Live Aid (DVD)  Part 1 The following article is an extended DVD review of the Live Aid DVD collection, which was released in 2004. It deals with the phenomenon of Live Aid, its initiator Bob Geldof and the problems of helping a country like Ethiopia. After discussing and remembering the Live Aid events in 1985, the article scrutinises the effects of aid on Africa and questions critical voices as well as Bob Geldof and his action. London, Hyde Park, Summer 2005. Uncountable numbers of people are gathering in front of the two massive screens where you can see the flickering images of Paul McCartney and Bono performing Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ... "we hope you will enjoy the show". To my right an Indian family is having a picnic in the grass. In front of me some 14-year-old Britney-imitates are moving their hips in an MTVish kind of manner. Every other person is marked with a white rubber bracelet having the words "Make Poverty History" on it. Sadly, an interviewer during a live broadcast on BBC has to smother up his consternation when he asks one of the youngsters in the first rows why they were here but instead of the 3-word aphorism gets a frantic "Robbiiiiie!". My thoughts about the situation in Hyde Park on this 2nd of July are finally tumbling when Mariah Carey is introducing her African children's background choir with the words "You know… they are from Africa." Live 8 London (2005) We are here to make poverty history at Live 8. But strangely enough, it does not really feel like it. It is a different form of protest, which is to be questioned. However, the initiators of Live 8 found a way to move the masses in the age of capitalism and "ideology". It is 20 years after the first time they wanted music to change the world. AN IRISHMAN FOR THE WORLD In October 1984 Bob Geldof – then singer of the band The Boomtown Rats and famous for his role as a leading actor in Pink Floyd's film The Wall – watched a BBC documentary by Michael Buerk about the famine in Ethiopia. Due to a more than two-years-lasting draught period 7 million people were threatened by starvation. Around the town of Korem ten thousands of war refugees rallied in the hope of getting food and medical aid. However, aid volunteers and medical staff called the camp "the closest thing to hell". Every 20 minutes a child and a grown-up died. One in three children were malnourished. Michael Buerk reported about relief agencies expressing their disappointment and anger about international governments, which did not react and did not seem prepared to help. Unlike international politicians the Irishman Robert Frederick Zenon Bob Geldof felt responsible and made use of his great contacts to publicly well-known colleagues and the music press. Immediately after having watched the report about Ethiopia he started to organise the project Band Aid, which was going to attain an international dimension – and it was the first time somebody discovered popular music's huge potential for charity. Less than two months after Bob Geldof had watched the BBC documentary, "Do they know it's Christmas time", the one and only Band Aid song, was released. Written by Bob Geldof himself and Ultravox front man Midge Ure and performed by stars like Sting, Bono and Boy George, it immediately catapulted on number one of the UK charts. 20 million Euros were raised through this song, which is still frequently heard around Christmas time. The Band Aid project triggered a number of imitates all over the world; best known is USA for Africa who released the hit single "We Are The World" in early 1985. Based on Harry Belafonte's idea to raise money for Africa with the help of black musicians, a number of famous artists – like e.g. Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner and Ray Charles – performed the song, written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. In 1985 Bob Geldof finally came up with the idea to organise a double concert on two continents in order to allay the hunger in Africa and to show the world that Western civilisation do care. On 13 July 1985 Live Aid took place in the Wembley Stadium in London and the JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. 60 musicians entertained the masses for about 16 hours. The show was broadcast in around 100 countries worldwide and all in all an approximate number of 1.5 billion people was watching it. Live Aid was able to raise an incredible amount of 80 million US-$ in 1985. REMEMBERING LIVE AID Bob Geldof refused to "commercially cannibalise" the event, which is why the TV material from 1985 has not been released for a long time. Actually, many thought it did not exist anymore – many BBC recordings were missing – until MTV came up with umpteen hours of collected archive material of the Live Aid events. In November 2004 a comprehensive 4-DVDs collection of the concerts, comprising about 10 hours of the original material, was released. The viewer is able to relive a bit of the spirit of this day when for the first time ever that many top stars gathered and performed at two single concerts. The incredible line-up includes all-time rock and pop favourites, such as Status Quo, Tina Turner, Sting, Elvis Costello, U2, David Bowie, The Who, Elton John, Madonna, Black Sabbath, Duran Duran … and the list goes on. Certainly it is also quite an astonishing experience, to be remembered of the fashion gaffes during the 80s, which is why the 4-DVDs collection ensures long-lasting amusement. Even though some of the performances are a bit disappointing, some others are incredibly impressive. Adam Ant – jumping and posing; Elvis Costello – singing Beatles songs with the audience; Bryan Adams – rocking in Philadelphia; David Bowie – with an exceptional band… What makes all of them very special indeed is the personal and natural atmosphere that is surrounding the whole event. The performances seem to be less rehearsed and therefore gain a peculiar allure, which is often missing at concerts nowadays. Some of the concerts, like the one of Sting and Phil Collins, even get a session-like character. Today, who could think of Freddy Mercury playing the piano when about five Pepsi plastic cups filled with beer and water are standing right in front of him on the piano? The stars on stage at Live Aid were real musicians; not just stars. They did have their individual way of performing a show and had their own specific choreographies. There is less plastic – for more sweat and real feeling. Phil Collins is at the centre of attention since he ventures on the incredible: performing in London and Philadelphia on one day. He simply claims he does it because "it is possible", gets on the Concorde waiting for him in London and presents the public the infinite possibilities in a globalising world. "Everything is possible" as Bette Midler, comments. The technical complexities that had been tackled during Live Aid are not to be underrated: It was the very first, live, all-day, multi-artist concert, which was broadcast to people all over the world. At that time no mobile phones, hardly any fax machines existed. For ordinary people computers were still far from reach and e-mails were beyond anything imaginable. During the whole concert you can feel the tension of everyone, knowing that the whole world was watching. More than once artists are greeting the public with the words "Hello World!" and people in the audience are holding up posters and banners to greet the 1.5 billion viewers. However, there are some things to be criticised, such as the fact that there are only some African musicians at the concerts. The UK event hardly features any Africans, except for the ones responsible for the background vocals and the rhythm section of the band, which is pretty irritating, regarding the reason for the whole event. The DVD collection also includes Michael Buerk's BBC documentary and, of course, the two amateurishly produced music videos of Band Aid and USA for Africa. Moreover it contains the documentary Food and Trucks and Rock'n'Roll, which was broadcast on BBC a year after the Live Aid event in order to screen the work of the Band Aid Trust in Africa. The booklet gives little information on the development of the Live Aid movement and about what happened after 13 July 1985. Moreover it contains notes from Bob Geldof, which he wrote during his stay in Africa in July 1985. All the information on Live Aid is very much built up around his person, which is a bit disturbing, as he could have never done all that without the help of many others. But in the end "Saint Bob" – as the UK press called him – received most of the reputation, was honoured a number of times and knighted by Queen Elisabeth. "It was a miracle. And on three different levels: technologically, emotionally and politically." Indeed Live Aid did not only raise some but hundreds of questions and led to uncountable discussions in political, philosophical, sociological and cultural think tanks.  Review by Isabella   Note: Read part 2 HERE

 

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