“In late October 1984, I came home at about six o’clock in the evening and turned on the television to watch the television news. And I saw something on the screen that put my pathetic personal problems into a horrifying perspective. There in front of me were elegant men and women, moms and dads, holding their children. But they were hardly recognizable humans at this point. They were just about alive. They had the swollen heads and the bloated stomachs of children who are dying of starvation.”
“The thing is you don’t actually die of hunger. You die of a collapse of all your immune system, so you catch all sorts of diseases, but your muscles are so weakened you can’t even make a noise. And all these children were silently screaming at me in agony to die. To die of hunger is to die in complete agony. And here were these mothers and fathers in the last seconds of their children’s lives in utter despair as to what to do. And these people stared at me in my pop star live in Chelsea in London.”
The above is an excerpt from Bob Geldof’s introduction to Live Aid 35, which you can watch in its entirety on a dedicated YouTube channel, along with plenty of footage from the actual benefit concert that took place on Saturday, July 13, 1985 – just a little over 35 years ago. I’m envisaging to commemorate the 35th anniversary in a two or three-part series over the next few days – not sure yet how much time I will have to write.
Organized by Geldof, lead vocalist of Irish rock band The Boomtown Rats, and his friend Midge Ure, frontman of Britsh new wave outfit Ultravox, to raise funds of the famine in Ethiopia, the event featured concerts at London’s Wembley Stadium and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia. It was attended by an estimated 72,000 people in London and close to 89,500 folks in Philly. The live broadcast was watched by an estimated 1.9 billion people in 150 countries. I was one of them and still remember it pretty well.
Queen’s performance at Wembley Stadium was one of the highlights of Live Aid
The concerts are believed to have raised around £150 million for famine relief, though the initial numbers included in news reports the day after the event were significantly lower, putting the total between £40 and £50 million. There was also some controversy over the distribution of the aid, including allegations funds had been diverted to the Ethiopian government for the purchase of arms – a truly disgusting thought!
In 2010, the BBCapologized for statements made in a previous investigation, saying there “was no specific evidence [money had been diverted to buy arms] and we’re apologising today to the Band Aid Trust and we’re also apologising personally to Bob Geldof.” I’d like to leave it at that and get to some music.
Live Aid kicked off at Wembley Stadium on July 13 at 12:00 pm British Summer Time. The first act were British boogie rockers Status Quo. Here’s their rendition of John Fogerty’sRockin’ All Over the World, the title track off their 10th studio album from November 1997, and one of their biggest hits. Perhaps the ideal tune to start a rock & pop marathon!
Of course, in addition to organizing the event, Messrs. Geldof and Ure also got to perform. Here are The Boomtown Rats with I Don’t Like Mondays, their biggest hit, initially released as a single in July 1979 ahead of their third studio album The Fine Art of Surfacing, which came out in October that year.
I’d like to wrap up part 1 with Sting and a great stripped back version of Roxanne, featuring jazz saxophone player Branford Marsalis. Written by Sting, the tune first appeared as a single by The Police in April 1978. It was also included on their debut studio album Outlandos d’Amour from November 1978.
A two-part feature looking back at music of the decade
Here is the second and final installment of my feature looking back at music and some related events in the ’80s. This part is focused on the second half of the decade. As noted in part 1, it isn’t meant to be a comprehensive review but instead a selection of things I find noteworthy.
1985
To me the key music event during this year and perhaps the entire decade was Live Aid. I was watching it on TV from Germany while simultaneously taping it on music cassette from the radio. Organized by Bob Geldorf and Midge Ure as a fundraiser to fight starvation in Ethiopia, Africa, the benefit concert was conducted on July 13 simultaneously in the U.K. at London’s Wembley Stadium and the U.S. at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia. Among others, it featured Status Quo, Queen, U2, David Bowie, The Who and Paul McCartney at Wembley, while some of the performers in Philly included Joan Baez, Madonna, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner and, in a less-than-stellar appearance, a reunited Led Zeppelin featuring Phil Collins on drums. The concerts were watched by an estimated global TV audience of 1.9 billion across 150 countries and raised approximately 150 million British pounds.
The Live Aid concert at London’s Wembley Stadium was attended by 72,000 people
Other events that year included the official launch of VH-1 on cable TV in the U.S. (Jan 1); recording of the charity single for Africa We Are The World (Jan 28), co-written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie and performed by USA For Africa, who apart from Jackson and Ritchie featured Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Cindy Lauper, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder and numerous other top artists; release of Dire Straits’ fifth studio album Brothers In Arms, their best-selling record that among others became known for its exceptional sound quality due to its all-digital recording (May 13); Michael Jackson’s purchase of the publishing rights for most of The Beatles’ catalog for $47 million, out-bidding former artistic collaborator McCartney whose success in music publishing had inspired Jackson to increase his activities in the business (Sep 6); and Roger Waters’ announced intention to leave Pink Floyd, which marked the start of a two-year legal battle over the rights to the band’s name and assets.
