Live Aid

I happened to be in England at the time of this concert and was able to buy a ticket. I got there early and took a place on the field. The crowd was different than at an American concert -- mellower and nicer overall. Once U2 came onstage, though, things changed. The crowd started to move toward the stage in massive wave-like surges. It was a little anxiety-provoking, but nobody got hurt that I could see.

The line-up was nothing short of spectacular and I was particularly happy to see The Who, David Bowie, Sting, Queen and Paul McCartney. This was in Paul's anxious phase, after John was killed; Paul only did one song and seemed to be hiding behind the piano. The surprise stand-out act of the day for me was Queen. Freddy Mercury really knew how to work the crowd and he had 50,000 people (or whatever) in the palm of his hand.

Queen's twenty one minute performance, which began at 6:41 PM, has been voted - by more than 60 artists, journalists and music industry executives - the greatest live performance in the history of rock. Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury at times led the crowd in unison refrains, and his sustained note during the a cappella section came to be known as "The Note Heard Round the World". The band's six song set opened with a shortened version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and closed with "We Are the Champions". Mercury and fellow band member Brian May later sang the first song of the three-part Wembley event finale, "Is This the World We Created." At the conclusion of the Wembley performances, Bob Geldof was raised onto the shoulders of the Who's guitarist Pete Townshend and Paul McCartney. Live Aid eventually raised $127 million in famine relief for African nations, and the publicity it generated encouraged Western nations to make available enough surplus grain to end the immediate hunger crisis in Africa. It's also worth noting that the official Live Aid DVD is the only authorised video release in which proceeds go directly to famine relief, the cause that the concert was originally intended to help.

Courtesy of Neville Cawas Bardoliwalla OBE

This was probably the greatest gathering of rock talent since the halcyon days of pop festivals in the 1960's. Just imagine a bill featuring everyone from Run D.M.C. to Led Zeppelin. This was perhaps the greatest show in the history of popular music and all the musicians played pretty much for free and made it one of the most memorable events not only in music history, but in the history of the world. Too bad that spirit didn't carry over into the 90's. Maybe the world would be a better place.

I was there at the Wembley Live Aid show.

Being that I was one of the last few to buy my ticket at the company that takes you on their coaches to concerts. The last four or six I think, you could only come to their office and buy them in person.

As I was and still very much so a big fan of The Who, I wasn't a Mod, and knowing that they had "retired" this would be or could be the only chance to get to see them. I had a friend who was watching it at home recording their section on VHS for me. Then it happened, the satellite feed broke just as they started My Generation, I sometimes wonder if it was because the rest of the World were using to much power at that time that the system couldn't handle it all at once. Shame, and yes I did Pete Townshend fall over.

The weather was stunning, just as Elton John came on it started to drizzle lightly, but not for long, it was needed, the drizzle not Elton. Queen was amazing; three friends & I saw their very last show as a group a year later at Knebworth House, 120,000 people were also there too!

RIP Freddie, what a Showman.

When we were leaving through our side of the Wembley tunnels the atmosphere was electric, we were singing "Feed the World". During the coach ride home we could make out sets from Sabbath and others on the radio.

Its a shame that in twenty years nothing much has changed for the African people, such as Politics and war.

I have three used T Shirts, a little small for me now, that came in sealed bags and two mint Programmes and a mint Live Aid: The Concert book that came out very shortly after the gig. The Wembley Live Aid concert ticket stub is still in good condition in the photo album.

What a fantastic piece of History, 1 out of 72000 people seeing the real deal out of 1.5 to 2 billion watching on their telly's. When people talk about it and you mention that you were there they tend to look at you like you are lying, at first they just don't believe it, you really do, sometime's, have to prove it. It does fill me with pride to know that I was at a very Historical Musical event.

I got this DVD for Christmas and I spent the whole day going through it. Awesome. Just awesome. It's sitting there with all my other DVDs but I already know it will get the most use. All of my favorite bands were there for this historic concert and I'm sure a lot of people can say that. This DVD brings me back to a moment in time where people seemed to be doing the right thing. Banding together to help others. It's re-inspiring me to be a person who does great things. The DVD itself is missing a lot of stuff but apparently everything they had is in there. According to the insert, Mtv dismantled their footage from Philadelphia because Geldof wanted to avoid future legal problems. *shrug* I don't know what that was about, but I wouldn't have listened to him. But even still, this concert is fantastic. All the mullets a girl could ask for and some incredible live performances, especially U2 and Queen. Freddie continues to kick everyone's can to this day. And Bono inciting chicks to squeeze themselves out of the crowd for a hug. Priceless. Seeing my faves like Paul Young, Howard Jones, Adam Ant, Wham! and Duran Duran, in that perfect moment in time. *swoon* Oh, what I wouldn't do to go back there, especially since some there that day are gone now. If you were a fan of music in, oh, let's say the last 40 years, there should be something in there for you, and you should definitely give it a watch, if not a buy.

There are some extras that include INXS from Australia, and other Live Aid performances from around the world, and the original "Feed the World" and "We Are the World" videos. The only thing that I wish they'd have done was an up-to-date documentary with some of the acts talking about the event and what it means almost twenty years later. But that would just be gravy. I could go on forever about this, it's become my most prized possession in just 24 hours.