kennedy Stadium

Presenters: * Bill Graham—introduced

(before his first and last appearance),

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became a key cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'', where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment became a staple of the ...

Joe Piscopo Joseph Charles John Piscopo ( ; born June 17, 1951) is an American actor, comedian and conservative radio talk show host. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1980 to 1984, where he played a variety of recurring characters. His f ...

Marilyn McCoo Marilyn McCoo (born September 30, 1943) is an American singer, actress, and television presenter, who is best known for being the lead female vocalist in the group the 5th Dimension, as well as hosting the 1980s music countdown series ''Solid Gol ...

, Dire Straits,

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

Don Johnson Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series ''Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime Emm ...

and

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

—introduced

, U2,

and

—introduced

The Hooters The Hooters are an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band combines elements of rock, reggae, ska, and folk music to create its sound. The Hooters first gained major commercial success in the United States in the mid-198 ...

* Chevy Chase—introduced

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the ...

Billy Ocean Leslie Sebastian Charles, (born 21 January 1950), better known by his stage name Billy Ocean, is a British recording artist who had a string of R&B international pop hits in the 1970s and 1980s. He was the most popular British R&B singer-son ...

, REO Speedwagon, Judas Priest,

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...

and

* Joe Piscopo—introduced

Run-D.M.C. Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

, Simple Minds and

—introduced

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

* George Segal—introduced

George Thorogood and the Destroyers George Lawrence Thorogood (born February 24, 1950) is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Wilmington, Delaware. His "high-energy boogie-blues" sound became a staple of 1980s rock radio, with hits like his original songs " Bad to th ...

Grace Slick Grace Slick (born Grace Barnett Wing; October 30, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter, artist, and painter. Slick was a key figure in San Francisco's early psychedelic music scene in the mid-1960s. With a music career spanning four decades, ...

—introduced

Pretenders Pretenders may refer to: * The Pretenders Pretenders are an English–American rock band formed in March 1978. The original band consisted of founder and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), James Honeyman-Scott (le ...

—introduced Madonna,

Thompson Twins Thompson Twins were a British pop band formed in 1977 in Sheffield. Initially a new wave group, they switched to a more mainstream pop sound and achieved considerable popularity during the mid-1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kin ...

, Patti LaBelle,

and

—introduced Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and The Power Station (band), The Power Station * Jack Nicholson & Bette Midler—introduced

—introduced

—introduced Hall & Oates

Others

Presenters: * Molly Meldrum—introduced Oz for Africa * Mladen Popović—introduced YU Rock Misija * Vladimir Pozner Jr., Vladimir Posner—introduced Autograph (Russian band), Autograph and made a speech between their performances * Evelyn Selbert and Ken Janz—introduced Band für Afrika * Udo Lindenberg—made a speech between the Band für Afrika performances *

—introduced Cliff Richard

Notable absences

Bruce Springsteen decided not to appear at Live Aid despite his huge global popularity in 1985. Geldof had originally scheduled the event for 6 July, but moved the date to the 13th especially to accommodate Springsteen. Springsteen later expressed regret at turning down Geldof's invitation, stating that he "simply did not realise how big the whole thing was going to be" and regretted not performing an acoustic set. Michael Jackson declined to appear. His press agent, Norman Winter, released a statement at the time saying that Jackson was "working around the clock in the studio on a project that he's made a major commitment to," and consequently could not free up sufficient time to rehearse and perform at Live Aid. Winter added, "Michael is just about living in the studio, rehearsing and recording. I know, what could be more major than Live Aid, but Michael couldn't turn his back on his responsibility to the people he's working with. This affected employment for a lot of people." Prince (musician), Prince also declined to appear in person, but sent a pre-taped video of an acoustic version of "4 the Tears in Your Eyes", which was played during the concert in Philadelphia. The original version appears on the ''We Are the World (album), We Are the World'' album, while the video version was released in 1993 on Prince's compilation ''The Hits/The B-Sides''. Culture Club leader

decided not to take part in the concert. He feared that Culture Club would fail to measure up performing for two billion people, and he disliked what he viewed as self-important posturing on the part of other participants. In his memoir ''Take It Like a Man'' he said his band members were angry with him because he had "ruined their chance of a part in history". Huey Lewis and the News were scheduled to play the Philadelphia leg, and were in some of the promotional material, but decided on 28 June to pull out over concerns that the money raised by relief efforts thus far had not been reaching those it was intended to help. "It was a very tough decision", Lewis told ''Rolling Stone (magazine), Rolling Stone''. "We felt, having done the

