I was only little at the time but I remember my older sister glued to the television all day and grabbing me to come and watch various bits.
The one performance that has stuck with me was Queen’s. I’ve been quite ill recently and thinking back on various things and this was one of them. The magic of YouTube let me enjoy it again and, although this has never really been my type of music, this performance still stands out as iconic and sends shivers down the spine.
What a performer FM was;
https://youtu.be/TkFHYODzRTs
I agree. I wasn't particularly interested in live music at the time but if I could roll back time, I would have wanted to be there.
On a related note, I recently saw one of Pink Floyd's Delicate Sound of Thunder concerts and thought wish I was there.
Hope you are well soon.
I went to see them at Wembley a year later, they sold out two nights pretty much on the back of this performance. They were sublime to put it mildly.
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Happy memories of that day, I was 14.
Waited patiently for Duran Duran only to hear the bum note heard around the world from SLB
@2:54
I was extremely miffed at the time, having an interview for a promotion at 10:30 on the Friday morning that Live Aid tickets went on sale to the general public at 10:00.
With regards to Queen I saw them at the Liverpool Empire in 1975 and 1977 and had gone off them a little by the mid 80s. I still prefer the first 4 albums, but never warmed to Flash and We Will Rock You type stuff, although I do agree that Freddie was the star of Live Aid, followed by Bono as I recall pulling fans out of the crowd.
Thank you so much for sharing that memory. Enjoyed it immensely. And perfect timing, as my RM FDCs arrived this morning.
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Always liked Queen, never a huge fan but for sure they won the day. Freddie seemed absolutely in his element. It was quite something to see Zeppelin playing live later in the day, but they were pretty disappointing. The Who were great, but their set was interrupted by a power cut. I found the U2 performance a bit embarrassing to be honest, at least when Bono had people pulled out of the audience to massage his messiah complex.
I thought Dylan's performance, with Keith and Ronnie Wood in attendance if I remember correctly, was a bit strange. He seemed old and worn out, but I've just checked and he was only 44. I certainly wouldn't have imagined that he'd be making engaging and worthwhile music, 35 years later. But he is.
Ironically, I was in Ethiopia at the time as part of the famine relief effort. Needless to say, the concert was not aired in Ethiopia, but Wimbledon tennis tournament was. The regime at the time were apparently embarrassed about being seen to accept foreign aid (other than from Russia, which had a large military contingent in place relocating parts of the population).
Saw the Band Aid gifted LandRover driving around Addis pretty frequently. Further, quite a few locals appeared to benefit disproportionately. Seems to be a common issue!
Incidentally, the restaurants in the capital were absolutely first class.....and packed every night. The chasm between the haves and the have-nots was unbelievable.
I was there!
I watched the whole of live aid with my mates. I quite often still watch the Queen set. I don’t think any band or singer has ever performed better than Queen and FM did that day. It was incredible.
REmember watching it as I polished my #1's at Cosford.
Brilliant! What was it like to be there?Originally Posted by sevvy
Just watched it again. Must play back the whole of LiveAid again soon. FM was a star ⭐️
I just watched that too. Cheers. I then watched the opening of their Wembley 86 gig to watch the crowd reaction to Tie your mother down. Incredible.
Pushed forward with each band change, ended up about 20 rows from front, stayed there till end. Ticket was £25!
one of those days you’ll never forget, so many highlights but Queen were standout. Only downside was the coach home was crap with no decent coverage of US show.
It revived their friendship and their career. They werent even announced on the bill when the tickets were sold. but they had a lot of experience of working large crowds and a dynamite front man. A set list full of classics altho GaGa had not been played live and so when the crowd did the handclap it was startling to the band. After that the band were back in big places. Queen also rehearsed the set which many didnt. But that was Queen and their quest for perfection
You might have seen these documentaries from 2005 about how LiveAid came together and how it went on the day:
Live Aid, 1. Against All Odds: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078x3n via @bbciplayer
Live Aid, 2. Rockin' All Over The World: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078x3p via @bbciplayer
Still well worth a watch. My FiL organised all of the security for the UK event and was closely involved in the organisation from the start, something I’m very proud of.
Kissed my first girl at a disco on this day.........
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AO!
AO!
A da da da da AO!
AO!
AO!
AO!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAO!
AO!
AO!
DeeeedadeedadeedadeedadeedadeeAO!
DAO!
DAO!
Alright!
Alright!!!
I read that this was actually his usual pre-gig voice warm up routine (minus the "alright" of course), and it went down so well it became an on stage staple from then on.
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Freddie Mercury had real stage presence. I can't think of anyone else who comes close. Some say Jagger, maybe even David Lee Roth when in Van Halen, Robert Plant and maybe some others, but in reality, Freddie could carry a whole show himself and get the crowd going.
I think Bon Scott has got to be high up on that list of front men. Shame he pegged it before AC/DC went stratospheric.
I just watched that - I was about 15 at the time and even though never a massive Queen fan I remember thinking theirs was the best performance of the night.
Re- watching I’m just struck by the sheer talent and nerve he displays in front of a huge crowd, playing the piano and guitar and hitting every note of every song with so much power, and control - and the shot from behind of him facing the audience, standing bolt upright and clearly enjoying himself has to be the definition of confidence, how can you do that?!? - amazing
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Acts have their time. 70s was Daltrey, Plant and Rod Stewart. Mercury rose up the ranks with Night At the Opera and with his love of the stage, the costumes and big show he led the band to their success. Helped with having 3 other equally good players who could write songs and had a shared vision. Roth was good but went off the boil. Jagger still has the magic, the moves and the voice.
The girlfriend (now wife) were driving down to Cornwall for a 2 week camping holiday. It was hot & there were bad traffic jams but listening to Live Aid on Radio 1 kept us in great spirits. Would have dearly loved to be their on the day.
Queen (with Freddie) and Stevie Ray Vaughan are my 2 biggest live act regrets. I had the chance to see both & said "next time" which never happened.
Queen with with Paul Rogers was great, but not the real deal. Watching the Bohemian Rhapsody film recently was quite moving for me.
Andy
Wanted - Damasko DC57
I heard a bit on the radio, but I've never seen most of Live Aid, as for some reason I was driving around a lot that day and then at a party.
I've never liked Queen though, so I suspect I may not enjoy this as much as many of you.
M
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Breitling Cosmonaute 809 - What's not to like?
I was there! tbh I can’t remember most of it. Queen were considered a bit past it in my circle, but absolutely stole the show, it was a great atmosphere to start with and they turned it up to 12. Elton John unexpectedly good and U2 did a good job. The Car’s video was another standout. I’ve never watched it on TV, possibly it’s time I did.
That day was my 18th birthday and I was gutted after having already booked a party venue when Live Aid was announced.
Even worse, my friend and I were offered tickets a few days prior to the event at face value, only to turn them down in favour of (my own) party.
Happily we saw Queen at Wembley the following summer (Its a Kind of Magic Tour supported by Status Quo, The Alarm, and an Aussie band we'd never heard of INXS).
Of all the gigs I've seen, Mercury had the most stage presence, distantly followed by Michael Jackson, Prince, Robbie Williams, Elton John and Phil Collins.
If you haven't already seen the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, its a must watch and the Live Aid set finale is brilliantly recreated.
There is a really good comparison on YouTube of the original and its recreation on Bohemian Rhapsody and it is almost perfect in its accuracy.
https://youtu.be/2cH5htm6T4E
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