.: ACCESS all areas ONLINE

.: OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2004

Bono at Live Aid, Finale at Live Aid and Freddy Mercury at Live Aid are all © Neal Preston/CORBIS/MAGMA. Sting photo by Jorgensen/Young/Rex Features

IT WAS THE ULTIMATE CHARITY ROCK CONCERT... AND OUR REPORTER WAS THERE. KEITH SHARP REMEMBERS LIVE AID ON THE EVE OF ITS DVD RELEASE.

Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof was bummed. 'Dave', his band's latest single, had stiffed, and as 1984 drew to a close, prospects for their latest album, In The Long Grass , looked bleak. But a BBC1-TV documentary on Ethiopia's severe drought would put Geldof's concerns in perspective as he and his wife, TV celebrity Paula Yates, looked on in horror at an entire nation starving to death, with no apparent aid or outside concern.

Reporter Michael Buerk's report would galvanize Geldof into action. Not only did he organize an all-star benefit single, Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?', but he would also set in motion events that would culminate in the single biggest global music event ever organized. Live Aid would be staged Saturday July 13, 1985, in London and Philadelphia, with television uplinks to 85% of the planet.

Geldof swore Live Aid would be a one-off, with no soundtrack or video spinoffs. But nineteen years after the release of Band Aid's single, Warner Music is set to release a mammoth four-DVD set featuring highlights from the 16-hour concert marathon. Extras include both 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' and USA For Africa's 'We Are The World' videos, Buerk's original documentary, and other never-before-seen footage.

As publisher of Music Express , the forerunner to ACCESS , I had been approached to run a free advertisement in our Christmas 1984 issue to promote the benefit single and accompanying video; a who's-who of the British music scene that included U2's Bono, Wham's George Michael, Culture Club's Boy George, Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley, Paul Young, Geldof and his co-writer, Ultravox's Midge Ure. 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' dominated radio that Christmas.

But when Geldof flew to Ethiopia and the Sudan on Christmas Eve, he realized that the monies being generated were inadequate. Yes, the Americans had responded with 'We Are The World', written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie, and even Canada got involved with the Bryan Adams-David Foster composition 'Tears Are Not Enough'. But something bigger was needed.

"Remind me, next time Bob has an idea, I should go on holiday," said Live Aid's chief promoter, Harvey Goldsmith, in response to Geldof's suggestion to link two concerts by global satellite. Geldof's fierce Irish determination would overcome seemingly impossible hurdles, and by the time the July 13th concert was announced, he and Goldsmith had secured an impressive line-up of British talent to play Wembley Stadium. San Francisco concert impresario Bill Graham had been less successful booking Philadelphia's JFK Stadium. Inflated egos meant there would be no Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Prince or Stevie Wonder, but he did get a reunited Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan (with Rolling Stones Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood accompanying), Mick Jagger and Tina Turner, Duran Duran and a young Madonna.

Music Express would cover both concerts. I assigned myself to London while staff writer Lenny Stoute would shuffle off to Philadelphia. A day before the big event, I picked up my concert ticket and media enclosure at the promoter's London office. The cost was a ridiculously cheap £20 plus £5 VAT.

One can only imagine the hassles Geldof was going through. US bands which hadn't been scheduled in the three-hour ABC prime time slot were threatening to pull out, and the telethon phone systems were slow coming together.
(In Canada, MuchMusic's John Martin saved the day by scrambling together a last-minute phone system at Toronto's Royal York hotel.)

Countries around the world had organized their own Live Aid shows to slot in with the major broadcast; Russia, Australia, Germany and Holland among them. Canada was content with Bryan Adams' token appearance in Philadelphia.

English summers are typically wet, but the morning of July 13th was clear and sunny as I headed north on the Jubilee Line tube towards Wembley Stadium's twin towers. At 11 a.m. the train was packed with a buoyant crowd, full of anticipation which only increased as we spilled out of the Underground and wended our way down Wembley Way to the shrine, better known for hosting England's national soccer team than benefit rock concerts.

