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 chilling in the womb during live aid. Another 6 weeks until I would emerge. We’re both turning 40. So I don’t remember it.

@suki1964 that little blonde boy collection box with the leg calliper used to make me feel really sad there was one outside our local newsagents

I was on a summer course in East Germany, we didn't know it was happening until we got back to the west.

I was newly pregnant with DS, about14 weeks, in photos around that time I look so thin and pale.

DS turns 40 in January!

One of my friends had her baby on that Live Aid day… it was hot and sunny where we lived, and she was overdue, so glad to be getting her baby into the world, she missed most of L.A.
There was plenty of repeats though…

Yep! 🙌

Absolutely, totally not bloody 61…hell no!

21 forever in my head 😄

I think it's a shame that Bob Geldof gets stick for it at all.

Yes, it's not the ideal, but literally none of the politicians of the world were doing anything to help.

Some of his achievements in the money sense were huge - getting the record companies not to take a cut was unprecedented, getting the VAT raised donated by the government was also unprecedented and he didn't want to be the "rock star photographed with dying babies" until the papers got bored of the story and he was told the only way to get it back in the news was to get out there himself and be photographed.

It was a massive, massive achievement, and in a very short space of time.

You can see in the documentary how affected he is by it all still.

I was theer. I was 23 and getting tickets was really easy. No online anything. I just went up to Wembley after work.
We were pretty near the front. I can see myself in some of the Status Quo footage.
The genius of the Queen set was the medley idea. No one else thought of that and it was so clever.
I was also at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert, which I think was actually better...apart from Freddie not being there of course.

Live aid was the first of its kind

at the risk of being the 94th person to say this: only in terms of the broadcasts, i remember the concert for Bangladesh in the 70s.

My lovely colleague was a huge Queen fan and was near the front on live aid day. She said she bought a big soft drink to last all day and loved seeing her favourite band. No phones aloft and just a great atmosphere apparently.
I remember my parents not letting me watch it on their tv , so had to sit upstairs and watch on my own black and white tv with the dodgy aerial and it was boiling hot. Remember seeing Phil Collins flying out to Philadelphia for the US one on Concorde.
( I think it was on Philadelphia, have to check)

Alison Moyet was on in the afternoon and was very chilled. I can’t remember much about the actual acts apart from Queen though , maybe spandau ballet ?

I was invited to watch it on tv at my new next door neighbours house.
Reader.. I married him ! ❤️

I recorded the beginning of it on my cassette player. I watched the very beginning of it, but wasn't allowed to watch it all because my dad wanted to watch the cricket. We only had the 1 tv in the 80's, like most households then.

I was gutted that I wasn't allowed to watch it. It was also my friends 13th birthday, and she had a party at her house and it was on in the background.

My neighbour comes from London, and she was there, aged around 16. She said it was incredible.

I'm biased as an 80's teenager, but the music then was the best, so many top bands at that concert. It was an amazing achievement.

I was 4.5 years old and holidaying in the Isle of Wight. Was a hot day and we turned the TVs round in the chalets - they backed onto the lounge windows, with the windows open and watched the event from sitting outside. It was my first time being up to 10pm.

Was there a transmission problem when The Who came on?

Went to Live 8 in the sponsor area at the front as my then employer was one of the sponsors. Staff members opted in to be in the draw and paid for transport and hotel.

@user1486915549 Wow! Our very own LA Love story! I raise a 🥂 to you both.
I wonder how many others met and married their OHs on the day, maybe even at the actual concert!

Speaking of which, who is heading down to the hallowed grounds of the old Wembley today, clutching their precious paper ticket 😉
(Humour me and let me relive my yoof! I know it’s the 12th today, but BBC are showing the concerts, starting at 6pm)
What are you wearing? Who are you going with?

@IntelligentInputDarling I felt the same rewatching the Freddie Mercury tribute on its 30th anniversary. I was 15 in 1992 and loved so many of the bands that took part so just for that time we were all young again 😭. I don't really remember live aid. Band aid yes as everyone was singing it at school. My mum says we had live aid on but it was more in the background than a major sit and watch type event, she didn't really like "pop music". I think my step dad went, he lived in London at the time.

Watching it on bbc2 now. There was no way they could have opened with anything over than the Quo 😁

I was 27 and watched it on the telly, watching it now on the telly

Also watching it on tv, and rediscovery 80s artists. Enjoying Adam Ant more today than I did back in the day.

Loving this Sade set ❤️

Just in time for QUEEEEEEEEN!

Another reason that Queen were so good is that they understood the remit and played the hits. Roger said in an interview that for that sort of thing you have to play what people know, and will recognise in Istanbul or wherever.
A lot of the acts did that awful 80s thing of playing their latest/new material that nobody particularly wanted to hear (Bryan Ferry, Adam Ant etc).

Watching it now. I think my dad would have watched it. I’d have loved to have been able to watch it back with him today and talk about our favourites.

Posting here so I don’t bring DH down…! He’s enjoying it.

Argh, Tom Petty. This might finish me off re my dad now. Might be bedtime!

PS sorry to bring anyone else down. Didn’t mean to 😳

Not at all @WHATtom
this thread is for sharing your thoughts and memories.

Elton & George❤️ - I love this song.

I’ve been chased out of the house to the garage where I can turn it up and bop away

taking me right back , not just to the day , but which each track was playing to my life

strange thing is I don’t remeber it being so flawless with the switchovers

however I’m loving every minute , marvelling at Madonna , balling my eyes out watching the Beach Boys, wiped out with Queen ,job smacked watching Alison Moyet , fallen back in love with Sting and laughed my head off at Bunos bad weave and stacked Cubans