LIVE AID | The day the music died
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- Опубліковано 3 лют 2024
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This video was demonetised for including Bob Geldoff talking!!! Where would this money go? So I have muted that section.
Wow! It was like a...joke. This is getting authoritarian isn’t it! (That last ”isn’t it” with Andy Edwards accent)
@@markkusyrjala7919 It is so strange. They claimed it was the song 'Do They Know It's Christmas' but it was not playing, so they have copyrighted what he is saying as being part of that song! Really odd
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer Another example / symptom of the "corporate" approach
Oh screwem. Overrated
"Ask the puppet masters who pull the strings
Who gets the money when the puppets sing?
Ask the corporations where the money goes
Ask the empty bellied children what are we singing for."
"Slag Aid" by Chumbawamba (1986)
Led Zeppelin's 1985 reunion disaster was NOT Phil Collins' fault! Robert's voice was carelessly strained from constant touring, Jimmy was a recovering heroin addict playing unrehearsed songs on an out-of-tune guitar, and Tony Thompson constantly overplayed unnecessary fills on the drums like he had ten arms for his 15 minutes of fame. Meanwhile, Phil Collins and John Paul Jones sat back and held the rhythm together like two professionals. I have never understood why anyone blames Phil Collins, there is not a single piece of evidence in history showing that Phil messed up their performance. People lack common sense. Great video, Andy!
Correct. You just have to watch the performance to realize this .
Yes you're right. And on many occasions after 1976 John Paul Jones was holding Led Zeppelin performances together, true professional that he was.
It's Page that blamed Phil Collins. But you can see from the performance and particularly the interview afterward. Plant and Jones are embarrassed, Page is wasted.
@@jimmycampbell78 Page was a mess. Low class to try to defer the blame.
It's the stigma of Phil Collins that ruined Zeppelin's performance
In all fairness to the original Live-Aid concert in July 1985, go back and watch as much footage as exists, you won't see any corporate logos anywhere. The stage was bare and simple. There probably was some corporate sponsorship, but it was hidden tastefully, unlike all modern music concerts today.
Worse than that is how the music industry used social crisis for financial gain! Go look up photos of all the African slums still growing around Johannesburg and see if they made even the slightest dent in Apartheid!!;)
Pepsi sponsored Wembley, Coca-Cola sponsored JFK Stadium.
@@garyhundsrucker7771 Live Aid was a fundraising event to assist those suffering from famine in Ethiopia, about five & a half thousand kilometres away from Johannesburg.
It was around the time of Live Aid, however, that international awareness & opposition, as well as militant domestic opposition to apartheid in South Africa were coming to a head.
In ‘87 the NP and ANC began negotiations for ending segregation and introducing majority rule. Apartheid legislation was repealed in 1991, and multiracial elections began in 1994.
That’s 30+ years now, since apartheid was dismantled.
If Johannesburg has slums, they are, by definition, African.
If Johannesburg has Black slums, it has nothing to do with apartheid, and it certainly has nothing to do with foreign music industries.
Your comment is completely nonsensical.
@@riiidiculoso8697 I only know what I saw and it didn’t look good. A whole lot of economic disparity goin’ on!
@@garyhundsrucker7771 you saw what you saw.
Our parents’ generation thought that everything would be better if Bob Dylan was running things.
Our generation was confronted with the horrifying reality of Bono attending the G8 summit.
Isn't it "Pope Bono I"?
Your generation was stunningly naive. Bob would agree with me too.
Bono is an attendee of the criminal World Economic Forum: "You will own nothing and be happy."
@@thomasalexand BAM! Thank you for your bravery in stating that. I believe after "The Joshua Tree" someone knocked on the doors of Bono and Co. to give them an offer they couldn't refuse. Hence the insane shift in their output from the band that took pride in having little-to-no stage show to suddenly having ever-expanding stage shows thru which NWO/WEF propaganda could be promoted. I've called myself a fan since 1987... but that doesn't make me blind or unable to call it what it is.
@@matthewatwood8641 Very true. Unfortunately, those that succeeded it were/are no less naive.
Live Aid was a fundraiser for the Ethiopian Army
Thank you.
Geldof got a wake up call when he went over there to find out where the money went.
The government men there were dressed in suits and driving around in Mercedes etc. When they met him they thought Geldof was some sort of tramp and was advised to change into suit and get a shower, haircut or he wouldnt be taken seriously.
