February 8, 2024 – Live Aid

It’s another Throwback Thursday on LEGENDS 102.7! This week we’re throwing it back to 1985, the year of the Live Aid concerts to raise money for famine relief in Africa. It was the brainchild of Bob Geldof, lead singer of The Boomtown Rats. He was moved to philanthropic action after seeing a report on the BBC in 1984 that showed footage of starving children in Africa. His first idea was to record a charity single. His friend Midge Ure, frontman of the band Ultravox, helped him write and record “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, which was released in December 1984. The song was credited to Band Aid, a supergroup of the biggest pop stars of the day, including George Michael, Boy George, Bono, and many more. It hit number 1 on the UK charts and raised over $28 million. Geldof then set his sights on something bigger – a huge concert to raise even more money.
Live Aid was organized in just 10 weeks. It was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London, (attended by around 72,000 people) and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia (with more than 89,000 people in the crowd). The concert featured more than 75 acts spanning 16 hours. The lineup featured huge superstars like Queen, Elton John, Run DMC, Sting, Tom Petty, U2, Eric Clapton, and David Bowie. Phil Collins performed at both concerts, taking a helicopter from Wembley to London’s Heathrow Airport, flying to New York City, then taking a helicopter to Philadelphia. He not only performed his own sets at both venues, but he also played the drums for Eric Clapton and played with the reuniting members of Led Zeppelin. Queen’s 21-minute Live Aid performance was voted the greatest live performance in the history of rock and roll in 2005.
Live Aid was one of the largest TV broadcasts of all time, with an estimated audience of 1.9 billion in 150 countries watching. That’s nearly 40% of the world’s population! The concert raised $127 million (around $350 million today). Learn more here.