That image of Freddie Mercury still lingers. In a white chest-hugging vest, the frontman of rock band Queen had energetically pranced around London’s Wembley Stadium stage, belting out the hits Radio Ga-Ga, We Will Rock You, Bohemian Rhapsody and We Are The Champions. Even today, his appearance at the Live Aid concert in 1985 is considered one of the most memorable displays in popular music history. It even became the focal point of the 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody starring Rami Malek. 

Queen was only one of the acts to make waves at the Live Aid concerts held in London and Philadelphia, US, exactly four decades ago today. From U2, the Who and Elton John in the UK to Mick Jagger, Madonna and the Beach Boys in the US, the who’s who of the music world was present. Phil Collins even took a Concorde to travel from London, so that he could play at both venues, though his second gig drew some flak. And who can forget the Wembley appearance of Sting singing “I want My MTV” as a guest with Dire Straits on ‘Money For Nothing’?

Clearly, after the 1969 mega-event Woodstock in Bethel, New York, this was one of those shows that brought together such a large number of star musicians. What made Live Aid special was its cause. The brainchild of musicians Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, it was aimed at raising funds for victims of the 1983-85 famine in Ethiopia. And though there had been benefit shows like Ravi Shankar’s Concert For Bangladesh in 1971 and the Music for Unicef Concert in 1979, the scale of Live Aid was much larger.