♫Woodstock...a different story of the 80s♫

Are you a Baby Boomer? Whether you are or not, there is a good chance you are familiar with the Three Days of Peace and Music that became a symbol of an entire generation - the original Woodstock Festival and Where the Seeds of Woodstock were Sown. These occurred during the Decade that Changed a Nation - the 60s. Perhaps you lived it or simply heard about it falling in love with the music of the times. The scheduled three-day concert rolled into a fourth day encompassing lots of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll - plus a lot of mud. Woodstock of the 80s is quite a different story...


Today in Music History: July 13

 1985 The so-labeled Woodstock of the 80s -- the "Live Aid" concerts to aid starving Africans -- took place on dual stages in London and Philadelphia on July 13, 1985. Sixty-one of rock's biggest acts performed for 17 hours in the outdoor stadiums for a global TV and radio audience of more than 1.5 billion.

  Stage view of Live Aid at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia

"Boomtown Rats" singer Bob Geldof organized the historic concerts, which by the end of the year had raised an estimated US $70 million for African famine relief. The final tally raised was double that. Geldof was knighted in 1986 and nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize several times.

 

Early Life and Music Career

Among the highlights: the reunion of "The Who," Robert Plant and Jimmy Page reforming "Led Zeppelin" with Phil Collins and members of "Power Station," and a Tina Turner-Mick Jagger duet on "State of Shock" that ended with Jagger relieving Turner of her leather miniskirt. Collins made it a truly transatlantic event. He began the day in London singing with Sting then took the Concorde to New York and a helicopter to Philadelphia to perform there. Other performers taking part included David Bowie, Elton John, "U2," "Queen," "Wham!", "Dire Straits," "The Beach Boys," Bob Dylan, "Duran Duran," Paul Simon, Madonna and Eric Clapton.

In November 2004, the concert was released on DVD worldwide.

 

  The Live Aid DVD cover

And the music goes on beating to the rhythm of the changing times...