A whole shipment of trucks were confiscated by the military and import/customs there.
Food sent by the US which was to be distributed for free ended up being sold in markets,
Money to be used for 'aid' got spent on arms and ended up in Government ministers bank accounts
Geldof didnt play politics after that
At least people didnt forget him
All the money gays and trans are raising for Palestine go to Hamas. Who knows where the billions are going we send to Ukraine. No one is held accountable. Sad 😢
@@Thenogomogo-zo3unthis is why you don't send money or supplies to Africa. It has been a money pit for well meaning and virtue signaling westerners since the first Christian missionaries landed on the continent .
Entirely predictable
Yes; all the money went to Ethiopia. It's lovely now. 🙂
Agreed on many points. I'd add that MTV lit the fuse, LiveAid was the bomb...American Idol was the bulldozer, the IPOD finished the job.
Very good surmation
So the iPod killed music?
...friends of mine with iPods? Played only singles, the hits.
That's music?
Yes, I think it helped.@@idahomike4254
No, I couldn’t disagree. More regarding live aid being the bomb. It was a huge Much loved event by music lovers around the world.
I'm not sure I completely followed all of the twists and turns of your argument, but it's hard for me to see that one event as so significant. I think the enemy of great music is the concentration of wealth in the industry into a relatively few corporations that can exert too much control. And that's been happening at least since Elvis Presley became more of a movie star than a rock and roller.
It was just a big concert with a lot of stars who were popular at the time. Is that so strange or remarkable?
@@valueofnothing2487 No, it was that, of course, but it wasn't *just* that.
I agree that Live Aid didn't cause the change, but I think it can be a good marker, I actually think the change started earlier. Through the 1980s the music scene became more corporate rather than internally driven. By 1987 a threshold had been passed.
Rock was about revolt... it was about protest... it was about changing the status quo... it was about channeling anger.... Rock is in hospice care now.
hospice care bands are on tour though..
@@colinburroughs9871 Doesn't mean rock is not dying.
Beethoven’s music is still being performed today. Just sayin’.
@@stephenfisch615 Interesting... it literally had nothing to do with my comment but...
There is no real definition of rock since rock is per fact devided in numerous different rock genres such as jazz-rock , Blues-rock, country-rock etc etc ....and don't think they are about protest or revolt
I was born in 1956 in the USA, lived through the dreck of the early sixties, the British Invasion of the mid-sixties, psychedelic rock, hard rock in the early seventies, singer songwriters of the early seventies, Jurassic Rock of the mid-seventies, punk rock, new wave, hair metal, heavy metal, disco and grunge, and you are absolutely right.
No I couldn’t disagree more. There are more festivals than ever before.There are more bands performing out there than ever before the differences. The record companies don’t control at all like they used to and have lost the ability to rip people off with the prices they charged for albums and singles. There is a whole scene out there that is more popular than ever. However, it is all done Differently to how it used to be done. A lot of bands produced themselves promote themselves et cetera. There is more of a scene in smaller venues, smaller clubs et cetera. But at the same time festival is a hugely popular. What is an as big as it used to be a stadium rock. But that does not mean music has died. Far from it it is thriving, but on a more independent level and on a more DIY kind of way where The big giant record companies don’t control at all and don’t milk all the profits for themselves.
Andy who made this video and a lot of people in the comment section are dinosaurs and are just showing their age. And I say that as a 57-year-old man who still loves his music both old and new.
I enjoy going to see new bands these days, which tends to be in smaller venues. And I’m not having to pay ridiculous prices for their music. because the record company is no longer control everything and that is cool in my book.
As soon as Geldof was given a Knighthood, they all wanted one 🙄
And then it was Good Knight Irene 🤓
Bob Geldof was a forgotten pop star at the time, he became very rich off the back of Live Aid.
I disagree. The Boomtown Rats were one of the most popular bands at the time.
@@robertfmorton...They hadn't had a top twenty hit for four years prior to Band Aid, and their album released in 1982 just about broke into the top 30, so they weren't really "one of the most popular bands at the time" were they?
@@curlyken01 Geldof made his money from selling off the production company Planet 24 that he co owned, in 1999 for somewhere estimated between 15 million and 24 million.
They were a small company that were responsible for the genre bending big Breakfast show on UK's Channel 4 .
