At 2 ‘o’ clock on Saturday the 2nd of July it all started again. 20 years on from that glorious hit sunny day in 1985, when the generation I was firmly lodged into got off of our arses and changed part of the world.
Because we cared.
Because we found a conscience.
Because we had been moved by the vision and passion of one man – Sir Bob Geldof. The man is simply inspirational. I’m not a fan of the honours system, or peerages in general because very few genuinely deserve to be lifted in status. But by God, Geldof is a true “Sir”. A real and genuine person with real commitment and passion. Surely Saint Bob is more justified?
And by God, back in 1985 did we change it for the better. If there was one reason to see why Live Aid was worthwhile it was the show stopping moment, after the Drive video from The Cars was re-shown and the African girl at the end, some 10 minutes from death walked onto the stage, a beautiful and stunning young woman, now possessing the gift of education having just completed her finals in Agriculture Studies (or something like that).
A single moment to stop the heart for a second and to bring a genuine tear to the eyes of a jaded old cynic like me. It was a truly inspiring sight. That one young woman embodied everything that was right about Live Aid and showed just how direct action from people who care can make a huge difference.
One life saved, one life transformed
One life spent living instead of dying.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
And so to the gig itself. I watched most of it, or it was always on the background – a decent backdrop to a good and important day. One thing was certain though, the old bands, the crusty old dinosaurs of music were the ones who stole the show, ahead of burgeoning new talents like The Killers, Keane and Snow Patrol.
Ratings (out of 20) and comments:
Sir Paul McCartney and U2: Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
16/20 – not bad but Sir Beatle Of Macca appeared to have problems hitting some notes. Perhaps the voice is just old now. The horn playing faux Beatles was a nice touch and it did get the gig off to a solid and happy start.
U2: Beautiful Day, Vertigo, One
17/20 – simply terrific as per usual. They have the knack of getting the crowd on their side
Coldplay: In My Place, Fix You
15/20 – maybe a wee bit tired from Glasto perhaps. Still a good score though and they have all the potential to be a magical live band going forward.
Coldplay and Richard Ashcroft: Bitter Sweet Symphony
16/20 – a great idea from Coldplay this – deny you had goosepimples when the string intro started? Ashcroft rose to the occasion, but to call him the best singer in the world might be pushing it.
Sir Elton John (introduced by Little Britain's Matt Lucas and David Walliams): Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting, The Bitch is Back
4/20 – Fuck Off Sir Baldness of Pinner. You don’t have it anymore. Retire gracefully and play the Gay pride circuit where undoubtedly they will love you forever. Walliams and Lucas were funny though.
Sir Elton John and Pete Doherty: Children of the Revolution
0/20 – The words “bunch of fucking arse” may well have been coined specifically for crap like this. Sir Wigness introduced the twat Doherty to pay homage to Marc Bolan. Sir Wigness, you have besmirched the memory of a great pop star with your partronage of this shite and damaged a great song. Doherty – you’re an insult to everyone and not fit to lick the dog shit from Bolan’s boots if he were still with us. Take your overdose, die and do us all a favour you fucking moron.
Dido: White Flag, Thank You, Seven Seconds
16/20 - Surprisingly good, and the guest appearance of the peerless Youssou N’Dour made it better. Dido actually seemed to lift under his presence and their joint rendition of 7 Seconds was pure musical magic.
Stereophonics: Dakota, Local Boy In The Photograph, Bartender And The Thief, Superman
13/20 – not bad, but a little underwhelming and a bit too much emphasis on the “croaky” voice of the singer
REM (introduced by Ricky Gervais): Imitation of Life, Everybody Hurts, Man on the Moon
14/20 – Mad Michael and his Blue Stripe injected a bit of energy into proceedings – not sure about the elongated scream – but Everybody Hurts is their anthem (imho) and they did pull it off nicely.
Ms Dynamite: Dy-na-mi-tee, Judgement Day, Redemption Song
8/20 – I’m afraid she’s not really my bag so I was unlikely to be won over. I listened to the first song and tuned out for the rest. The call for everyone to wave their arms was a tad patronising as well.
Keane: Bed Shaped, Somewhere Only We Know
15/20 – they admitted to being as nervous as a bag of bollocks beforehand, but they did perform quite nicely. Never likely to be “stadium” gig material because the material is a little lightweight, but pleasant enough and who knows what will happen to their stuff going forward.
Travis: Sing, Turn, Why Does It Always Rain On Me?
15/20 – polished and professional with an unscripted version of Staying Alive to amuse the crowd.
Travis with Bob Geldof: I Don't Like Mondays
9/20 – You’re a good bloke Bob, but really, forget the singing career. Salvaged only by the fact that the song still stands up after 20 odd years as a bloody good tune.
Annie Lennox (introduced by Brad Pitt): Why, Little Bird, Sweet Dreams
2/20 – I cannot fucking stand the woman as a singer, too much “lalalala – wooh wooh wooooh” although oddly enough she is a very pleasant person.
UB40: Medley - Food For Thought, Who You Fighting For, Reasons, Red Red Wine, Can't Help Falling In Love
16/20 – Brilliant to hear Food for Thought and would have been topped if they had done King. Memories came flooding back of some ….ahem…….sofa moments with ex girlfriends. UB40 was always good backing music for when undie removal was the target mission.
