On October 23, 1984, rock star Bob Geldof watched
British Broadcasting Company (BBC) correspon-
dent Michael Buerk’s special report about a famine
gripping Ethiopia. Geldof was so saddened by the
plight of these starving millions that he decided to
do something about it. With his friend Midge Ure
from the band Ultravox, he wrote “Do They Know
It’s Christmas?” and quickly assembled an ad hoc
supergroup, Band Aid, to record the song and do-
nate its proceeds to Ethiopian relief. Band Aid con-
sisted of forty-four musicians, including Phil Collins,
Bono, Sting, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Jody
Watley, Boy George, and various members of Ultra-
vox, Spandau Ballet, Kool and the Gang, Banana-
rama, Duran Duran, Status Quo, Big Country, and
the Boomtown Rats. “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”
was released on December 3, 1984, and instantly hit
number one on the British pop charts.
About the same time, inspired by Geldof, a similar
project came to fruition in America. Harry Bela-
fonte, Ken Kragen, Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie,
and Quincy Jones assembled USA for Africa to re-
cord Jackson and Richie’s “We Are the World.”
Among the American supergroup’s forty-five musi-
cians were Geldof, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny
Rogers, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Dionne
Warwick, Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Bob
Dylan, Ray Charles, Bette Midler, Waylon Jennings,
Smokey Robinson, and George Michael. Released
on March 7, 1985, “We Are the World” was number
one for four weeks in April and May.
Determined to push the fundraising as far as pos-
sible, Geldof, Ure, and Harvey Goldsmith conceived
and organized Live Aid, an unprecedentedly huge,
transatlantic, all-star musical collaboration. They
booked Wembley Stadium in London and John F.
Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia for overlapping
and nearly simultaneous concerts. Each stadium
erected giant video screens, so its fans could see all
the acts in the other city as well as those in their own.The Eighties in America Live Aid 597
Participants in the Wembley Stadium Live Aid concert join together for the concert finale. From left: George Michael of Wham!, concert
promoter Harvey Goldsmith, Bono of U2, Paul McCartney, and Freddie Mercury of Queen.(AP/Wide World Photos)