I wasn't there
13 July 1985.
A prominent day in music
history. Two concerts, one in London and
one in Philadelphia, with a worldwide audience of billions, the brainchild of
Bob Geldolf and taking place to help the countless people struck by famine in
Africa.
The previous Christmas saw Band
Aid reach number one with the song “Feed the World” and these concerts were the
follow up to that.
I sat and watched the whole thing
from start to finish, as a huge music fan and someone obviously concerned with
the terrifying and difficult to fully grasp humanitarian issues highlighted.
There was one band among the many
who took part either side of the Atlantic that really stood out though. I already loved Queen and was looking forward
to their performance. But not even I
could have expected what they actually delivered on the Wembley Stadium
stage. It’s gone down as one of (if not
the) best live performances ever. Twenty
minutes or thereabouts of sheer magic, showcasing their biggest crowd-pleasing
songs.
They had a huge advantage over
many of the acts performing though. They
had recently made two tours of South America, regularly playing to stadium
crowds of well over 150,000. Wembley
then must have seemed like a cosy nightclub in comparison.
Anyway, I defy anyone who saw
Live Aid, whether they liked Queen or not, not to be blown away by their set.
I just wish I could have been
there to see it in person.
Must have been AWESOME to be there! Some of my best memories are from concerts!
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