The Live Aid Concert (Ep16)
EPISODE 16: THE LIVE AID CONCERT. At dual press conferences in London and New York City on Monday, June 10, 1985, it was announced that in just one month’s time there would be a 17-hour, two-stadium, benefit concert for famine relief in Ethiopia. The bicontinental event, to be called Live Aid, was organized by Irish musician Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rats. It would feature a “global jukebox” of over 40 of the top stars in British and American music, from Mick Jagger, Elton John, Queen, David Bowie and Phil Collins, to The Cars, Hall & Oates, Eric Clapton, Sting, Dire Straits, and Duran Duran. Not only were the suddenness and scale of the event a shock, but so was the unlikely choice of American venue. The American Live Aid concert would be held in JFK Stadium in South Philadelphia – an arena capable of holding 100,000 people. Live Aid became the most famous and most watched concert in history -- and half of it happened in Pennsylvania!
Timestamps for major events/discussions:
[03:26] – The BBC broadcasts a program on a famine in Ethiopia
[05:08] – “Do They Know It’s Christmas” written and recorded in London
[07:00] – “We are the World” written and recorded in Hollywood
[10:48] – Why Philadelphia was picked as the host for the Live Aid Concert
[13:39] – The challenge getting American performers, black and white
[20:56] – The day before the concert
[23:42] – Saturday, July 13th, concert day
[28:01] – The full line-up of performers at JFK Stadium
[36:02] – Immediate aftermath of the concert
[38:39] – Legacy of Live Aid
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• Watch the broadcast of Live Aid, available on DVD and in clips on YouTube (including those linked to the images above), and/or one of many subsequent documentaries about the concert. Full set lists for the performers are also available online.
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