…and they gave it their all to help famine-stricken Ethiopia. Sunday mid-day looks back at Live Aid, 40 years later
Mick Jagger and Tina Turner belting it out together at Live Aid; (right) Freddie Mercury
That image of Freddie Mercury still lingers. In a white chest-hugging vest, the frontman of rock band Queen had energetically pranced around London’s Wembley Stadium stage, belting out the hits Radio Ga-Ga, We Will Rock You, Bohemian Rhapsody and We Are The Champions. Even today, his appearance at the Live Aid concert in 1985 is considered one of the most memorable displays in popular music history. It even became the focal point of the 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody starring Rami Malek.
Queen was only one of the acts to make waves at the Live Aid concerts held in London and Philadelphia, US, exactly four decades ago today. From U2, the Who and Elton John in the UK to Mick Jagger, Madonna and the Beach Boys in the US, the who’s who of the music world was present. Phil Collins even took a Concorde to travel from London, so that he could play at both venues, though his second gig drew some flak. And who can forget the Wembley appearance of Sting singing “I want My MTV” as a guest with Dire Straits on ‘Money For Nothing’?
Clearly, after the 1969 mega-event Woodstock in Bethel, New York, this was one of those shows that brought together such a large number of star musicians. What made Live Aid special was its cause. The brainchild of musicians Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, it was aimed at raising funds for victims of the 1983-85 famine in Ethiopia. And though there had been benefit shows like Ravi Shankar’s Concert For Bangladesh in 1971 and the Music for Unicef Concert in 1979, the scale of Live Aid was much larger.
When Wembley Stadium rocked to Live Aid, on this day in 1985. Pics/Getty Images
An estimated audience of 1.9 billion people watched the live broadcast across 150 nations. In India, Doordarshan telecast an hour-long segment live, including performances by David Bowie and Dire Straits with Sting; some songs and highlights were shown later on DD, or available on VHS by the late 1980s. Besides the two main venues, shows inspired by Live Aid were held on the same day in the Soviet Union, Canada, Yugoslavia, Germany, Austria, Japan and Australia.
To mark 40 years, CNN is releasing a four-part docuseries Live Aid: When Rock ‘n’ Roll Took On The World. The first episode airs today. Besides archival footage and behind-the-scenes happenings, the series features interviews of Geldof, U2’s Bono, Sting, Patti LaBelle, Phil Collins and Lionel Richie. It also explores the difficulties faced in bringing Live Aid to life. Though music lovers would have seen a lot of the concert material in the four-DVD set released in 2004, and subsequently on YouTube, the new film promises to showcase many previously unseen clips.
Fans also remember Live Aid for two special songs. In London, the concert concluded with Do They Know It’s Christmas? put together in 1984 by Geldof and Ure with Band Aid, a group of British and Irish musicians. Icons Mercury, Elton John, Bono, Paul McCartney, George Michael, Sting and Roger Daltrey of the Who joined the concert.
At the John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the famous We Are The World marked the show’s finale. The song was produced by Quincy Jones and written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie for the album We Are The World, released two months before the show. Details of its making were shown in last year’s Netflix documentary. The Greatest Night In Pop. However, Jackson wasn’t at the Live Aid performance, and despite the presence of an all-star line-up led by Richie and Harry Belafonte, it was Patti LaBelle who stole the show with her stunning vocals.
Though the action was far away, music fans in India kept in touch with Live Aid through newspapers and magazines. ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ was available on radio. Atul Churamani, managing director of Turnkey Music & Publishing, remembers, “Live Aid was a monumental event for us music lovers when it happened. We were already in love with the ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ single. I was a journalist at the Weekly Sun magazine in New Delhi when it released and we spent hours discussing the song. The line-up of stars performing at the event was unlike anything we had experienced, Woodstock having taken place when we were toddlers.”
Rock music lover Anupam Meattle, who has followed the Mumbai music scene since the 1970s, says the first thing that drew his attention was the cause. He says, “The whole effort, the images of people starving, how Bob Geldof put it together, I remember reading about them vividly. I could watch all the performances many years later, when the four-DVD set was released. Besides the group song, the notable performances were Heroes by David Bowie and Bad by U2.”