A crowd 80,000 strong crammed into the stadium. The huge stage boasted twin Live Aid logos (a map of Africa with a guitar head protruding from the top). I was seated in the grandstand enclosure, directly above the royal box, which would soon be occupied by Prince Charles and Lady Diana.

After the pageantry of the Coldstream Guards, Charles and Lady Di's introduction and the national anthem, Live Aid kicked off at 12:01 p.m. A reformed Status Quo, a twelve-bar blues rock band that never caught on in the States, sparked an instant party atmosphere with their cover of John Fogerty's 'Rockin' All Over The World'.

Each band was limited to a twelve-minute set. The intricate revolving stage operated with a series of traffic lights: green (get ready to finish), yellow (wind it up) and red (you're off!). As one band played, another was dismantling and a third was setting up. Wembley would run just two minutes overtime.

As Paul Weller's Style Council took the stage, Geldof was in the TV studios encouraging pledges and monitoring the 22 other telethons going on around the world. As one announcer started to read the mailing address, Geldof jumped in. "F**k the address. Who's going to write in with their money? Get them to hit the phones." Some objected to his language but the phones started ringing.

Geldof had a pinched back nerve but refused to take a needle, running instead on sheer adrenaline. He led the Rats on stage, launching into 'I Don't Like Mondays', their biggest hit. He had come to hate that song, but the lyrics would take on a new meaning when he delivered the line "And the lesson today is how to die." In the royal box, Prince Charles turned to Geldof's wife Paula and whispered, "That's brilliant, quite brilliant." At set's end, the crowd saluted Geldof with an emotional "For he's a jolly good fellow."

Sitting in the press box, I was positioned next to an obviously popular band but had no idea who they were. That problem was solved when an autograph hound clambered past me to get their signatures. Looking at his book, I saw the names of Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp and Tony Hadley.

Behind us was a private VIP bar where you could chat informally with the likes of Nick Kershaw, Paul Young and Godley & Creme, who had just released their breakthrough 'Cry' video. Most of the celebrities were hiding at an artists-only Hard Rock Cafe behind the stage, but big names like Bowie and Bono would occasionally show their faces in the lounge to catch the show from the punter's perspective.

The first big names hit the stage mid-afternoon, with Phil Collins and Sting dueting on a medley of their hits. Collins would then be whisked away by helicopter to a waiting Concorde which would zip him across the Atlantic, touching down in Philadelphia to continue performing and drum for a revamped Led Zeppelin. The sleek dart of an aircraft circled over Wembley to mass cheers before heading out over the Atlantic.

Soul singer Paul Young was interrupted mid-song by Geldof, who walked on stage, grabbed the mike and said, "Will you please welcome America to Live Aid." With that, actor Jack Nicholson appeared on screen to introduce Bryan Adams. He then introduced U2, and the show set up a revolving system of dual performances between London and Philadelphia. U2 were fabulous, Bono pulling a lucky girl out of the audience to dance with during 'Bad'.

Okay, a look at the program line-up: U2, Dire Straits, Queen, David Bowie, The Who, Elton John, George Michael, Paul McCartney. Pretty amazing, eh? Queen was awesome, singer Freddie Mercury inspiring mass crowd participation on 'Radio Ga Ga' and 'We Will Rock You'.

The Who didn't fare so well. Their reunion sessions had been marred by internal squabbling over Keith Moon's replacement, Kenney Jones, and there were doubts they'd even show up. They did, but were flat and lacking their usual charisma.

Two videos shown before their performance didn't help. The first was David Bowie and Mick Jagger's cover of Martha & The Vandellas' 'Dancing In The Street'. Then Bowie himself appeared to introduce the second, a CBC documentary of an Ethiopian boy weakened by hunger, trying to stand up on his matchstick legs. Set to The Cars' hit 'Drive', the footage brought home the importance of the cause. At its conclusion, Bowie was in tears and there wasn't a dry eye in the crowd. The Who never stood a chance.

