Kevin Myers wrote an interesting piece on the famine and the aid.
Thatâll be an unpopular opinion alright.
1 Like
It sounds like people speak about it as how it was, and you werenât around and (just) donât get it (fella) so have decided you donât agree.
Wtf 
1 Like
For the tax free income?
When we didnât have a fucking bob
2 Likes
Ah would you away and shite
In fairness I canât remember the last time I spoke to anybody about Live Aid but it was immense, if it meant that to a ten year old me it must have been powerful, everybody has a memory of that day
We played the Glen above in their place, our goalie was missing so I stood in as I had a big bas on my Hurley, it had previously belonged to (Glen man) Tomas Mulcahy, then we were all mad to get home to see the concert,
Itâs a bit of both really.
Its significance is probably overly romanticized by Irish people, because we played an oversized part in it with Geldof and U2 and as mentioned we were by far the highest per capita contributors. In my experience others donât remember it as distinctly as we do.
That said, it was a pretty big deal. This was before the internet and being able to stream anything you want when you want, so the very idea the whole world was tuned into a concert that went on all day and night long featuring the greatest living artists was pretty mind boggling. The only other time the world did that was the World Cup final every four years, and this lasted way longer than 90 minutes.
The precedent for a benefit concert for a disaster was not new, but this really took it to the world stage, literally.
What has come close or eclipsed it since?
On the plus side Live Aid raised awareness of famine in Africa and a shedload of money in aid. As a lifelong cynic I was convinced that the bulk of this would have been ciphoned off by the evil Ethiopian regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam but this does not appear to have been the case and most of the aid got through to its intended targets.
On the negative side the concert itself was ghastly. Looking back now itâs difficult to see how a line up so pale stale and male would ever happen again. Hideous acts like Status Quo and sanction busters like Queen. In general it was music for people who didnât like music. Namely the audience who turned up on the day. A collection of Thatcher voting, BMW driving, London yuppies in white trousers with cricket jumpers slung over their shoulders. The sort of people whose only interaction with music was the Dire Straits cassette they had in the car.
In fairness the US lineup was marginally more diverse.
4 Likes
I am too young to remember Live Aid but when I think of it Bob Geldof comes to mind so I am immediately turned off.
I think there was a change in the time when Charles and Diana were due to attend so Geldof changed around the order of play so that the Boomtown Rats played in front of them. Says it all really.
Queenâs performance was legendary. Mercury was truly unique.
1 Like
Sid was saying the complete opposite. Iâm sure Iâve seen it but donât have any strong impression. Where does the truth lay her @Fagan_ODowd ?
They played early in the day, it seems odd to put yourself down the bill, sounds like another anti Geldof urban myth
Queen were a shit band in my opinion, @glasagusban each to their own 
The Boomtown Rats were well over the hill at that stage.
Whatâs your view of Bohemian Rhapsody? Very negative obviously?
I really really like donât stop me now, I think thatâs pure excitement
Not really a fan of Bohemian Rhapsody though I enjoyed it in Wayneâs World
I donât like Queen, thatâs it, if you love them then more power to you
you mightnt like their music, lyrics, stagecraft or even the members but you cant say they were shit. they were all very good musicians who gelled very well
2 Likes
No mate. You canât be not liking music others like. Your taste is obviously WRONG
1 Like
I thought Woodstock was an annual concert in America until Cheasty sent me googling earlier.
1 Like
There is a documentary on Netflix on woodstock 99. Absolute car crash of an event. Worth a watch up there with fyre