Not everything is a conspiracy fella.
@@thebillryan Geldof was living in a squat on Dinsmore road, Balham, south London. He also held the rights to the Band Aid merchandise. Who said anything about conspiracies?!
@@MisAnnThorpe He lived in a squat in the late 70's when the Boomtown Rats were trying to launch themselves as a band. Not in the 80s.
Bob Geldof does not hold the rights to the Band Aid 'Merchandise".
Do you have a credible source for that? Please cite your evidence.
The Band Aid Trust holds the rights to the revenue and is responsible for distribution to projects that aim to help the poor in several countries.
"Bob Geldof was a forgotten pop star at the time, he became very rich off the back of Live Aid" That's the conspiracy. And I wasn't talking to you fella.
The day pop music died was in 1987 . The last independent radio station was closed on Long Island by the American equivalent of the Crtc in Canada !
Bono and his consequences have been a disaster for the human race.
best comment here
Bono makes you want to puke !
Problem with Bono is that he's way too big headed and way too far up his own backside to even realise!!
Bono the little man with the giant head and the biggest ego
😅😅😅
I’d say the day the music died was actually 1999 when Napster came out. Don’t get me wrong if it hadn’t been Napster it would have been some other file sharing app, but it suddenly meant that music was essentially value less. Even home taping needed some master record to tape from.
Since then musicians have had to branch out to become ‘acts’ and become saleable as wallpaper for cat videos on social media.
I agree with you but also not, because there are other events that could be called that. I think the day music died was when record labels started getting accurate sales numbers straight from barcodes scanned at the cash register, because now they didn't anymore have to go with gut feeling or experimentation to find out what sells or not. That eliminated left field entries for the most part.
The value was being run down earlier than that. Frank Zappa referred to record company production overruns, where the number of albums made and sold was more than was disclosed to the artists. From The Real Frank Zappa Book.
I have thought that once purchasing music as an individual pieces died out, we no longer have an investment in that album/song. We are now purchasing essentially everything in a bundle and there is not feeling that you have to give an album a chance. When you paid $15 for a CD in the late 80s I was damn sure going to give it several listens. I still purchase physical media but honestly mostly used.
Spot on.
I have to agree. I am a baby boomer that became aware of the music scene around the mid70s. From the 60s onward, each decade had a distinct music culture that clearly identified it. 60s had the British Invasion and hippie movements. The 70s was when the classic rock artists really took off along with disco. The 80s had the metal bands and the new wave movement. The 90s had the grunge movement. As of the turn of the century and now close to a quarter century after 2000, I still can't identify what the "music scene" is. Seem to me it's just existing as an industry with no real identity. Age of "American Idol"? Tried asking my 2 teenage children and even they can't really give me an answer.
The day the music died was when corporate music industry held a meeting in the early 90s (contracts and non disclosures signed) stating that they were going to promote rap into a state of thuggery and hoes to get bodies into the corporate prison system for profit. The party of the non racial music of fun sexy or soul and dance music from 50s thru the 80s music was over. rap was really good up till about 1992. It was the beginning of the destruction of music quality and creativity. Corporations crushed the party and are now crushing the economy. Its the slow generational shutdown of the United States. They hate our freedom and our free culture. They want to control it all…until they have your soul chipped and all wearing the same bland overalls.
Also in the 90's, regulations on media ownership were lifted. Thus allowing monopolization and stifling any really cultural diversity and free thought.
Too many egos.
They killed two birds with one stone, degenerated black culture into the most degrading elements while glamorizing it to sell to impressionable youth around the world while incrementally destroying music culture. As someone with African heritage myself, I never greatly took to hip hop even in its' early form, as an urban culture maybe but musically offering very little and I never trusted its' supposed authenticity as a music art form or why it was promoted as such. When it degenerated into glamorizing violence etc and brought about generations of would be bloods and crips beyond America and wanting to appropriate the lowest perceived aspects of black America I suspected its' promotion had calculated detrimental socio-political objectives.
What I can remember was all the stars wearing their latest summer casual cool fashions, which the people in the crowd didn't have, lol.
I remember long haired rock stars wearing blazers in promo shots, and not talking about their audiences as "the kids". They took themselves seriously as artists.
