"I must try and show you this." - Bob Geldof in his Live Aid program notes, written while touring Africa
Live Aid DVD Review
By Jonathan Boudreaux
On October 23, 1984, the BBC ran a news segment that detailed the plight of 30 million people in Africa who were victims of drought and famine. Rocker Bob Geldof of The Boomtown Rats ("I Don't Like Mondays") saw the report and was moved to help. He quickly organized a benefit recording, and on November 25 - just over a month after the news broadcast - a diverse group of performers gathered in London to record "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Dubbed Band Aid, this super-group included Boy George, Paul Young, Duran Duran, Phil Collins, George Michael, Sting, Bono, Bananarama, and many others. The project proved to be so successful that a group of Americans, led by Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson, formed USA for Africa and recorded "We Are The World" on January 28, 1985. USA for Africa's stellar lineup included Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Tina Turner, Willie Nelson, and practically every other popular star of the day.
This could have been the end of the story, but Bob Geldof and a group of promoters (including the legendary Bill Graham) came up with an audacious plan: two massive concerts - one in England, one in the U.S. - taking place simultaneously and broadcast around the world. At 7AM Eastern time on July 13, 1985, Live Aid began at London's Wembley Stadium. Several hours later, the U.S. portioned kicked off at J.F.K. Stadium in Philadelphia. The sixteen hour event would be a virtual who's who of popular music, with performances by over sixty musicians and groups covering a wide variety of genres and eras, everyone from Queen to Hall and Oates, Elvis Costello to Billy Ocean, The Four Tops to Black Sabbath.
The memorable concert was watched by over 1.5 billion viewers, but since it has never been available on home video and has never been rebroadcast, for the past twenty years it has existed as just that - a memory. Now, in an effort to raise more funds for famine relief while simultaneously fighting bootleggers who have periodically tried to profit from the concert's scarcity, Geldof has spearheaded the release of a lavish new four DVD boxed set of the concert. It was well worth the twenty year wait.
Fans of '80s pop who watch Live Aid today in the comfort of their living rooms will probably feel just as giddy as the painters cap-wearing, neon shirt-loving audiences at Wembley and J.F.K. stadiums. There are some performers that most Americans will not be familiar with (Status Quo, The Style Council, Nik Kershaw), but the majority of the performers will evoke fond memories of a time when ties were skinny, hair was unruly, and radio stations had no problem following Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" with Hall & Oates' "Maneater." Some of the performances are so galvanizing the screen can hardly contain them: Freddie Mercury's easy command of the stage in Queen's extended set, an impossibly young Madonna bouncing around to "Holiday," U2's Bono (sporting an alarmingly large bouffant) diving off of the stage for an impromptu dance with an audience member, the perpetually cool Elton John tossing off a few hits before sharing the stage with duet partners Kiki Dee ("Don't Go Breaking My Heart") and George Michael ("Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me"), Paul McCartney performing a silky, caressing "Let It Be." Where else can you see REO Speedwagon perform "Roll with the Changes" with The Beach Boys and Paul Shaffer doing backup vocals? Or The Thompson Twins singing The Beatles' "Revolution" while Madonna plays tambourine? Throw in Spandau Ballet, Sting, Phil Collins, Paul Young, Bryan Adams, Simple Minds, David Bowie, The Cars, plus other performers singing their classic hits, and viewers are liable to spend hours humming along and reminiscing.
Not all of the performances here are classics. In their three song set, The Beach Boys hit quite a few flat notes, proving once and for all that Brian Wilson's backup band on his current SMiLE tour sounds more like The Beach Boys than The Beach Boys did in 1985. Hall & Oates' backup of Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin on several Temptations hits leaves much to be desired. Still, this is just nitpicking. Even the concert's weakest performances are entertaining, and the artists' goodwill is infectious. Even technical snafus cannot ruin the fun. Several of the mics are broken during the all-star rendition of "We Are The World" during the USA for Africa finale, but then Patti Labelle attacks her verse with such gusto that all of the other flaws just melt away.
This set does not include all of the performances from the original concert. Incredibly enough, this is because some of the footage no longer exists in usable form. In order to simplify the process of putting together the concert, Geldof assured performers and songwriters that the show would never be rebroadcast, nor would it even be taped. The BBC, which was in charge of filming the London portion, wisely decided to ignore Geldof's edict and record the show for posterity. The footage was not stored properly, however, and some of the tapes were either destroyed or stolen. In the U.S., broadcaster ABC took the "no taping" rule a bit more seriously. Much of the U.S. footage was feared to be lost until MTV discovered backup footage in its vaults. Unfortunately, many of the MTV tapes included the concert exactly as it was aired, complete with commercials interrupting performances, VJs talking over the performers, and other flaws. As the DVD's producer states in a booklet that accompanies the set, "some performances are still missing and that's because the tapes just don't exist."
Of the existing footage, only Led Zeppelin refused to allow their performance to be included. The band's members cite a "sub-standard" performance coupled with poor tape quality. Still wanting to contribute to the cause, the group is donating all profits from a DVD of their own to the Band Aid Trust.
For a complete listing of all the artists and songs included in the set, please see our disc details page.
Live Aid is divided onto four discs. The discs are housed in a foldout digipak. The panels are decorated with the concert's logo, concert memorabilia, and photos. Beneath the clear trays which hold the discs is a five panel mural consisting of a photo of concert goers which morphs into a photo of starving Africans at its center. This is an effective reminder of what the concert was all about. A folder panel in the digipak holds a booklet which includes a listing of all performances included in the set, reproductions of concert-related materials (photos, set lists, the handwritten first draft of "Do They Know It's Christmas?"), and several short essays. The digipak slides into a cardboard outer sleeve. The front of the sleeve is dominated by the Live Aid logo while the back features a listing of all the performers included on the DVD.
The sleek full motion menus make effective use of crowd footage and snippets of sound. The menus and navigation are extremely well thought out. Viewers have the option of watching all of the concert footage on the disc, watching the footage from either of the two stadiums, or jumping strait to an individual performer. Navigating by song title is not an option, but chapter stops allow viewers to easily jump from song to song. All in all, this set is very user friendly.
