July 13th, 1985, Live Aid, a global concert, one of a kind. There was never one before, and there hasn’t been one like it since. The list of artists, a who’s who of Rock and Pop, and truly some amazing standout moments. The event went on all day long and people were glued to their television sets watching it. Definitely some of the standout moments, Queen. Freddie Mercury on stage at Wembley Stadium. You’ve probably seen the recreation of this in the movie “Bohemian Rhapsody.” But there was something about seeing the actual thing happen live before your eyes as Freddie on stage at Wembley Stadium clapping his hands and having the entire stadium clap along with him, as honestly, they were doing across the world.
U2 had a big day, that day. They were big before this show, but they were nowhere near the superstar status that they have today. And their performance at Live Aid certainly brought more attention to them.
And of course there was Zeppelin. They had Phil Collins who played on the drums with them that day. Phil, who had played both in London and in Philadelphia. And this is the first time in five years that the band is performing. It was July of 1980 when John Bonham had played the last show he did with them. So this was their first show in five years. And that really had so much to do with what Live Aid was about. So many performances that you would never see before.
Bob Dylan of course on stage, there was Tom Petty, there was George Thorogood, there was David Bowie. Playing along with David Bowie, there was Thomas Dolby. I could go on and on and list all the performers, but if you were the earth on that day, I’m sure you remember it.