There were some low points too. Led Zeppelin were playing for the first time since the death of drummer John Bonham in 1980, and were joined by Phil Collins on drums. Their performance was terrible and they kept blaming Collins, who said there was no time for rehearsal. Bob Dylan’s comment that the organisers should spend some of the money in helping American farmers was misconstrued.
What fans remember, of course, are the best moments. Whether it was Tina Turner’s appearance with Mick Jagger, Madonna dancing to Into The Groove, McCartney joined by “friends” on Let It Be or Freddie Mercury’s sheer showmanship, the memories live on.
1985
The year the iconic concert was held at London and Philadelphia
They came, they sang, they rocked
. It was Status Quo who began proceedings at 12 pm in London on July 13, 1985, with Rocking All Over The World. Interestingly, there were differences within the group and according to reports, had decided not to perform live anymore. But Bob Geldof talked them into coming together for his gig.
Francis Rossi rocking it for Status Quo
. A young girl failed to get a ticket for the Philadelphia concert. So what does she do? Hop on a plane to London and ensures she is at Wembley Stadium. She encountered fellow music enthusiasts who had spent the night of July 12 outside the Wembley Stadium gates singing and dancing in the ideal build-up to the main event.
. Not everyone could be at the concerts in London and Philadelphia. Even photographers struggled for accreditation. One smart lensman arrived at Wembley and hoodwinked security into believing he was the chief photographer for the event and walked in to shoot the concert in entirety.
George Michael, promoter Harvey Goldsmith, Bono, Paul McCartney and Freddie Mercury
. Duran Duran as expected thrilled the spectators and thrived on the opportunity to belt out their then No 1 single, A View to a Kill. The Bond movie with the same name released the same year. Wonder whether Roger Moore was inclined to be at Philadelphia or London.
. We see images of Phil Collins walking with a stick these days, but in 1985, he was that tireless tiger who wanted to do everything to entertain. Collins stunned music buffs when they discovered him at both venues courtesy the Concorde.
All Day Stage access pass for Live Aid
“Why am I playing at both Wembley and Philadelphia? Because I’m mad, that’s why,” he was quoted as saying.
. Another quote from another music stalwart, who made Live Aid possible — “I’ve just realised that today is the best day of my life. Now I’m going home to sleep,” said Bob Geldof.
Lady Diana and Prince Charles with Bob Geldof at Wembley
. Bob Geldof had to be at his persistent, persuasive and patient best when it came to getting Queen to perform.
When a call to Japan (where Queen were performing) didn’t materialise in a nod, he tried convincing them on their tour of Australia, before finding luck on the New Zealand leg of their tour.
A Live Aid ticket
. Royalty in the form of Prince Charles and Princess Diana showed up at Wembley a good hour before showtime. The late Diana felt on top of the world to meet and watch her music heroes. Fresh from her presence at a Dire Straits concert in the previous week, Diana sat near Queen members John Deacon and Roger Taylor.
. Live Aid was nothing short of a musical spectacle, a congregation of the finest living musicians. But there were notable absentees who were either genuinely busy living up to their respective tour commitments or just sticking to their decision to stay away. Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart weren’t there while Foreigner, a big draw in that era, were reportedly not asked to be part of it.
. The year 1985 was a memorable one for the Brits. The Wembley concert made them feel proud and in cricket, England regained the Ashes under the captaincy of David Gower. Of course, at the time of Live Aid, the series was still open with one Test win apiece and the third Test at Nottingham was approaching.
. Bob Geldof was not done with noble work for famine-hit Africa. In 1986, he was the man behind Sports Aid as its founder. The Sportstar magazine in India published a photograph of the initiative’s torch-bearer Omar Khalifa with Geldof on arrival at London’s Heathrow airport. The Sudanese runner ran through a dozen European cities. Geldof was hailed as the good guy and Ian Botham, recently banned by his cricket board for admitting to smoking weed, was the bad one.
Compiled by Clayton Murzello
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
