This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
When you think of the Live Aid fundraising concerts, one word comes to mind: Massive. As in massive undertaking. A massive logistical nightmare. A massive roster of talent. And all to combat a massive tragedy — the famine that struck Ethiopian in the mid-’80s.
When you consider the ridiculous amount of planning and preparation that must have gone into staging the event — two simultaneous stadium concerts in London and Philadelphia with dozens of performers donating their time and talent — it’s a miracle the thing got off the ground at all.
Even more miraculous: That it ended up on DVD. At the time, organizer Bob Geldof — later knighted for his achievement — asked that it not be recorded or rebroadcast to avoid legal hassles. Amazingly, some people even listened to him — but, thankfully, not everybody. So now, nearly 20 years after the event, we have Live Aid, a four-disc DVD set with 10 hours of footage from the historic shows, recovered and restored from various sources.
First, the bad news: There’s no Led Zeppelin reunion footage — supposedly because Jimmy Page and Robert Plant were so unhappy with their performance they blocked its use. (Certainly the concurrent release of their Unledded live DVD couldn’t have been a factor.) That’s not all that’s missing. Various appearances have apparently been lost to the ages or were cut due to technical glitches. So if you’re looking for a complete broadcast, you’ll have to consult your video-fiend buddy with the basement full of Betamax tapes.
Even so, there are plenty of moments here you’ll remember vividly if you’re old enough: Sting teaming up with Dire Straits on Money For Nothing. Queen and Freddie Mercury at the height of their powers. Phil Collins performing first in London, then jetting to Philadelphia. The Who doing Won’t Get Fooled Again. Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath reuniting on Paranoid. A young Madonna. Bono with a mullet and knee-high leather boots. Paul McCartney singing Let it Be. Judas Priest following CSN. Mick Jagger and Tina Turner going toe-to-toe. Bob Dylan, Keith Richards and Ron Wood’s wheezy, acoustic Blowin’ in the Wind.
And there are no shortage of moments you either forgot or missed: Jack Nicholson hosting in Philadelphia. A bearded Elvis Costello doing a solo version of All You Need is Love. Bryan Adams kicking off the show in Philadelphia. Brian Wilson doing three songs with The Beach Boys. A four-song set from David Bowie. Elton John in a feathered fez singing Benny and the Jets. Neil Young’s The Needle and the Damage Done. Eric Clapton’s Layla and White Room. Tom Petty’s muttonchops.
Best of all, there’s the new extra footage: Run-DMC, who performed as a rehearsal for the camera crew but were not broadcast. Three B.B. King songs from Holland. A couple of INXS cuts from Australia. And more. Also included: BBC and CBC coverage of the famine, the original Band Aid and USA for Africa videos, and (for some reason) Bowie and Jagger’s Dancing In The Street video. Finally, to wrap it all up, there’s an hour-long documentary shot a year after the event that shows how the $80 million raised was spent.
Massive? You bet. But also massively satisfying.
