Live Aid at 40

[IntelligentInputDarling]

Love it or loathe it, Live Aid is 40 years old next weekend.

How old were you at the time?
Do we have any MNs who was at Wembley on the day, or even the JFK stadium in Philadelphia?!
What was your favourite act?

I was also there! I was 18 and my BF at the time queued up for the tickets for a group of us. It was an absolutely fantastic day and Queen stole the show! I have never forgotten the day and the atmosphere. Such a shame how many of the performers are no longer with us

Probably a good thing! Can you imagine the endless MN threads pulling it to pieces and generally moaning about every single little detail.

We watched the first two episodes last night and it was, indeed, a different time.

BBC2 are showing the concert on Saturday 12 July, starting at 6pm.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002fyyf/episodes/guide

Get your cassettes ready to tape it!! 😉

Oooh jinx @MoriftedinaFrenchEscapeRoom 😆

Have name changed for this as I post on here quite a bit and this will be very outing!

we are having a live aid anniversary party this weekend! Both my DH and I love the performances, although we were both only primary aged kids when it happened, and always said when it got to the anniversary we’d have a party. We have the dvd box set so we are showing that, starting it in the afternoon and running it through until it’s done. People are dressing up too, so it should be good fun.

I know that some people are critical of it now, but I believe it was done with all the right intentions, and still think it’s one of the best line ups a concert has ever had. For Queen, Bowie and Dire Straits alone it’s worth watching but there are so many fabulous performances.

so yep, we’ll definitely be marking it!

Because it was the first of a kind

a first where ordinary people felt like they could make a difference

There was no comic relief , no children in need. There were standing boxes on the street - guide dogs , spastic society ( yes that what was it was called ) the sally annies doing the rounds of the pubs at the weekends.

until live aid the ordinary man in the street never saw where his paltry donation went. I grew up being told to eat what was served because “ those black babies in Africa would be grateful for it “. Where was Africa? Who were these unnamed babies ?

live aid stopped it happening to unknown people on an unknown continent. Live aid made it a world problem

Child in Need was around before LiveAid (it started in 1980) but it was a huge step from there to a 16 hour live outdoor broadcast from two countries to a global audience. Musically nothing like that had ever been done before, there were festivals like Woodstock and Glasto (a much small affair than today) but multiple huge acts on the same stage with a tight turn around hadn't been done before, especially with almost no rehearsal time. Electric instruments were all cables in those days - you were literally plugged in there was miles of cable involved.

The other big charity concerts very much followed in its wake.

@justforoneday78 that sounds amazing! I’m glad they are broadcasting the concert on the 12th because we go on holiday the next day.
If there was any national event I’d like to go to back in time for, this would be it.
It’s so hard to convey just how ground breaking this was.

I was seven and have fond memories of my neighbour’s Live Aid party, and running up the road with my sister to change the Beta max tape.

@suki1964 wow can I ask why you don't think bob is intelligent ?

I was there, i was 24went with my twin brothers who were 2, spent most if the day in one or others shoulders as I'm 5ft2 and they are 6ft4.

Was amazing, Queen were electrifying, loved Paul Young as I was a big fan. Don't really remember who else as it was just overwhelming.

Will be watching on Saturday, the documentaries were so interesting. Bob had no clue what he was doing, but did it anyway.

Dosnt seem like 40 years ago, but then I think of the lifetime since and it feels so long ago.

I was in my mid 20s and married. We lived in a very picturesque village and had friends to stay for the weekend. The sun shone all weekend, we ate crusty bread, pate and cheese and drank copious amounts of alcohol (pre children) and watched the concert most. We laughed together and enjoyed the music. I can't remember if we donated or not. My friends are dead now and my husband and I parted ways but that weekend was magical and I look back fondly.

Broke my heart seeing Phil Collins now 😔

I can’t imagine anyone who had a TV didn’t watch it. Were we still 3 TV channels then? I can’t remember how people paid to the charity. Did you phone up on the day with a credit card number?

Yes I think Phil is amazing,love his music. He looks very limited with his mobility now, sad to see.

You could do a card payment via a phone line, send a cheque to a physical address or pay cash via a bank. Bob Geldof was very keen for the phone lines to be pushed as the primary method as that could be done in the moment rather than people sending a cheque at a later point when they might forget, not get round to it, feel less generous a few days later than they did in the emotion of the moment. That is what he swore about as the BBC wanted to read out the address but he wanted them to give the phone lines to catch people at that moment.

I remember it being on but it was a hot day and I was little so I didn’t watch the whole thing. We were playing in the garden and just ran in every now and then when mum shouted it was someone we liked. Obviously it’s Queen I remember most but perhaps that’s because their performance is shown so much.

I was 19 & remember watching it at a friend’s house. I actually can’t remember very much about the acts but obviously Queen was off the planet! So wish I could have been there!

Was 21. Watched it all on telly.

I’m still 21 in my head 😁

I was 20 loved it. I was working in the day came home for lunch to watch some. Recored all of it on VHS still have them.

That's the point people started calling in pledging donations.

I was on holiday with my then bf, we went camping and I had a tiny transistor radio so we were aware it was happening but listened to a lot of static.

It is very much of its time. The original record doesn't really feature any female voices and the line up is almost entirely white.

But it saved lives short term and set up projects for the future eg Comic Relief.

Someone mentioned 'Children in Need' up thread, my memories of 'Children in Need' were that they would do things between the scheduled programmes and it was all a bit amateurish.

I watched it on TV. I was so envious of some of my school friends who had managed to get tickets and had parents who would let them go!

It was an incredible event, certainly stuck in my mind. Even my parents, who were not into pop music at all watched it. It felt exciting and ground breaking but also like everyone was coming together to do a good thing. I remember being absolutely blown away by Queen, who I'd never really been interested in previously and being totally in love with George Michael. I still can't hear Drive by The Cars without remembering the video that accompanied it. All the Irish side of the family were so proud of Bob Geldorf as well!

I know there is chat about white privilege now and saviour complex. All I remember at the time, was that it seemed like something had gone desperately and very horribly wrong with people starving to death and we all had a chance to help.

Me too. I’m a fan of his songs.

Turns out quite a few of my colleagues was there on the day!
We’ve been reminiscing and everyone has said it’s been one of the most memorable days of their lives.
So jealous!

I thought they might show the whole concert but looks like it only highlights not all the groups. I was a bit disappointed by that. But you can see most on YouTube.