Live Aid (1985)

Live Aid was a dual-venue concert that was held on July 13,1985. The event was organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for relief of the ongoing Ethiopian famine. The event was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom,which was attended by 72,000 people and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States,which was attended by about 100,000 people. It was one of the largest-scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time: an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations, watched the live broadcast.It is estimated that 85% of the world's television sets were tuned in to Live Aid that dayThis is one of the best concerts ever held in history.The concert has live performances from great artists such as Spandau Ballet,Elvis Costello,Paul McCartney,Sade,Sting,Phil Collins and many more. It is a must-see for everyone who loves great music.

I was just a young pup with barely enough allowance to cover a movie. I never could have bought the pay per view. Now that I'm an adult I'm paying a fortune for bootlegs and authorized versions. That's the thing about nostalgia, what seemed unimportant as a child becomes the stuff that dreams are made of sitting in a cubicle all day. Still, the official release is worth picking up. I'm disappointed some acts chose not to participate in the re-release. I guess Led Zepplin doesn't need any new publicity but if I was the Hooters I'd be begging for a chance to get back into daylight, never mind the spotlight.

I happened to be in England at the time of this concert and was able to buy a ticket. I got there early and took a place on the field. The crowd was different than at an American concert -- mellower and nicer overall. Once U2 came onstage, though, things changed. The crowd started to move toward the stage in massive wave-like surges. It was a little anxiety-provoking, but nobody got hurt that I could see. The line-up was nothing short of spectacular and I was particularly happy to see The Who, David Bowie, Sting, Queen and Paul McCartney. This was in Paul's anxious phase, after John was killed; Paul only did one song and seemed to be hiding behind the piano. The surprise stand-out act of the day for me was Queen. Freddy Mercury really knew how to work the crowd and he had 50,000 people (or whatever) in the palm of his hand.

July 13th, 1985. This was the most amazing concert I've ever seen. So many acts you had to take no-doze to catch them all. Too many to list but these guys were there, Phil Collins, Bryan Adams, Sting, The Cars, Madonna, Simple Minds, Beach Boys, Ozzy, Run DMC, REO Speedwagon, The Power Station, Rick Springfield, Queen, INXS, Elton John, Hall and Oats, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, David Bowie, and how could you forget the band who had the #1 hit song at the time they played at Live Aid...Duran Duran. I'm still waiting for someone to release Live Aid on video or cd.