Bob Geldof – Well Eye Never

I wasn’t old enough to see Live Aid when it was originally held on 13 July 1985, as I was only a toddler at the time. As if anyone needs reminding, the extraordinary concert was organised by Bob Geldof from the Boomtown Rats and Midge Ure from Ultravox to raise funds for the victims of the devastating famine in Ethiopia. It brought together many of the world’s biggest music stars in London’s Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia’s JFK Stadium, along with some additional contributions from other countries, and was broadcast live for 16 hours to nearly 2 billion viewers in 150 nations.

An event of such magnitude had never been attempted before, so given the speed in which everything was organised and coordinated, the generosity of the performers and other personnel who gave their time and expertise for free, and the challenges of running and broadcasting it all using the limited technology of the mid-80s, it was a colossal achievement.

Double-page spread from the Live Aid DVD booklet. On the left, a colour photograph shows a couple of large water jets being sprayed across the huge crowd in Philadelphia to keep them cool in the heat. On the right, a black and white photo shows frail African children and adults wrapped in blankets outdoors, stretching far into the distance.

It wasn’t a magic bullet that fixed all the problems in Africa of course, nor was it ever intended or expected to be. But it had a huge impact, exposing the suffering of Africans in a way that couldn’t be ignored by politicians, the media or the public, and it raised an estimated £150 million that saved countless lives. It also launched a movement to fight poverty and injustice that has continued in various forms to this day, including the Live 8 concerts that followed in 2005, plus other charity records and events.

Double-page spread from the Live Aid booklet. A yellow strip across the top has text that says Band Aid chartered three ships which sailed every week to Africa.
The ships carried medicine, tents, trucks, vegetable oil, grain, and flour. Below this is a photo of one of the ships and 2 photos of the aid packages on board. Below those images is a photo of the group finale at the end of the Wembley concert, led by Bob Geldof and Bono, and a large photo spanning both pages that shows the huge crowd in Wembley, with the stage on the right.

So obviously I did hear about Live Aid while I was growing up, and saw occasional clips here and there. But it was only when they released a DVD in 2004 that I finally got to really appreciate what it was like. Granted, several tracks were missed out, many of which have since been posted on the official Live Aid Youtube channel, and there are unofficial uploads of most of the others. So it would be amazing if they did an extended 40th anniversary release next year to fill in at least some of the gaps. One can hope at least. But as things stand, the DVD is still a fabulous record of the event, containing 10 hours of material.

I also got a further sense of what the experience must have been like recently thanks to the musical Just For One Day, which has just ended its 2-month run at the Old Vic Theatre. I had an amazing time seeing it with a touch tour and audio description.

So as a special extended post for Easter, I thought I’d take a deep dive into this massive event, by reviewing the DVD in conjunction with other videos online that fill in the gaps and add further context. I’ve also created UK and US playlists on Youtube with nearly all of the performances, along with a selection of interviews and other extras. So I hope you enjoy!