Live Aid: July 13, 1985

Originally posted July 13, 2011.

On July 13, 1985, an estimated 1.9 billion people in 150 nations watched the broadcast of Live Aid. It “was the most ambitious international satellite television venture that had ever been attempted at the time“. ^WK Musicians Bob Geldof and Midge Ure organized the star-studded concerts, held simultaneously in London’s Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia’s John F. Kennedy Stadium. The two venues attracted 72,000 and 100,000 fans respectively.

Geldof, best known for the U.K. #1 song “I Don’t Like Mondays” with his group the Boomtown Rats, was dismayed by the plight of starving Ethiopians after seeing a BBC documentary. Determined to make a difference, he had assembled some of Britain’s biggest musical stars the previous winter for the charity recording “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, written by Geldof and Ure. The song became, at the time, the best-selling record ever in the UK. ^HE

Highlights included reunions of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath with Ozzy Osbourne, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. U2’s performance, “established them as a pre-eminent live group for the first time”. ^WK Queen’s 20-minute set has been called “the greatest live performance in the history of rock music”. ^WK



Also of note were Paul McCartney’s performance of “Let It Be”, followed by an all-star gathering to close out the London concert with “Christmas”. Stateside, the concert closed with the U.S. response to that song, USA for Africa’s “We Are the World”.

A planned duet between Mick Jagger and David Bowie – one on each coast – had to be scrapped because it was too complicated. Instead, they recorded a duet version of Martha & the Vandellas’ “Dancing in the Street” and the video was shown at both venues. Phil Collins made news by performing at both venues. He hopped a Concorde after his Wembley appearance and jetted overseas to Philadelphia.

---

Resources and Related Links:

• The DMDB Blog: Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas” hit #1: December 15, 1984
  
• ^HE Herald.co.uk
  
• LiveAid.free.fr. Full details of performers and songs.
  
• ^WK Wikipedia entry: Live Aid
  

---

Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas” hit #1 in the UK

Do They Know It’s Christmas Band Aid

Writer(s): Bob Geldof, Midge Ure (see lyrics here) Released: December 3, 1984 Peak: 13 US, 7 CB, 39 GR, 35 A40, 32 AR, 15 UK, 12 CN, 14 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 3.94 UK, 11.7 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 39.3 video, 403.22 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Bob Geldof made his name initially as the frontman of the Boomtown Rats, an Irish punk-pop outfit which got its start in the late ‘70s and found success with a pair of #1 songs on the UK charts with “Rat Trap” and “I Don’t Like Mondays.” However, in his obituary someday, the leading line will reference him as the man who organized Band Aid and Live Aid. Geldof was so moved one night by images from the BBC of “Ethiopians as they trudged for miles in search of food” HL that he felt obligated to do something. He started out collecting money at Boomtown Rats shows HL but wanted to do something on a grander scale. He connected with Midge Ure, the frontman from Ultravox, to pen a song about those suffering in the African famine. He wrote the lyrics in the back seat of a taxi and Midge produced the backing track in his studio. TB To garner even more attention to the cause, however, the pair then tackled their collective rolodexes to round up a Who’s Who of British pop superstars to sing a Christmas charity single as the collective Band Aid. Among the stars enlisted were Bono, Phil Collins, Sting, George Michael, Duran Duran, Culture Club, Status Quo, Paul Weller, Spandau Ballet, Heaven 17, and Kool & the Gang. 36 artists HL gathered at Sarm West Studios in London on November 25, 1984. Geldof implored attendees “to leave your egos outside the studio” HL and, in a wonderful display of unity, “everyone got on with everyone else.” HL They started the recording process by singing the “Feed the world, let them know it’s Christmas time” refrain first as a group. Then individual singers sang the song the entire way through so that Ure, who also produced the song, could splice the best parts together for the final version. WK The whole song was recorded within a 24-hour period. WK Geldof wanted to make sure all the proceeds went straight to the Ethiopians so he in addition to getting the musicians to work for free, he arranged for free studio time, manufacturing, and distribution. The song sold 750,000 in its first week of release in England, making it their fastest-selling single in history at the time. MG It went on to sell more than 3.5 million, making it the best-selling song in Britain until Elton John’s 1997 re-recording of “Candle in the Wind”. WK Combined with the 1985 Live Aid concert, Geldof’s efforts raised £110 million. MG Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Band Aid The DMDB Blog: “Live Aid: July 13, 1985” HL Michael Heatley and Spencer Leigh (1998). Behind the Song: The Stories of 100 Great Pop & Rock Classics. Blandford Books: London, UK. Pages 148-9. MG Theo Morgan-Gan “The UK’s Best Selling Singles” TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 217. WK Wikipedia First posted 12/15/2011; last updated 4/12/2023.