Snoop Dogg: Medley - Ups And
10/20 – Don’t like his stuff but he did have energy. Like the “mother loving” moments as well. Must have given the Beeb a few artery busting moments.
Razorlight: Somewhere Else, Golden Touch, Vice
10/20 – Was it just me or was this just insipid, weak, lily-livered bollocks. I sort of like some of their stuff but talk about rabbits innheadlights. You, that must be it, they completely bottled it.
Madonna: Like a Prayer, Music, Ray of Light
19/20 – I’ve liked a bit of her stuff from time to time but never really thought of her as a “live” singer. Well, she was fucking brilliant here and made Sir Slaphead of
Snow Patrol: Chocolate, Run
14/20 – Great songs, great album, bottled it. And why was the lead singer stuck with a schoolboy grin on his face? Had he just let off a stinkbomb or something.
The Killers: All These Things That I've Done
15/20 – A late entry to the running order, thus the reason for just one song. Of the “new” bands they just edged it
Joss Stone: Super Duper Love, I Had A Dream, Some Kind of Wonderful
10/20 – nah, just too small a voice and presence for a gig of this scale. Nice looking bird though.
Scissor Sisters: Laura, Take Your Mama, Everybody Wants The Same Thing
15/20 – very impressive but I knew they would be as their Brits performance was also quite staggeringly good. They would have scored higher but for their insistence on plugging a new (albeit good) song.
Velvet Revolver: Do It For The Kids
10/20 – my jury is still put on these, both from what I’ve heard and this performance. One thing is certain, no one slept through their set.
Sting: Every Breath You Take, Message in a Bottle, Desert Rose
14/20 – not bad, but hardly the most inspiring of people. I can’t put my finger on what, but I just felt something was missing from this performance.
Mariah Carey: Vision of Love, Make It Happen, We Belong Together
0/10 – How the fuck was this allowed to happen? Even had her “african” children on stage to show just how caring she is. Stupid lightweight mental bitch. I’ve heard rumours about her behaviour before and after which, if true, sum up everything I thought about this pampered, prissy, dim fuckwit.
Robbie Williams: Let Me Entertain You, Feel, Angels
14/20 – Now, from the crowd perspective I expect this was excellent. But from watching at home it missed because he insisted on getting the crowd to sing INSTEAD of him. This meant that TV viewers like me just heard what sounded like a few drunken people singing after leaving a pub. There are never any microphones in the crowd so you never really know it sounds. George Michael got away with at the Freddie mercury tribute gig, as did the mercurial Mr ….ahem mercury at the original Live Aid. But here it just meant gaps in the songs. A little tip Robbie, me old mucker…….you are the entertainer, so fucking entertain. You sing, not me. I might sing along with you but I resent singing along without you. It’s what you do so fucking do it next time. As someone on 5Live said – it may as well have been Norman Wisdom with a microphone.
The Who (introduced by Peter Kay): Who Are You? Won't Get Fooled Again
19/20 – Now I know the later bands had the advantage of a light show in the darkness of twilight/night time, but frankly they were superb. A blistering version of a song I never rated in Who Are You got the audience there and at home rocking away. To follow that with the wonderful Won’t Get Fooled Again then finished the job completely. Daltrey’s voice may not have it’s youthful power but the yell near the end showed he can still hit a note. Marvellous and wonderful. Shame the director missed some of Townshends trademark windmill guitar playing and Daltrey’s trademark microphone hurling. Oh yeah, Peter kay was dead funny as well, even managing to get the crowd singing
Pink Floyd: Breathe/Run, Money, Wish You Were Here, Comfortably Numb)
20/20 - I do have some bias here as these are my favourite ever band. Ever. I was also worried in case they did a Led Zeppelin at the original Live Aid, which was as abysmal as anything ever seen before. I was worried how things would go as the apparent acrimony between Waters and Gilmour would need to be capped to avoid any embarrassment. I drew a sharp breath as the darkness on the stage was accompanied by the heartbeat signature from Dark Side of The Moon. I sensed the anticipation in the crowd. Within 30 seconds I, and the Clan, were all grinning madly as it became obvious that the masters were back in their workshop. Supreme musicianship, superb timing, a fantastic choice of songs, genuine warmth. Waters smiling as he realised what a good feeling it was to be back on a UK stage with his old partners in crime, ditto Gilmour, Mason and Wright. Dick Parry’s sax solo on Money was simply magical, Gilmours guitar was soaring and magnificent in every way. Waters bass guided each song through relentlessly and Mason’s drumming show no signs of being slowed or dimmed though age. The climax of comfortably numb saw a synchronised air guitar solo from me and the boys, along with a good proportion of the crowd. Gilmours strings being pushed to the limits of his Fender Stratocaster to reach the rising notes. A virtuoso performance from a sorely missed band that had the crowd enraptured from all age groups. This is what live music is all about. Surely now a Farewell Tour must be a possibility?
Sir Paul McCartney joined on stage by George Michael
14/20 – a flat way to finish, but not really Sir Scouse of Wings fault. He must have been shitting a brick at the thought of having to follow The Who and Pink Floyd, even more so having seen and heard their blistering performances. Still a good way of winding down and he did a reasonable job.
Overall then a great day and one that I would like to see a bit more frequently although
Later, FloydJack
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