Tag: Eric Clapton

Live Aid Review

Updated in July 2025 to include the 40th anniversary broadcasts.

July 13, 1985, was arguably the greatest day in the history of rock and pop music. As if anyone needs reminding, the extraordinary Live Aid 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 in just a few months, 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.

I wasn’t old enough to see Live Aid when it was originally held, as I was only a toddler at the time. I did hear a bit about it 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 release in the future 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.

July 2025 Update: The musical has since returned and is now running at the Shaftesbury Theatre. It really is well worth seeing.

So as a special extended post, 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!

Continue reading “Live Aid Review”

Parties At The Palace – Part 1

Many congratulations to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on her Platinum Jubilee! 70 years on the throne is an astonishing achievement, being the first time a British monarch has ever reached such an incredible milestone. It may never happen again, certainly not within any current living person’s lifetime, so it is a truly historic occasion.

I hope The Queen has enjoyed all of the celebrations that have been held in her honour, and it’s been lovely to see her making a few appearances as her mobility allows. And I hope everyone else has enjoyed the various activities that have taken place, or have just made the most of the opportunity to relax and have fun during an extra couple of days off work, over the specially extended holiday weekend.

I’ll mention the Jubilee coverage I’ve enjoyed this year in my next post, including the huge concert that took place at Buckingham Palace on Saturday.

But first, I wanted to talk about the 2002 Golden Jubilee Concerts that I have on DVD, as I’ve naturally rewatched them as part of the build-up to this year’s celebrations. And I’ve had a look through the limited footage available online from the 2012 Diamond Jubilee Concert as well.

Ultimately, the 2002 Party At The Palace remains the only concert that I’m happy to watch in its entirety, even including the weaker acts, whereas for the Diamond and Platinum parties there are several artists I’ve had to skip over. So I’ve written very detailed reviews for the 2002 gigs here, and tagged on a shorter review to mention my highlights from the 2012 event.

We’ll all have different views on these concerts of course, given the wide range of performers from different decades, countries and musical genres, and it’s great that the organisers ensured there was something for everyone. So these are only my personal thoughts, but I hope you enjoy reading through them!

Continue reading “Parties At The Palace – Part 1”

Journal – January-February 2005

Welcome to another set of journal highlights. I’m combining 2 months together here, as I haven’t written a huge amount for each. But I’m currently in the early stages of a new temporary job with my local council, working in their Printing department. There won’t be always a lot to say about it, and there are some details I’ve left out for confidentiality, but you should still get a good sense of how I’ve been getting on. And as always there’s plenty of entertainment I’ve been enjoying, plus another top 100 list from the TV, about music videos this time. So I hope you enjoy!

Continue reading “Journal – January-February 2005”

Journal – September 2002

Welcome to the next batch of posts from my journal. This has been the last month of my summer holiday before returning to university, and so there isn’t a great deal to mention. But I did have a nice lazy break in London with relatives, during which I got a big haul of music with my birthday money, plus I’ve got hooked on a couple of new PS2 games. So I hope you enjoy this little collection of entries!

Continue reading “Journal – September 2002”