If that’s all you remember then I pity you. You’re simply talking about the fashion of the day. But not every actor or every band were wearing pastel coloured suits. Live aid in the UK and America was huge across the world. People still talk about it to this day and can’t remember where they were when they watched it. Andy here he’s just having a little moan about it all because he’s a bit of a dinosaur
All artists of Live Aid were there for themselves. A lot of albums from these artists re-entered the charts and made them an extra few quid from their worldwide live performances. Don’t kid yourself they were there for the starving of Ethiopia.
Oh definitely and they were all paid..
Only Freddie was brazen enough to admit, he doesn't do anything for free.. He used to call himself a musical prostitute
😂😂😂😂😂
Gelfof conned them all. He'd speak to one band and tell them about other big names that had agreed to appear, but he hadn't even spoken to the names he mentioned. He was a total bullshitter. I remember his outburst on the telly..."F*ck the address give us yer money"
🤣
Personally, I’d say the day the music died was when Michael Jackson sold out to a soft drinks company, and his music became nothing more than a series of grunts and whoops over a drum machine and synth sequence. Live Aid (the Wembley concert at least) was an awesome event - back in the days when bands could play.
I agree, and must confess this is not quite the first time I have heard this theory. A lot of the older artists like Clapton found their back catalogue selling and they went back to big gigs again.
No coincidence that the CD was really starting to peak and the record companies could see a way to re-sell old albums of these "legends".
Wow...this was really brilliant. In a moment of nostalgia-seeking, I recently purchased the programs from the two shows, and was struck by the corporate sponsorship ads in the back. As I reflect on it, it is the bands who did NOT perform at Live Aid (Clash, Madness, Cure, Smiths, Depeche Mode) which I appreciate most today. Perhaps that is not coincidental.
I remember the event: the media wouldn't shut up about it. I remember not watching it because, as it has been pointed out in the comments, it was the ultimate mainstreaming and corporate sanitizing of the counter culture... if ever there really was such a beast.
Except that the whole counter culture thing was kind of a myth from the get go...... Most people only consume from a narrow range of stuff that is selected by a small number of Gate keepers. That was especially true in the 50's-80's, when broadcast TV was huge and the Internet wasn't widely available.
What an idiot 😆
It was social engineering.
@@redpillnibbler4423 Your pills are not working!
I remember the day live aid was on TV and I had to go to work. All I could do is think I have to see Zeppelin. There was all this talk about the reunion, who was going to play drums? And would they put out a new album? So when I got to work, I turned on the small TV set that sat on the pop machine and tuned it in the best I could and watched live aid. You could of come into the store I worked at and walked out with half of the of store. I wouldn't of cared. I had to see Zeppelin.
Was it as horrible as the narrator is making it out to be?
Pretty much
I really enjoy your perspective. You throw out a number of ideas; each of which could (should?) be its own segment!
For me, Live Aid was when Madonna rose from nightclub PA ne'er do well to global pop star. Her performance was literally breathtaking. She danced and sang well, and continuously, with extreme amounts of energy. She acted like a major star, natch.
I agree that Live Aid was the end of rock and pop music as a rebellious (sometimes even genuinely) art form. But this really started in 1984 when certain artists signed up to either wear Versace or Armani suits and the thrustingly inventive MTV era UK pop stars started to run out of sterling material (Spands, DD, FGTH) and Coke flooded the market and destroyed their judgement.
Three more years and a couple of really cheap synths and drum machines meant that anyone could make a loop based, repetitive dance track, and the dream was all but destroyed. Crafted songs, with meaning, novel structures, inventive chord changes and harmonies were out. Screaming monosyllabic words in a silly voice over a squelchy bass line and programmed drum track became acceptable, desirable, the norm.
Live Aid created a self selecting 'Elite' who featured as much in Hello / Ok as they did in the music press. Music became a product of passing relevance, the real deliverable was the narrative, the lifestyle, the love life.
The best demonstration of this is BandAid 90. What a bunch of nobodies and late to the party has beens.
All this lead to the culture war of today.
Fuck the Woke. But not literally, please.
BTW Punk was a watershed moment. It got away from the idea that sound quality (excluding the Sex Pistols here btw) and musical ability (excluding the Stranglers here) mattered as much, if not more than, the song, performance and it's relationship to society, culture and real lives. It also reintroduced humour and self deprecation. Jilted John anyone?
Do you really believe that someone can dance around like Madonna and sing properly at the same time?
