POO: Worst moment in Live Aid

Just now I had to check on something in the stacks and found, to my delight, the official Live Aid book, with plenty of photos and horribleness. Geldof's introduction is amazing in its...well, to give you a sample:

"Remember the day you wanted to help.

Remember the dying who were allowed to live.

Remember on the day you die, there is someone alive in Africa 'cos one day you watched a pop concert."

Yeah I can see how...WHAT?

Geldof is such a douchebag

But I'll say there's a shot of Bryan Ferry in here that's one of the best ever photographs I've seen of the man.

Remember the dying who were allowed to live.

"allowed" to live makes him sounds like the roman emperor in gladiator giving someone the thumbs up

Hahah, I love the credit in the back:

"This book was written, designed, typeset and made ready for printing in 13 days. Printing and binding 100,000 copies took less than a week."

But I'll say there's a shot of Bryan Ferry in here that's one of the best ever photographs I've seen of the man

PLEASE TO POST.

(he wore these white dungarees and a navy blue sportscoat that showed up Howard Jones and the Spands something awful)

Oh believe me there's plenty to scan and post here. I'll do more of that after finals are over next week and it's calmer all around but let's see what I can do right now...

Okay, here ya go:

http://a87.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/15/l_82563afda832e50d05294f9cc37996b6.jpg

such perfect teeth

And something else. With appropriate caption:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1201/536313156_5dcbe6c200.jpg

...Remember on the day you die, there is someone alive in Africa 'cos one day you watched a pop concert."

wow!...OH MY WORD.

I just watched the DVD for the first time since the original Live Aid.

Moments of terror:

1. Daltrey can't remember the words in one verse of "Won't Get Fooled Again," skips verse entirely, Townshend glares at him.

2. Bono's hair. xpost. Especially the way it clung to his neck all sweaty-like. Also Bono's boots and shiny black leather pants.

3. The entire first several hours of poorly dressed and totally forgettable British hair-wave bands.

4. Madonna's set. Sang poorly. Seemed embarrassed.

5. Tom Petty miming "What? What?" during an otherwise OK version of American Girl.

6. Confused crowd response to Run-DMC.

7. Shocking lack of emphasis of David Ruffin and Eddie Kendricks as backup singers for Mick/Tina (with Hall & Oates no less!).

8. Frighteningly horrible teeth: David Bowie, Bryan Ferry, Tom Petty, Neil Young.

9. Who picked all the waistcoats? Did nobody realize it was going to be hot in July? Midge Ure looks like he's about to step into The Matrix.

10. Mike Love's outfit -- yellow Hawaiian shirt, purple pants and flat black old-man's cap. Otherwise, the Beach Boys were actually good.

11. DVD reissue skips about 85 songs, including all of Led Zeppelin.

12. Mark Knopfler's headband.

More Ferry to offset the worsts.

http://img9.imagepile.net/img9/384liveaid4.jpg

Did anyone else do themselves proud? Honestly, all I can remember are the traumatic bits.

i remember zeppelin being good, didn't they do wearing and tearing?

Bowie was excellent! His version of "Heroes" has not been surpassed.

The Pretenders, Paul Young, and Hall & Oates were very solid (Daryl Hall, looking coked to the gills, also doubled as Mick Jagger's keyboardist).

IIRC Bowie's backup group included Thomas Dolby and Matthew (Soft Boys) Seligman. Definitely the latter, I may be imagining the former.

Did Paul Young have Pino Palladino in tow?

"On keyboard and synthesizers, Mr. Thomas DOLBY!" Bowie shouted.

keyboard AND synthesizers

This WAS the eighties.

Yeah Bowie was awesome, Queen were fantastic too and theyre about the only two acts I recall being any good at all.

Beach Boys?!? I don't remember that at all - was Brian there?

Ferry also had Gilmour playing guitar for him:

http://liveaid.free.fr/rewind/bbc/images/033bryanferry/05.jpg

Yes, Brian was there and in decent voice. Good Vibrations was a highlight of the DVD -- the Boyz didn't interact much but they pulled it off, harmonies and everything. Whenever Love threatened to go off on a preening tangent, Carl (in kempt beard and gray suit) reined him in.

Bowie and Queen were especially great. But why did Freddie cut off "Bohemian Rhapsody" after the first piano bit? What a tease.

Pete Townshend had the only haircut of the entire festival that still holds up today. I hope Bono preserved his for the R&R Hall of Fame.

All I remember is Simon Le Bon way flubbing a high note in that James Bond song, and the control-room guy quickly cutting to a shot of the bass player wincing. I rewound that part a few times.

One other thing, is this the only documented evidence of Aimee Mann and Madonna hugging in public (twice)? That seems footnotish.

Hahah I rember Le Bon fucking that high note in "View to a Kill". He does that a LOT live.

I adore Simon's attempt to play an acoustic guitar during "Save a Prayer."

You all forgot Elvis Costello doing the worst busker in the world impersonation with a cover of 'All you need is love'

That was pretty good, actually: he couldn't hide his contempt.

It all seems so weird watching it now, it seemed genuine and heartfelt to me as a 15 year old but god, now, it reeks of 80s overblown excess and pomposity.

Ultravox also do a pretty good rendition of "Vienna," with Midge wearing a pretty rad stiff-collared striped oxford and taking a great synth solo.

Ultravox @ Live Aid were fairly amazing overall. Their performance there was what got me into all the New Romantic stuff in the first place. Plus *embarrasing admission* it made me run out to the Generra store at the local mall and plop down nearly $200 on a black trench (busboy at a North Jersey m4fi4 hang back then meant no-joke tips.)

