Live Aid
(W|S|M)

In 1985, a massive drought swept across sub-Sahara Africa, killing thousands of people who lacked food, water and shelter. Rocker Bob Geldof organized Live Aid – two of the largest benefit concerts ever staged, at two venues: London’s Wembley Arena and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, both of which were broadcast to televisions around the globe. For legal reasons, Geldof asked that the show not be recorded and thankfully the BBC ignored his request. When they went looking for the tapes however, they found some had gone missing, been destroyed, or were incomplete. In this country, some fool had actually dumped the tapes, but luckily, MTV found 100 tapes of ‘B’ roll containing the entire U.S. concert, all of which are presented here.

The DVD package contains over ten hours of footage from both shows and stands not only as a grand humanitarian gesture, but a time capsule of contemporary music. Many of the British bands look atrocious in their New Romantic finery (Spandau Ballet, Adam Ant, Simple Minds), but some of the performances are massive. Highlights include Paul Young, Brian Ferry, Queen, Ultravox and David Bowie, while on the U.S. side, Hall & Oates, Mick Jagger with Tina Turner, Patti Labelle and Madonna rocked the house. Proceeds from the sale of the disc will go to African refugees as part of the Band Aid Trust. A great package for a great cause. -- David Bassin