Feed The World
I’m sure you don’t need yet another reminder that you’re getting older but today is the 25th anniversary of the Live Aid concert. Yes, it was a quarter of a century ago. I had conflicting feelings about the event at the time, being a cynical young lefty student who had absorbed the anti-hippy attitudes of punk at an impressionable age I was a bit sniffy about the idea of pop stars thinking they could change the world by singing a few choruses of “Give Peace A Chance”, especially when those pop stars included Nik Kershaw and Howard Jones. And looking back we can “blame” Live Aid for the fact that nearly every major tragedy since has come with it’s own usually-dreadful charity single and worthy televised celebathon.
But it’s easy to sit on the sidelines lobbing snarky grenades at other people’s good intentions or blame Bob Geldof for not overthrowing international capitalism instead, and I wasn’t enough of an arrogant prick to begrudge the fact that at least someone was doing something and what I thought about their records or motives or haircuts was beside the point. Though those feelings never led to me actually giving any money to Live Aid, something I felt a little guilty about that summer particularly as I had donated quite a few quid to support the families of striking miners.
So I wasn’t entirely caught up in the whole thing and actually missed the first part of the concert as I was on a train back to London from Kent where my second year of art college had ended the day before and I’d been to an end-of-term party. Though I was a little miffed at missing The Style Council I don’t remember feeling that I’d missed the moon landing or the first half of a World Cup final or something because, to me, it was just a charity rock concert and it was only as the day went on that it became this massive, history-making, must-see global EVENT that we all know it as today — I think even Geldof and Midge Ure were a little surprised at the scale of what they had started.
But I must have thought Live Aid was important enough to have kept The Daily Mirror from the following Monday who did one of their great wraparound covers for it (click here for a full-size image of the whole thing). In case you’re wondering what was on the telly that night, the BBC were showing ‘Allo ‘Allo while on ITV there was a repeat of The Sweeney plus Des O’Connor Now with guest Engelbert Humperdinck.
Download: Rocking All Over The World – Status Quo (mp3)
I kept that copy of the ‘Daily Mirror’ as well. It was probably the one and only time a red-top tabloid entered our house. What’s funny is seeing an event that you remember being mythologised (much like events like Woodstock – which many participants agree was actually a pretty miserable event). The one name that always gets mentioned with Live Aid is Freddie Mercury and Queen, and although they were considered one of the major highlights they weren’t the only highlight (For instance: The Daily Mirror didn’t choose a picture of Freddie for their cover). It’s also worth noting that Live Aid didn’t just revive / start a few careers (Geldof, Queen, U2), it also finished a few too (how many hits did Kershaw, Jones, Paul Young, Adam Ant, Ultravox, Spandau, Duran have post-Live Aid?). One of Live-Aid’s legacies is also the popularity of live music. I’d only seen bands on Top of the Pops pre_live Aid, and was curious all day at the difference in sound between the live version and the record. I went to my 1st gig 6 months later. Also check out Status Quo’s first song and the audience reaction. (there were jokes about Quo old age during the breaks – they were 37 years old – gulp!). They may have been as uncool as anything, but that first song really kicks things off. (Compare this to the rather subdued beginning of Live 8, with the celebs arriving in the golden circle section at the front – totally undermining the whole concept of equality in the process!). Anyway it really sticks in my mind as a momentous day, which my friend managed to record on a series of Betamax tapes. Today, I mentioned to my mum that it was the 25th anniversary of Live Aid. She said she couldn’t remember a thing about it. So, maybe you had to be just the right age at the right time.
Crikey, Duncan’s comment about not having seen any live music before Live Aid makes me feel older than Live Aid being 25 years ago…!
Like Lee I remember it being at the start of the Uni summer hols – I was back in nothing-happening Devon with the Aged Ps knowing some of my mates were actually there. I nipped up to Gateways to buy some beers, probably Courage Light Ales (sorry) and settled down on the sofa in front of the TV. Pretty much watched all of it, whilst taping the bits I liked off the radio. Filled a C90 and a half (no Nik Kershaw) I think – and these survived 20 years too, but I think got chucked not so long ago by the Old Man in one of his legendary ‘clear outs’. Sade played; no-one ever mentions that.
Another Live_Aid story that I’ve just remembered, is that I became friends later with a girl who’d been to Live Aid, because her sister had been working in the press office, and she’d been given 4 tickets, so that she could bring some friends. She hadn’t told the friends that she was going to take them, but unfortunately for them they were bitchy to her about something, so she took some other friends instead. They must have been gutted.
I watched most of the afternoon but went to the pub in the evening (those were the days, going to a party one night and the boozer the next!) Got home to see Hall & Oates with The Temptations which I think was my favourite part of the whole show.
I missed it! I was on holiday in Bournemouth with a mate (who broke his leg and ended up in hospital), and without a paper or radio had no reminder it was on. It was only when I had the entire Bournemouth seafront to myself – at peak holiday season, rumbled something was up. Live Aid!
True story I was told by one of Adam’s Ants – the reason they’re the forgotten men of Live Aid: No one quite realised how big an event it was going to become when the bands were first booked – and it was down in the diary as ‘benefit gig’. Also the deal was do old material get a bigger set – new material – one song only. Adam chose it as a platform to promote his new album/single Vive Le Rock – so only got one song..
Just curious,but did you hear about how the money may’ve gone to Ethopian gangsters? or was that with the band aid money?
P.S. here’s the link:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8535189.stm
Well, some of the money may have, and not just from Live Aid. No one is denying that they saved lives too.
Watched it on TV in Hanwell while other half was playing cricket. Now in Austin, TX, have the 4-CD set and often go back just to watch the same stuff over and over again – Queen, David Bowie and U2. Was there ever a performance like Freddie gave? And it was worth the cost of the CD just to watch Bowie walk on stage. Golden years indeed.
I was there. I kept some of the papers, my concert ticket and a concert programme.
I know I’m a bit late to this particular blog-post but during July of this year around the time of the 25th anniversary I was interviewed for radio & TV. A surreal experience. As a singer-songwriter I can’t get arrested (though some would probably suggest for crimes against pop I should be indicted)… mention in a blog post that you were in Wembley that day and everyone wants to talk to you !
I can’t tell you what I was doing this time last week. I can tell you hour by hour what I was doing on July 13th 1985. From the moment I stepped onto the ferry from Dublin to getting on the coach to London… checking into a hotel for the first time… getting the Tube with a more knowledgeable lad… stepping into Wembley Stadium just before noon.
Misty eyed.