thing, that we should wait and watch that ... The prudent thing to do is to see how that money translates into food for the people before we do another one." Harry Belafonte, who had organised USA for Africa, responded harshly, calling Lewis's scepticism "disruptive and divisive". He had himself recently returned from a trip to Africa to see how the money had so far been spent, and suggested that Lewis do the same. "For him to sit back here and send out information based on hearsay is unfair to his colleagues and very unfair to the victims." Annie Lennox, whose hits as the vocalist of Eurythmics included 1983's "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)", was forced to pull out of performing at Live Aid due to a serious throat infection; she appeared at

held in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, London in 2005. Cliff Richard later stated he had been unable to perform as he was already committed to a gospel charity concert in Birmingham the same day. A reunited Deep Purple were also due to appear from Switzerland via satellite, but pulled out after guitarist Ritchie Blackmore refused to take part. Deep Purple (minus Blackmore, who left the band in 1993) appeared at Geldof's Live 8 sequel 20 years later, performing at the Toronto leg of the event. Bill Graham is said to have turned down Foreigner (band), Foreigner and Yes (band), Yes because there was no free space on the bill for them. Marillion, riding high in the UK charts that summer with their ''Misplaced Childhood'' album and "Kayleigh" single, missed out on an invitation to perform at Wembley because their manager had deemed it not worthwhile for singer Fish (singer), Fish to participate in the "Do They Know It's Christmas?" single. Fish was quoted: "When it came to the bill for the concert we were passed over." UB40 lead singer Ali Campbell admitted that his band was also ignored by Geldof while planning the list of musical acts of the British leg of the event: "We weren't asked to do Live Aid because Uncle Bob didn't like our music much. It was a great gig, but I thought it was a bit dodgy not having any black acts on the bill when it was raising money for Africa." Thin Lizzy keyboard player Darren Wharton expressed regrets about the band not being asked to perform: "That was a tragic, tragic decision. It could've been and it should've been the turning point for Phil (Phil Lynott, Lynott). And I think that really did Phil in quite a lot, that we were never asked to play. I mean Phil, he had a few problems at the time, but at the end of the day, if he would've been asked to play Live Aid, that would've been a goal for him to clean himself up to do that gig. We were all very upset of the fact that we weren't asked to do it because Phil knew Geldof and Midge Ure very well indeed. I was surprised that we weren't asked to do that. I don't think Phil ever forgave Bob." Lynott died less than five months after the concert, from complications associated with his drug and alcohol addictions. Pink floyd live 8 london

"I tried to pitch into Live Aid," recalled Roger Waters, "They asked me to put

back together for it and I said no, but I'd bring my new band to play. They didn't want that. But that's alright. I went along on my own." Waters appeared backstage at the Wembley Stadium leg of Live Aid (where he was interviewed), and the classic Pink Floyd lineup reunited for the follow up to Live Aid,

, in 2005. Neil Peart, drummer of Canadian rock band Rush (band), Rush said: "Geddy Lee, Geddy was involved with the ''Tears Are Not Enough, Northern Lights'' charity record here in Canada, although Rush weren't invited to participate in the Live Aid event—mainly because if you look at the guest list, it was very much an 'in-crowd' situation. We were 'out' by then. We didn't refuse to take part because of any principles. Mind you, I wouldn't have been happy being part of this scenario. Those stars should have shut up and just given over their money if they were genuine. I recall that Tears for Fears, who made a musical and artistic decision to pull out of the concert, were subsequently accused by Geldof of killing children in Africa—what a shockingly irresponsible and stupid attitude to take. But I have nothing bad whatsoever to say about Bob Geldof; he sacrificed his health, his career, everything for something he believed in. But others around him got involved for their own reasons. Some of those involved in ''Northern Lights'' were actually quoted as saying that their managers told them to get down to the recording sessions because it would be a good career move!"

Live Aid recordings

When organiser Bob Geldof was persuading artists to take part in the concert, he promised them that it would be a one-off event, never to be seen again. That was the reason why the concert was never recorded in its complete original form, and only secondary television broadcasts were recorded. Following Geldof's request, ABC erased its own broadcast tapes. However, before the syndicated/ABC footage was erased, copies of it were donated to the Smithsonian Institution and have now been presumed lost. The ABC feed of the USA for Africa/"We Are The World" finale does exist in its entirety, complete with the network end credits, and can be found as a supplemental feature on the ''We Are The World: The Story Behind The Song'' DVD. Meanwhile, MTV decided to keep recordings of its broadcast and eventually located more than 100 tapes of Live Aid in its archives, but many songs in these tapes were cut short by MTV's ad breaks and presenters (according to the BBC). Many performances from the US were not shown on the BBC, and recordings of these performances are missing. There were four separate Audio Trucks in Philadelphia provided by David Hewitt of Remote Recording Services. ABC had taken the decision that no multi track tape recordings would be allowed, so no remixing of the Philadelphia show was possible.

