Live Aid - 25 years Ago Today
I was surfing the net today (as I'm wont to do), and began perusing the New Musical Express website. Right there, on the front page, was a photo gallery dedicated to the big "Live Aid" concert of 1985. Little did I think when I woke up this morning that this all was actually 25 years ago *to the day*!
I was 17 when this concert happened, and in many ways (mostly personal) it doesn't seem like that long ago. However, in other ways (mostly musical) it seems like a very long time has passed. When it happened, in 1985, was only a few years after when I first started getting into pop music (via "Men at Work" and then Duran Duran.
At the time, I was largely a blank canvas as far as music went. And the music of the '80s, if nothing else, was quite colorful! So I think it was a good time to be filling in a canvas, so to speak.... Unfortunately, I must confess that I didn't actually see the concert when it happened. My parents didn't have cable TV back then, so we never got to watch MTV (or whatever channel it was actually broadcast on).
If I could have seen it, doubtlessly I'd have been glued to the TV that entire day - especially for the concert coming from Wembly stadium. Because at that point, and considering my relative blank slate, I was most taken with the British "new wave" bands of the previous few years (though they were on their way out by 1985).
Anyway - fast forward to five years ago, when for Christmas I asked for the Live Aid 20th anniversary DVD. And so, finally, I was able to see (pretty much) the entire broadcast. Seeing it now, it's interesting that most of the bands that played that day were acts that began in the 60s and 70s. And since many of these bands were trying to stay relevant in the 80s (I'm looking at you, Eric Clapton), it makes for an interesting subtext.
Anyway, with the benefit of hindsight, here are what I think are the best moments of that Live Aid concert:
- U2 playing Sunday Bloody Sunday and Bad.
- Dire Straits playing Money for Nothing (w/ Sting) and Sultans of Swing.
- Simple Minds doing Ghost Dancing and Don't You Forget About Me.
- The Who playing Won't Get Fooled Again (long before some TV crime procedural twisted its meaning).
- Mick Jagger doing Miss You, followed by State of Shock and It's only Rock and Roll (with Tina Turner).
And finally, I've gotta mention the most hilarious performance of the night: Blowin in the Wind by Bob Dylan with Keith Richards and Ron Wood. Richards was so out of it, he played a non-existant guitar solo (the look Dylan flashes Wood at ~ 2:55 is priceless). And at the end of the solo, Dylan's guitar string (apparently) breaks. So Ron Wood quickly lends him his guitar and exits the stage - returning in a bit with a new guitar :D
But lest you think I'm too caught up in the reminiscence, I'll quote something I just read in one of these YouTube comments:
Live Aid was one of the worst, maybe the worst concert in history. A nice idea, with some of the great acts of all time doing the worst renditions of their songs. Sentiment outweighed quality.
- wheelinthesky300
Seeing these videos again, I'm tempted to agree. However, I won't agree because it was a truly historic thing that had never happened before. It's hard to imagine now how unique this was, but at the time it brought together most of the world in a way that hadn't been experienced before.
And the music -- with all the time constraints, lack of sound checks, and other logistical nightmares -- actually came off pretty darn well for the most part. And don't forget that a lot of money was raised for a good cause...
There have been some attempts to reproduce this since (Live 8, for example), that haven't come close to the original. And probably there never will be anything quite like it again. So cheers, Bob Geldof - and it's a good thing this didn't happen on a monday ;)
