Live Aid 30 years ago today.

[Mad Wombat]

Watched some of the DVD of this today with the wife. Hard to believe it has been 30 years. I was 17. Yikes.

I have to say that Queen and Freddie stole it. The man could perform. Amazing voice, amazing energy, and he could work the crowd like a master.

 

[chrisjw5]

I've been surfing YouTube LA videos all day. Queen were indeed great, but U2's 12 minute "Bad" was transcendent.

It was also cool to revisit some other great performances - Bowie comes to mind immediately. Dire Straits with Sting as well.

 

[monty]

I watched the box set a while ago. Some great stuff but man did a lot of it age badly.

 

[chrisjw5]

I watched the box set a while ago. Some great stuff but man did a lot of it age badly.

The afternoon performances seem to hold up better, generally. The "big" pieces at night (Mick and Tina, for example) were so kitschy.

 

[B Money]

I've been surfing YouTube LA videos all day. Queen were indeed great, but U2's 12 minute "Bad" was transcendent.

It was also cool to revisit some other great performances - Bowie comes to mind immediately. Dire Straits with Sting as well.

That Bowie set was killer. So nice to see a killer band onstage with a legit legendary singer, just laying it out there...no big production, pyro, video screens, or light show. That folks, is real talent.

 

[Mr. Dad]

I've been surfing YouTube LA videos all day. Queen were indeed great, but U2's 12 minute "Bad" was transcendent.

It was also cool to revisit some other great performances - Bowie comes to mind immediately. Dire Straits with Sting as well.

I'm glad Bono stopped wearing wigs.

 

[chrisjw5]

That Bowie set was killer. So nice to see a killer band onstage with a legit legendary singer, just laying it out there...no big production, pyro, video screens, or light show. That folks, is real talent.

Has Bowie ever been subpar live? David is, to me, a consistently underrated performer - maybe because he's chosen to stay out the limelight for most of the last 15 years and not whore himself at every opportunity.

 

[Mad Wombat]

I've been surfing YouTube LA videos all day. Queen were indeed great, but U2's 12 minute "Bad" was transcendent.

I thought it was great too. Funny thing is, Bono winged that crowd thing on his own. At one point the rest of the band couldn't even see him -didn't know what he was doing, and just kept stalling. Apparently they were all pissed at him afterward.

 

[Porrig]

I was on a pubcrawl in Dublin that day. Seriously.

 

[drewl]

Good old JFK stadium.
The wife was there also but we didn't know each other yet.

 

[A-Bone]

I thought it was great too. Funny thing is, Bono winged that crowd thing on his own. At one point the rest of the band couldn't even see him -didn't know what he was doing, and just kept stalling. Apparently they were all pissed at him afterward.

Yes, Bono even went so far as to suggest that things were so acrimonious backstage that he thought the band might break up right then. His excursion also shortened their set by at least one entire song (a little known tune called "Pride (In the Name of Love)". Was it worth it? No doubt. It stands as one of the transcendent moments of the day.

Plus, Bono made a fan for life in Kal Khalique, the girl he pulled on stage who was there to see Wham!.

 

[greeny]

Yes, Bono even went so far as to suggest that things were so acrimonious backstage that he thought the band might break up right then. His excursion also shortened their set by at least one entire song (a little known tune called "Pride (In the Name of Love)". Was it worth it? No doubt. It stands as one of the transcendent moments of the day.

Plus, Bono made a fan for life in Kal Khalique, the girl he pulled on stage who was there to see Wham!.

If you were a U2 fan then this was a great moment, but for the casual fan, not so much, I'm not surprised the rest of the band were mad, they had worked out a plan for an 18 minute set and Bono spends 10 minutes off the map and they have to drop a key song.

 

[A-Bone]

If you were a U2 fan then this was a great moment, but for the casual fan, not so much

I don't know about that in as much as so many sources over the years have pointed to this as not only one of the top highlights of the entire day, but also the moment that thrust U2 into the pantheon of rockstars.

 

[chrisjw5]

I read an article where the band was pissed insofar as they thought their career was over. Edge, Adam and Larry didn't know what was going on and thought Bono had just blown their chance at having a long career.

and I can see their point, having to riff on stage for almost 5 of the most important minutes of your career...

It was only after, when they saw the footage, that they realized how important it was.

 

[ShadowCanAm]

Live Aid was a big thing for me. I was 17 and had just started playing guitar the two weeks or so leading up to it. It was the first time I watched a concert on TV and thought, " I'm a guitar player just like these people...they're better , but I can play the thing. " It was also the first time that I watched something where I could tell the difference between a Strat, Tele , Les Paul etc...

 

[jkg]

An amazing event. I was 14 and remember watching it as a young aspiring guitarist. Some incredible musicians in their 80s prime.

 

[m1911]

Sooooo 80's....
But I liked these two performances......

Sade had on a cute (backless) top....

Mark Knopfler's wrist & head bands.....wow.....but the boy sure can play.....

 

[chrisjw5]

These were pretty great too



and I might get flamed for this, but I've come to really appreciate how good some of those 80's bands are, even when you strip away the studio sheen. Duran Duran for example:

 

[Sam Sherry]

Sting & Branford Marsalis, alone before the world . . .

 

[Brooks]

my 2 fave bands sounded rough;