Official Live Aid DVD

An official four-disc DVD set of the Live Aid concerts was released on 8 November 2004. A film premiere, premiere to launch the new DVD was held on 7 November and shown in DTS (sound system), DTS surround sound featuring a short compilation of the four-disc set. The screening was held at the Odeon Cinemas, Odeon Cinema in Kensington, London and included guests such as

, Anita Dobson, Roger Taylor (Queen drummer), Roger Taylor, Bob Geldof and partner Jean Marie, Annie Lennox, Midge Ure,

and The Darkness (band), The Darkness. Other theatrical premieres were held in Zurich, Milan, Rome, Vienna, Hamburg and Berlin. A 52-minute compilation was later released as a limited edition DVD in July 2005 titled ''20 Years Ago Today: Live Aid''. The box set contains 10-hour partial footage of the 16-hour length concert. The DVD was produced by Geldof's company, Woodcharm Ltd., and distributed by Warner Music Vision. The DVD has since been out of print and no longer available in stores. The decision to finally release it was taken by Bob Geldof nearly 20 years after the original concerts, after he found a number of unlicensed copies of the concert on the Internet. The most complete footage that exists is used from the

...
source, and this was the main source of the DVD. During production on the official DVD,

lent Woodcharm Ltd. their B-roll and alternate camera footage where MTV provided extra footage of the Philadelphia concert (where ABC had erased the tapes from the command of Bob Geldof). Songs that were not originally interrupted with advertisements were also used on the official DVD. Working from the BBC and MTV footage, several degrees of dramatic licence were taken, to release the concert on DVD. Many songs had their soundtracks altered for the DVD release, mainly in sequences where there were originally microphone problems. In one of those instances, Paul McCartney had re-recorded his failed vocals for "Let It Be" in a studio the day after the concert (14 July 1985). Beatles biographer Keith Badman explains, "because of what happened, he decided to re-record his vocals for any future film of the concert. That's the version you'll hear when the DVD comes out." Also, in the US finale, the original USA for Africa studio track for "We Are the World" was overlaid in places where the microphone was absent (consequently, it includes the vocals of Kenny Rogers and James Ingram, two artists who did not even take part in Live Aid). Some artists did not want their performances to be featured on the DVD. At their own request,

and Santana (band), Santana were omitted. The former defended their decision not to be included on the grounds that their performance was "sub-standard", but to lend their support, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant pledged to donate proceeds from the DVD release of ''Page & Plant: No Quarter'' to the campaign, and John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones pledged proceeds from his American tour with Mutual Admiration Society (collaboration), Mutual Admiration Society. Judicious decisions were also made on which acts would be included and which ones would not, due to either technical difficulties in the original performances, the absence of original footage, or for music rights reasons.

, the Four Tops,

, the Power Station,

and Kool and the Gang were among those acts that were left off the DVD. Several artists who did feature on the DVD also had songs that were performed omitted. Madonna performed three solo songs in the concert, but only two were included on the DVD ("Love Makes the World Go Round" was omitted). Phil Collins played "Against All Odds" and "In the Air Tonight" at both Wembley and JFK, but only the London performance of the former and the Philadelphia performance of the latter were included on the DVD. The JFK performance of "Against All Odds" was later included on Collins' ''Finally ... The First Farewell Tour'' DVD.

performed four songs, and only two were included on DVD. Patti LaBelle played six songs but only two songs were included. In 2007,

released a special edition of ''Queen Rock Montreal'' on Blu-ray and DVD formats containing their 1981 concert from Montreal Forum, The Forum in Montreal, Canada, and their complete Live Aid performance, along with Freddie Mercury and Brian May performing " Is This the World We Created...?" from the UK Live Aid finale, all re-mixed in DTS 5.1 sound by Justin Shirley-Smith. Also included is their Live Aid rehearsal, and an interview with the band, from earlier in the week. On its release, the then British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, decided the VAT collected on sales of the Live Aid DVD would be given back to the charity, which would raise an extra £5 for every DVD sold. On 14 November 2004, the DVD entered the UK Official UK Music Charts, Music Video Chart at number one and stayed in the top position for twelve consecutive weeks.Official Music Video Chart Top 50
– 14 November 2004 – 20 November 2004

Charts

Certifications

Official Live Aid audio

An audio copy of Live Aid was officially released by the Band Aid Trust label on 7 September 2018 on digital download. When first released in 2018, the

performance was excluded. The band's set was, however, later included as a part of the digital download in May 2019. It has a total of ninety-three audio tracks.

Live Aid channel

On 12 September 2018, YouTube launched the Official Live Aid channel with a total of 87 videos from the Live Aid 1985 concert. According to the channel, all earnings from viewings go to the Band Aid Trust. As with the digital download release, a few notable performances are not included for unknown reasons, although Queen's set was uploaded to the channel with its inclusion on the digital download.

