Today is the 27th Anniversary of Live Aid

I saw Howard Jones live twice. The first time he was alone on stage, programming and playing everything by himself. It was pretty cool.

The second time he had a fucking mime onstage.

 

Well played.

Wiki has tons of fun facts...reading as I watch Youtube...for instance, Thomas Dolby on synths for Bowie...Jack Nicholson intro'd U2...

 

IF HE WASN'T RELEVANT WHY WOULD THEY NAME THE PRACTICE FIELD AT USC AFTER HIM???

What, what? Never mind.

 

You'd never get that many, that close to the forefront of rock and roll, that close to their peak relevance. the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert was great, but Jagger obviously much closer to his peak in 1985 than 2010.

Zeppelin reunion awesome, Phil Collins notwithstanding, just because it happened.

For some reason, I always remember Duran Duran's set, and Simon LeBon hitting an awful note on "A View to a Kill" and Andy Taylor wincing and laughing. Not long before Andy took his leave.

Also remember Bryan Ferry's set being strong.

 

Blast Phil Collins all you want for some of his more recent solo releases or the other SJ mess that another poster started on another thread. But the man was an outstanding percussionist. Since John Bonham wasn't exactly available at the time, Led Zep could have done much, much worse.

*Stepping aside as I'm sure this will ignite an unparalleled forest fire ... *

 

You're right.

But at the time - to a 17-year-old - seeing Mr. Take A Look At Me Now, Mr. Easy Lover and Mr. Sussudio backing up Led fucking Zeppelin was a travesty.

 

About the only thing I could compare Live Aid to was the Concert for New York after 9/11.

 

One note about the Led Zeppelin reunion: it was such a shitshow they wouldn't give clearance to put it on the Live Aid DVD. They donated money to Sudan relief instead.

 

Uh, I may or may not be the guilty party.

 

Queen's set

Mercury was flamboyant, openly gay man who could have walked into any bar in Pittsburgh and never paid for drink in the 1970s and 1980s. Damn SOB was transcendent.

Too fucking soon. Aids sucks.

 

I grew up in South Jersey just over the Walt Whitman bridge from Philly.
Live Aid was such a big frickin deal in the community. Local darling band The Hooters,
who were starting to make it nationally opened up the Philly show. [Not only is
this a great trivia question today, but back then it was so great for a band that we had all been
cheering for years...] As a high school kid back then it was a generation-defining event.
People tell stories of how they got tickets or snuck in or partied nearby. [Also on the trivia front:
I believe Live Aid was the last event held at old JFK stadium.]

Part of what made Live Aid such a big deal was that back then it was harder to see the bands that you loved.
No youtube, smartphones, etc. so you had Mtv and live concerts. Also, you didn't have all of the Bonnaroos and SXSW
and Coachellas so getting this many bands together was huge.

It has been argued that Live Aid basically propelled U2 into the stratosphere they would enjoy for the
next few decades. Am I remembering correctly that Sting was even more ubiquitous at Live Aid
then Phil Collins?

 

No, Phil Collins was pretty much in a class by himself there.

Sting and Collins did a set together, and then Sting did "Money For Nothing" with Dire Straits.

After the set with Sting, Collins flew to Philly, did a solo set, played with Eric Clapton, and then played with Led Zeppelin. (Plus, there were the breathless live reports from the airport as he got on and off the plane.)