Live Aid Turns 40

A look back at the performers who played on July 13, 1985 who I've interviewed over the years

Jul 13, 2025

Want to feel old? Try realizing that today is the 40th anniversary of an event that took place while you were on a camping trip with your parents. True story: we were camping at Cherrystone Campground on the Eastern Shore of Virginia when Live Aid took place, so I wasn’t able to sit at home all day and watch the concert on MTV from start to finish, which is 100% what I would’ve been doing if I’d had my druthers. The good news, however, was that ABC covered the event later that evening - hosted by the famously rockin’ duo of George Segal and Marilyn McCoo! - and we had a little TV in our camper, so I was at least able to watch some semi-fuzzy performances from that.

Since the concert took place, of course, I’ve been able to watch as much of it as I’ve wanted, thanks to a combination of YouTube and the officially-released DVD set of (most of) the event. Even cooler, though, is to realize how many of the performers from Live Aid I’ve talked to over the years. Granted, I didn’t talk to all of them about that day, but I did at least bring it up with a few of them…

Midge Ure of Ultravox (Rhino.com)

Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet (Rhino.com)

Elvis Costello (The AV Club)

Phil Collins (The AV Club)

Howard Jones (Q Magazine)

Looking back at your career, can you think of anything that would qualify as your most absurd pop star moment?
Absurd pop star moment... [Long pause.] I dunno, I think Live Aid was pretty up there, because I was at the peak of my... Well, y'know, I'd just had huge success in America with Love into Action, and I was on the stage with the greats. Of all time. Bowie and McCartney and Queen and U2. So that was a bit special, yeah. It's hard to beat that. That was a real moment. Just watching the other bands and seeing them and then being in the mix with them. It was really cool. And just doing a song at the piano. It was just, like, "I'm a songwriter, and the lyrics are important, and this is me just playing you a song at the piano." Nobody expected it, I don't think. It was just an amazing day. I met all those people. I met McCartney, I met David Bowie, I met Pete Townshend... I was in a queue with Paul McCartney, waiting to have our photograph taken! [Laughs.] I was, like, "There's Paul...and Linda!" That was pretty mindblowing, that. So, yeah, that was a pop star moment. And, of course, meeting Diana the same day!
Now, I won't say that you had the best hair of the day, but you were certainly a fierce contender.
Absolutely. I was rockin' it, man. I was rockin' it.
Do you ever miss that 'do?
No! [Laughs.] No, I think one should be always moving forward. Just staying the same your whole life, that's dangerous!

The Hooters (Popdose)

You guys opened Live Aid in Philadelphia, but you’re not on the DVD set. Did no one have decent footage of your performance?
No, that was… You’d have to ask Sir Bob about that. He had nothing to do with us being on the bill in Philadelphia. That was a local thing; that was Larry Magid at Electric Factory that made that happen. I don’t know if you’re aware of the Rolling Stone article that was written about us at the time, but the opening line was, “‘Who the fuck are the Hooters?’ asks Bob Geldof.” But ironically, the week after the Live Aid DVD came out, he opened two shows for us in Germany. We, uh, did not give him a good dressing room. Laughs) But we were very nice to him, and he was sheepishly polite with us.
Has anyone attempted to market T-shirts that say, “Who the fuck are the Hooters?”
I think we should do T-shirts that say, “Who the fuck is Bob Geldof?”

Run-DMC - Rev. Run interview / DMC interview