Unofficial recordings

Because the Live Aid broadcast was watched by 1.5 billion people, most of the footage was recorded on home consumer video recorders all around the world, in various qualities. Many of these recordings were in mono, because in the mid-1980s most home video machines could only record mono sound, and also because the European BBC TV broadcast was in mono. The US MTV broadcast, the ABC Radio Network and

simulcasts were stereo. These recordings circulated among collectors, and in recent years, have also appeared on the Internet in file sharing networks. Since the official DVD release of Live Aid includes only partial footage of this event, unofficial distribution sources continue to be the only source of the most complete recordings of this event. The official DVD is the only authorised video release in which proceeds go directly to famine relief, the cause that the concert was originally intended to help.

Legacy

Live Aid eventually raised $127 million ($350 million in 2022 terms) in famine relief for African nations, and the publicity it generated encouraged Western nations to make available enough surplus grain to end the immediate hunger crisis in Africa. According to one aid worker, a larger impact than the money raised for the Ethiopian famine is that "humanitarian concern is now at the centre of foreign policy" for the west. Regarding Buerk's landmark

report as a watershed moment in crisis reporting that influenced modern coverage—one that was broadcast in its entirety with Buerk's narration on a major US channel—Suzanne Franks in ''

'' states, "the nexus of politics, media and aid are influenced by the coverage of a famine 30 years ago." Many artists and performers at Live Aid gained prominence and positive commercial influence. For all the cultural, charitable, and technological significance of 1985's Live Aid, its most immediate impact was on the charts. In the UK, for example, ''No Jacket Required'' by Phil Collins and Madonna's ''Like a Virgin (album), Like a Virgin'' leapt back into the top ten. Queen's three-year-old ''Greatest Hits (Queen album), Greatest Hits'' rose fifty-five places into the top twenty, followed by Freddie Mercury's ''Mr. Bad Guy''. Every U2 album available at the time also returned to the chart. In 1986, Geldof received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his efforts.

, the nurse who featured in Buerk's news reports that sparked the aid relief movement, received the Florence Nightingale Medal in 1991 for her work in nursing, and was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II in 2010 for "services to Nursing and to International Humanitarian Aid". Queen's performance at Live Aid was later recreated in the band's biographical film ''Bohemian Rhapsody (film), Bohemian Rhapsody'' in 2018. Footage from the original performance can be seen to match very accurately with the movie performance. In 2020, Queen + Adam Lambert reprised the original Queen setlist from Live Aid for the Fire Fight Australia charity concert in Sydney, Australia. The background to the staging of the concert as a whole was dramatised in the 2010 television drama ''When Harvey Met Bob''.

References

Bibliography

* Davis, H. Louise. "Feeding the world a line?: Celebrity activism and ethical consumer practices from Live Aid to Product Red." ''Nordic Journal of English Studies'' 9.3 (2010): 89–118. * Westley, Frances. "Bob Geldof and Live Aid: the affective side of global social innovation." ''Human Relations'' 44.10 (1991): 1011–1036. * ''Live Aid: Rockin' All Over the World'' – BBC2 documentary, recalling the build-up to the day, and the day itself; viewed 18 June 2005. * ''Live Aid: World Wide Concert Book'' – Peter Hillmore with Introduction by Bob Geldof, , Copyright 1985, The Unicorn Publishing House, New Jersey.

External links

BBC news stories about the Live Aid DVD

How Live Aid was saved for history: BBC News

Geldof thwarts 'Live Aid pirate': BBC News

In-depth interview
between

, producer of the "Live Aid Concert", the United States event, and the National Museum of American History (part of the Smithsonian Institution)
Full set list, including Philadelphia – JFK Stadium
{{Authority control Music festivals established in 1985 Pop music festivals Musical advocacy groups Development charities based in the United Kingdom Benefit concerts 1985 in music 1985 in London 1985 in Pennsylvania 1985 television specials British popular music British music history History of the London Borough of Brent Concerts at Wembley Stadium Culture of Philadelphia History of Philadelphia American popular music American music history Rock festivals Simulcasts American Broadcasting Company television specials MTV original programming BBC Television shows ABC radio programs BBC Radio 1 Orbis Communications Live 8 1985 music festivals 1985 in economics July 1985 events in the United States July 1985 events in the United Kingdom Benefit concerts in the United Kingdom Benefit concerts in the United States

Background

Organisation

Collaborative effort

Broadcasts

Stages and locations

Wembley Stadium

John F. Kennedy Stadium

Fundraising

Criticisms and controversies

Led Zeppelin reunion

Fund use in Ethiopia

Performances

London, Wembley Stadium

Philadelphia, John F. Kennedy Stadium

Others

Notable absences

Live Aid recordings

Official Live Aid DVD

Charts

Certifications

Official Live Aid audio

Live Aid channel

Unofficial recordings

Legacy

See also

References

Bibliography

External links