The biggest hit singles of 1985 were Shout (Tears For Fears), We Are The World (USA For Africa), Take On Me (a-ha), I Want To Know What Love Is (Foreigner) and Material Girl (Madonna). Following is Money For Nothing, the second single from Dire Straits’Brothers In Arms album, which they performed at Live Aid. Like on the studio recording, it featured Sting on backing vocals.
1986
On Jan 30, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame held its first induction ceremony. The first batch of inductees included Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Elvis Presley. While over the years since, there has been much debate over who should be in the Rock Hall, the selection process, the award categories, etc., I think there is no doubt that the above artists all well-deserving inductees.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 1986 inductees (left to right): upper row: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and Fats Domino; lower row: The Everly Brothers, Buddy Hollie, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Elvis Presley
Other events: Bob Geldorf’s knighthood award to recognize his work for Live Aid and other charity concerts for Africa (Jun 10); release of Madonna’sTrue Blue album, the best-selling record of year (Jun 30); and disbanding of The Clash, Electric Light Orchestra (revived by Jeff Lynne in 2000) and Men At Work.
The top-performing hit singles included Rock Me Amadeus (Falco) – the first German-language song to top the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, Papa Don’t Preach (Madonna), The Final Countdown (Europe), Take My Breath Away (Berlin) and West End Girls (Pet Shop Boys). The 1986 tune I’d like to highlight is Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel, which was first released as a single in April. It also appeared on his fifth studio album So that came out the following month. Here’s the song’s official video, which won multiple accolades in 1987, including a record nine awards at the MTV Music Video Music Awards and “Best British Video” at the Brit Awards. It’s definitely one of the most memorable music videos of the decade.
1987
Some of the events in music during that year included the induction of Aretha Franklin as the first woman into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Jan 3); release of U2’s fifth studio album The Joshua Tree (Mar 9), which topped the charts in 20-plus countries and became one of the world’s most commercially successful records, selling more than 25 million copies; Whitney Houston’s second studio album Whitney, the first record by a female artist to debut at no. 1 on the Billboard 200 (Jun 27); launch of MTV Europe (Aug 1); and release of A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, Pink Floyd’s first studio album after the departure of and legal battle with Roger Waters (Sep 7). Waters finally wrapped up his legal separation from the band later that year.
The highest-charting hit singles were La Bamba (Los Lobos), Never Gonna Give You Up (Rick Astley); I Wanna Dance With Somebody Who Loves Me (Whitney Houston), It’s A Sin (Pet Shop Boys) and Who’s That Girl (Madonna) – I remember each of these songs like it was yesterday! Here’s Where The Streets Have No Name from my favorite U2 album The Joshua Tree. Credited to the band (music) and Bono (lyrics), the tune was released as the album’s third single in August 1987, five months after the record’s appearance.
1988
Some of the music events that year included the induction of The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Drifters, Bob Dylan and The Supremes into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Jan 20); near-death experience for Alice Cooper on stage after one of the props, the Gallows, malfunctioned – yikes! (Apr 7); sale of legendary soul label Motown Records to MCA and financial firm Boston Ventures for $61 million (Jun 27); John Fogerty’s win of what sounds like a frivolous self-plagiarism lawsuit Fantasy Records had brought against him, claiming his 1985 comeback tune The Old Man Down The Road was too similar to Run Through The Jungle, which he had recorded with Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1970 (Nov 7); and final concert by Roy Orbison in Akron, Ohio (Dec 4) prior to his death from a heart attack only two days thereafter.
Leading hit singles: A Groovy Kind Of Love (Phil Collins), Don’t Worry Be Happy (Bobby McFerrin), Always On My Mind (Pet Shop Boys), Heaven Is A Place On Earth (Belinda Carlisle) and Take Me To Your Heart (Rick Astley). One 1988 song I like in particular is Under The Milky Way Tonight by Australian outfit The Church. Co-written by Steve Kilbey and Karin Jansson, it became the lead single to their excellent fifth studio album Starfish. Both were released in February that year. Here’s a clip.
1989
I can’t believe I made it to the last year of the decade! Some of the events I’d like to highlight are criticism of Madonna by religious groups worldwide over alleged blasphemous use of Christian imagery in her music video for Like A Prayer (Feb 23), which had premiered on MTV the day before; release of Bonnie Raitt’s 10th studio album Nick Of Time, one of my favorite records from her (Mar 21); release of Tom Petty’s excellent debut solo album Full Moon Fever (Apr 24); Ringo Starr’s formation of his All-Starr Band (Jul 23); opening of The Rolling Stones’ North American tour in Philadelphia to support their comeback album Steel Wheels (Aug 31), two days after the album had dropped; and release of Neil Young’s 17th studio album Freedom (Oct 2), best known for the epic Rockin’ In The Free World.
Key hit singles were Like A Prayer (Madonna), Eternal Flame (The Bangles), Another Day In Paradise (Phil Collins), The Look (Roxette) and Love Shack (The B-52s). The final ’80s tune I’d like to call out via clip is Down To London by Joe Jackson, an artist I’ve listened to for many years. He recorded the song for his 10th studio release Blaze Of Glory, which appeared in April 1989.
Christian's Music Musings 