Oh, yeah: Worst Moment: The embarrasing Zep reunion. Made me stop listening to them for years after that debacle.

Best: Judas Priest/Queen/Kenny Loggins & Sheena Easton presenting Prince's awesome "4 The Tears In U're(sic) Eyes" video in full 80's mullet glory.

Just 'cos Bono looked like a complete tit still doesn't negate the fact that U2's "Bad" happened to be awesome.

Okay, that wasn't a worst moment, but still, all this hatin'...

1. Daltrey can't remember the words in one verse of "Won't Get Fooled Again," skips verse entirely, Townshend glares at him.

i'd put that (and the who's entire set) as one of the best live aid moments. they were called on to be TRIUMPHANT SELF-SERIOUS ARENA-ROCK GODS and instead came on as the who, flaws and glorious awkwardness intact (townshend attempting a kick and falling over; daltrey fucking up the time in "my generation" the long delay because entwistle's bass wasn't tuned).

and all this talk of queen's set being some kind of signpost of untouchableness has me confused, and a little worried. is it just me, or did they just do the same half-assed empty-gesture-filled schtick they always did? it's like what someone said about freddie hubbard: it's the rolls-royce aesthetic, but without the rolls-royce.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdcDswc97Bo

queen a few days before rehearsing, talking (and smoking) on uk breakfast television.

I went out and rented this today, it's something I've been meaning to do for quite awhile. I do remember watching it on TV as it happened (I was 14) but for some reason I really don't remember any of the performances except for U2, who I was absolutely insane about back then.

So far I just gotta say I feel like apologizing for all those mullets. I don't think back then it would have even occurred to me how many folks had the same hairstyle. And I don't remember a point when people suddenly decided that was the "in" hairstyle, either. Maybe hairdressers saw it that way, but other than that...I just don't get it.

It pisses me off that Sade has a whopping one song on this freaking thing. Christ almighty god that woman is gorgeous.

Also I agree, Ultravox seemed to do an uncommonly good job.

Okay, Paul Young is getting on my nerves, now. Why were so many people into him??

DAEREST ILM:

laugh now but you are all going to hell

love peace & debt relief,

BONO

He can say that, he's already in it:

http://idolator.com/assets/resources/2007/06/AP070606016627.jpg

Yeah I'm watching U2 now, and I gotta say I don't think Bono's hair was nearly as bad as I remembered. I may be confusing this performance with another one, though.

Can't believe how young Adam looks.

Bono's boots kindof make him look effeminate at times, though. Odd.

Paul Young's perf of "Come Back and Stay" was pretty good, and Alison Moyet does her peeved-big-voice thing on that Marvin Gaye song.

Yeah, it was alright, but the third song he did was atrocious. I don't even want to talk about it.

I love seeing how many of these acts were also there in 1992 for the Freddie Mercury tribute.

had Bowie worn that lime-green suit at Live Aid he'd have been a sensation.

What I enjoyed from watching DVD #1 was how it kindof sorted out who was currently reaching their peak artistically in 1985, and who was well past their sell-by date and on the way out. Who the hell cared about Spandau Ballet by then? I mean really! Sade had just put out her first album, I didn't realize before just how late that album came out. She was a new kid on the block then! Unbelievable. But U2 were the only band that really mattered, evidenced by my deep love for them then and all the flags flown in their honour down the front. Bono's a pretentious twat, I know, but I thought his effort to connect with his audience during Bad were downright extraordinary. Shame on the others who wouldn't have dared.

Yeah, Simple Minds just jumped the shark on their own. They didn't need anyone's help.

IIRC Bruce Springsteen had just gotten married and was on his honeymoon, and Michael Jackson was on tour with the Jacksons.

ALL of this stuff is now on you tube. so many lols.

Bryan Ferry = still the best dressed and moussed.

I vaguely remember Bryan Adams being pretty awful

I was thinking about the artists who weren't featured and why. Michael Jackson, Prince, hell, even Boy George. Anyone know why they weren't there?

In 1985, Michael Jackson was probably sitting in his oxygene tent, playing with his monkeys and snakes and wondering about how to be able to buy the remains of the Elephant Man. I was pretty much surprised when he made "Bad" and it appeared the guy was able to make music at all. For a while, he acted like Syd Barrett there.

Bahahaha. Damnit I could swear I heard the reason about Prince once but I can't remember what it was now. Is it just in this thread already and I'm too lazy to search for it?

Hell, I don't care either. I could talk about Live Aid all day. I could watch my favourite parts of Live Aid a good 300 more times before I could possibly get tired of them, if I even would at that many. I had just scored the job I'd long dreamt of when I last posted a zillion messages to this thread at once last year. I had a perfectly good reason to go nuts at the time, you see. I was very happy and very, very scared.

35 years ago today. It probably isn't fair to single out Elton but the first couple of minutes plus of his performance are hilarious.

0.56 incoherent slurring
1:01 nose pinch!
1:04 incredible 'shreds' video style guitar howl
2:04 appalling whining for a few seconds

He gives it his best go but as the comments underneath attest it sounds mostly bloody awful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy371rkUCr4

Cat Stevens turning up with his guitar to resume being Cat Stevens after years of reclusivity.

He made it to the forward running order. But not to the actual show.

He went back to "not being cat stevens" for another 20 years or so.

All I remember is Simon Le Bon way flubbing a high note in that James Bond song, and the control-room guy quickly cutting to a shot of the bass player wincing. I rewound that part a few times.

― Lie Bot, Saturday, June 9, 2007 3:37 AM (thirteen years ago) bookmarkflaglink

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K0jE-Nr5Io