X-Nico

11 unusual facts about Live Aid


Artemy Troitsky

In 1986 Troitsky was one of the organizers of the "Account No. 904" rock concert, modelled on Live Aid, to raise funds for the victims of the Chernobyl disaster, the first such concert in the Soviet Union.

Band of the Coldstream Guards

In 1985, during the band's two hundredth anniversary year, the Coldstream Guards kicked off the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium, performing "God Save The Queen".

Blackrock College

Bob Geldof, initiator of the Band Aid and Live Aid movements for famine relief in the 1980s, was a student at the college (however, he was bitterly critical of it and in fact left without any qualifications).

Derg

The famine in the mid-1980s brought the political situation in Ethiopia to the attention of the world, and inspired charitable drives in western nations, notably by Oxfam and the Live Aid concerts of July 1985.

Electric Pandas

In July 1985, Electric Pandas performed two of their hit songs, "Missing Me" and "Let's Gamble", for the Oz for Africa concert (part of the global Live Aid program).

Hal Uplinger

He produced the American side of Live Aid and was responsible for the international distribution of the 16 hour broadcast to 155 countries and raised $127 million for the Band Aid Trust.

Left for Live

It was said that Entwistle wanted to play this song instead of Won't Get Fooled Again at Live Aid with The Who but Pete Townshend disagreed so Entwistle wanted to record his own version instead as a tribute to Moon.

Paul Vallely

Vallely ghost-wrote Geldof's autobiography, Is That It? in 1985 and travelled with Bob Geldof across Africa to decide how to spend the £100m raised by Live Aid and was involved in the organisation of Live 8.

The Tide Is Turning

Though Waters had offered his services for the Live Aid concert in 1985 and was turned down by organizer Bob Geldof, the event still inspired Waters to write this song.

Tibetan independence movement

Inspired by this tour, they began to organise a concert to promote Tibetan independence, in the style of Live Aid.

Warner Music Vision

Warner Music Vision is a music video company formed in 1991 to make music videos from artists and bands on Warner Bros. Records, Maverick Records, Sire Records, Atlantic Records, Mushroom Records and other Warner Music Group artists and to release them on video, such as Madonna: Ray of Light and Live Aid.


Dale Tryon, Baroness Tryon

Launched through a personal television appearance on the ITV1 show This Morning hosted by friends Richard and Judy, Dale persuaded Diana to wear a Kanga dress to the Live Aid concert.

Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station

The site has also played a key role in communications events such as the Muhammad Ali fights, the Olympic Games, the 1969 moon landings and 1985's Live Aid concert.

Mohamed Amin

Amin's most influential moment came when his photos, along with Michael Buerk's reporting of the 1984 Ethiopian famine brought international attention to the crisis and eventually helped start the charity wave that resulted in Live Aid concerts.

Pete Kircher

Highlights of this period included playing at Live Aid and the National Bowl, and meeting HRH The Prince of Wales at a benefit gig for The Prince's Trust at the Birmingham NEC, an event preserved on the 1982 album Live at the N.E.C..

World Peace One

The organization originated from producers and directors of Live Aid, Farm Aid, Live 8 and Live Earth.

WXTB

A tongue-in-cheek portmanteau of "Live Aid" and "Woodstock", each weekend-long Livestock event brought well known national acts such as Soundgarden and Tesla together with lesser-known bands hoping for a chance at success.