Forty years later: How Live Aid changed charitable giving and the world

Forty years ago, music history was made when simultaneous concerts in London and Philadelphia raised money for famine relief. Beyond the dollars, Live Aid supercharged how benefit concerts could make a difference.

Forty years ago, Prince Charles and Princess Diana officially opened Live Aid. They were royalty, to be sure, but pop royalty was waiting on stage at Wembley Stadium in London, too, to make history. That’s because Live Aid performers didn’t just play in London, but also just up the road from me at what was then John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, resulting in a global phenomenon.

Live Aid was a “super concert,” featuring 16 hours of rock music in two venues linked by satellite, so that people at home could watch too. More than a billion viewers in 110 countries were said to have watched the concert—organisers claimed that more than 40% of the population tuned in with many dialling in to make donations. The benefit raised over $125 million for hunger relief aimed at Africa.

Famine And BandAid

In the 1980s, you couldn’t switch on a television or open a newspaper without hearing about the famines in Africa, specifically in Ethiopia. A perfect storm of drought and civil war (the longest of the 20th century) resulted in severe food shortages. By the mid-1980s, the hunger crisis in Ethiopia alone was thought to have resulted in over one million famine deaths, according to the United Nations.

The news made an impact. One of those who caught the 10-minute segment was Bob Geldof (now Sir Bob Geldof), of The Boomtown Rats, who felt that he needed to do something. His first thought? A charity record.

The result was Band Aid, a 1984 “super group” made up of such performers as U2’s Bono, Phil Collins, Boy George, Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon, George Michael, Sting, and Jody Watley. The song that came from that first effort, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” (admit it, it’s in your head now), became a hit, selling over two million copies and raising millions for charity.

Value-Added Tax

After Geldof had promised that every penny would go to famine relief, he received pushback from the British Government, which refused to waive the VAT (Value Added Tax, similar to our sales taxes) on sales of the single. The UK government had continued to collect from sales of the single, while the Irish government received nothing, having waived the tax so that all of the money would go to charity.

Britain’s Labour leader at the time, Neil Kinnock, asked that all VAT revenue raised on sales of the charity record be given to famine relief. Then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher responded by asking, “How, in fairness could we contribute the VAT raised on the Band Aid record to the fund-raising cause, but refuse it in all other cases?”

Geldof made a public stance against Thatcher in response. Later, the Prime Minister and Geldof became friends, even sharing a whiskey and a chat at No. 10. Thatcher also put famine relief on the G7 agenda, saying: “And we also find our pop stars under Bob Geldof’s leadership, converting their musical tribute into food and shelter for the hungry. I would like to add my personal thanks to all who contributed to that inspired piece of music-making.”

In 1985, the government agreed to make a donation to charity equivalent to the VAT collected on sales of the original 1984 Band Aid record.

USA For Africa

The single also struck a chord. The success of BandAid inspired USA For Africa, a similar movement in the United States. The song “We Are The World” was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones. The single, featuring solos by such luminaries as Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen and Cyndi Lauper, was released on March 7, 1985, and went on to sell more than 10 million copies.

Live Aid

Geldof later worked to merge the two together in one concert: Live Aid. Just a few months later, the global benefit became a reality.

The goal was to make it as big as possible, with performances in at least two venues. Performers in London included Elvis Costello, Dire Straits, David Bowie, Queen, Elton John (now Sir), George Michael, and Paul McCartney (also now Sir).

Performers in Philadelphia included Run DMC, Rick Springfield, Santana, The Cars, Patti LaBelle, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner—and, of course, a hometown favorite, the Hooters, a move that Geldof was reportedly not on board with. (Two of the biggest stars of the day opted out, including Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen, who was on his honeymoon.)

There were some iconic moments during the more than 16-hour long list of performances. Who can forget a young Bette Midler introducing an even younger Madonna in Philadelphia? Or Jack Nicholson introducing U2 as a band “who never has a problem expressing how they feel”? Or Phil Collins playing in London before jumping on Concorde to play drums in Philadelphia that same day with Led Zeppelin? Or Queen clearly making a statement that they weren’t done yet with a memorable rendition of “Radio Ga Ga”?

This all happened without the internet. Without email. Without cell phones. “Live streaming” was done by satellite to televisions.

And it worked.

The Money

Live Aid raised more than $125 million for famine relief (a 1986 article in Spin magazine suggested that not all of the money was used appropriately, an allegation that Geldof disputes). What is indisputable, however, is that the event contributed to an awareness of global poverty and hunger, forcing world leaders to address the issues in a public way.

Geldof continued to champion charitable causes, earning him a knighthood.

The concert also became a sort of template for perfecting future benefit concerts like Farm Aid (for American farmers), Live 8, and America: A Tribute to Heroes (for 9/11 relief).

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