Taking a booze break after Elton John's duet with George Michael, I spotted The Who's John Entwistle at the bar. A big Who fan, I offered to buy him a drink. "And one for your friend," noticing he was with another bloke, actor John Hurt. Entwistle chatted amicably about The Who's performance and admitted that "compared to Queen and U2 we were total crap."

A brief rainstorm delayed Paul McCartney's finale, and during the interruption, one of the stagehands accidentally unplugged his mike. So when McCartney launched into 'Let It Be', nothing was heard. Sensing the problem, Bowie, The Who's Pete Townshend and Alison Moyet ran on stage to help out; the crowd also added their collective vocal talents before the errant mike was eventually turned on.

The big finale saw everyone on stage sing 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' With no time to rehearse, Geldof told the crowd, "This may be a bit of a cock-up. But if you are going to cock up, you might as well cock it up in front of the world."

Everyone in the building sang, cried and smiled. Geldof was hoisted on to the shoulders of Townshend and McCartney, and a memorable day ended with a jubilant crowd exiting the stadium, still singing Geldof's anthem. The time was 9:56 p.m.

Back in London, I headed out to a pub to catch the Philadelphia segment on TV. By comparison, the Americans had lost the plot. This was all about egos and attitude. The big names were there, but they weren't very good and little was mentioned about Ethiopia or raising funds. Mick Jagger and Tina Turner were hot but Led Zeppelin was a shambles and Dylan's appearance with Richards and Wood was a mess. Even the encore of 'We Are The World' came across as self-serving, with Lionel Ritchie - who did nothing during the concert - grabbing centre stage for the finale.

Still, Bob Geldof became Sir Bob, over $70 million was raised for famine relief, and Geldof's own people ensured that help went straight to the needy via Band Aid's own fleet of ships and trucks. For one moment, on one magical day, rock music did make a difference.

LIVE AID

Release date: November 2

Number of discs: 4

Includes:

DISC ONE:

· Michael Buerk's report from Korem in Ethiopia

· Band Aid 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' video and USA For Africa's 'We Are the World' video

· Performances by Status Quo, Style Council, Boomtown Rats, Adam Ant, Ultravox, Spandau Ballet, Elvis Costello, Nik Kershaw, Sade, Sting, Phil Collins, Bryan Ferry, Paul Young, Bryan Adam, U2

DISC TWO

· Performances by The Beach Boys, Dire Straits, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Queen, Simple Minds, David Bowie, Joan Baez,
The Pretenders, The Who, Kenny Loggins, Elton John

DISC THREE

· Performances by Madonna, Freddie Mercury & Brian May, Paul McCartney, Band Aid Finale UK ('Do They Know It's Christmas?'), Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Black Sabbath, REO Speedwagon, Crosby Stills & Nash, Judas Priest, The Cars, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Duran Duran, Patti Labelle

DISC FOUR

· Performances by Hall & Oates, Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, USA For Africa Finale US ('We Are The World')

· Extras: Performances by INXS, B.B. King, Ashford & Simpson + Teddy Pendergrass, Cliff Richard

· Documentary: 'Food & Trucks & Rock 'n' Roll'

FACTS AND EPHEMERA

· 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' raised US$25 million for famine relief

· The song was recorded at SARM Studio, Notting Hill, London

· It would go on to sell three million copies in the UK alone and topped the British charts for five straight weeks. It topped out at #13 in the American charts

· 'We Are The World' was written in two hours after three days of preparation

· 75 hours of making-of footage were edited down to make the resulting 'We Are The World' video

· The American song topped the US charts for four consecutive weeks. It spent two weeks on top of the British charts

· Live Aid was watched by an estimated 1 1/ 2 to 2 billion people

· Bob Geldof was knighted on June 14, 1986. The press dubs him "Saint Bob"

· The Band Aid Trust raised US$144,124,694. Two percent went to administration, 49% to relief projects, and the rest was designated for development

Some quotes in this story are attributed to Bob Geldof's autobiography Is That It? (Viking Books)

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