Yes, I've seen Madonna live up close, & she really performed her heart out on her tours. She could sing & dance for two hours a night. She was incredibly energetic and beautiful. Seeing her up close on three of the tours I can honestly say she is so charismatic and commands the stage so powerfully.
@@Camille_Anderson When it comes to the choreography routines in her live performances, Madonna is an absolute perfectionist and so the routines are repeated and repeated, ad infinitum, until she is satisfied. The thing to remember about Madonna is that she was always, first and foremost a dancer. It doesn't matter how well you are able to dance and sing, the simple reality is that you CAN'T sing and dance the way Madonna does, at the same time. It has to be either/or.
Ba da Boom! Nailed it, Andy. This might be your best yet. Not just because I agree. I didn’t know that I agreed beforehand. This was a virtuoso improv upon a theme over a unique chord progression with Live-Aid as the tonic (figuratively speaking).
agreed.
100%, not nailed it.
Just an opinion. Period.
What Andy is doing here is showing his age. He’s a bit of a dinosaur as a lot of the people in the comment section. Music has not died. Festivals and live music is his popular if not more popular than it has ever been.
There is a lot less control by the big record companies. That is The big difference these days. The way music is sold has changed. We are no longer getting ripped off by the record companies who were charging extortionate prices for albums and CDs. There’s a lot more independence in the music scene and a lot more bands with a DIY approach. There are a lot more small venues booming on the new Younger music scene. I’m sorry to say you are coming across as one of the dinosaurs. Lots of new music is out there if you make an effort.
But if you are just into the music of the past and don’t try anything new then I guess you will agree with Andy. If you were happy getting ripped off with the price of CDs, then I guess you will agree with Aunty. The music scene has changed and some of us have embraced it and some of us moan about it.
Another fabulous, insightful Sunday show Andy… bless you…
Many thanks
The Clash brought the worthy in. Strummer with his family ambassador background, well travelled and full of concealed middle class guilt!!!
I do enjoy listening to you Andy, you are from same era as me and remember all these changes in music scenes and cultures of the 70s and 80s.
A brilliant an insightful video Andy. Thank you
Andy, your eloquent monologue brings a nostalgic tear to my eyes, God! How I yearn for the days of exploding toilets and dwarves with cocaine-bearing hats. Alas, no more..
Then Jane’s Addiction was just around the corner and saved the day for a little while…
Perry Farrell, the Godfather of alternative music.
Great Perspective on Virtue-Signaling - started in the 80's - Madonna, the best example of clown creation.
Yes. Taylor Swift is this current era's version.
The "Classic Rock era is definitely
on its last days. The Boomer generation is dying. Any one born after 1963 is
NOT a Boomer. Under 60.
Death is the final word.
I always said thirty years ago that
MTV and Madonna changed everything
in "Rock Music."
I believe TODAY proves my POINT
EXACTLY..........MTV ....and .....
MADONNA..........smartphones...
More like STUPID PHONES....
For Twits and Btchs....and corporate
Click Bait.....music.
....the.......End...........2024.......!
The Woke Taylor Swift Gen Z etc...
history erase has man beings.
The reinvent the music.. Wheel......badly....Generations
of machine music.....beat mapped...
Pitch shifted.......drum machine....
Sampled ........."music"........the
Music for the Brain Dead.......
The Bubble People......
Beta Males.........1.6 birth rates Karens...
The E.L.E. of population implosion and
Musical and Females on Marriage and babies strike....death by stupidity.
I didn’t think Madonna back in the 80s was virtue signaling at all, but Bono EMBODIED virtue signaling because they were making fun of him of it in a big way back then. He cut back on that a lot as far as using U2 as his soapbox went, built his own soapbox where he would go on speaking tours and start his own foundations and charities separate from the band. Madonna did some anti AIDS efforts but she lost friends to it when they were still in their 20s so it rattled her. Madonna became a virtual signaler much much later.
@@jimmycampbell78 Taylor is an accomplished musician on multiple instruments and writes her own music. And she's good at business. She's the full package. I don't know what you want.
@@luciusblackwood2640I want that alien giraffe to stop writing songs about being 13 when she is pushing 34
What you've laid out here is exactly why people love Nick Cave. A man who was having none of it.
One thing about Sir Bob Geldof: Maybe his intentions were purely good, I don´t know. Surely "Live Aid" helped him become world famous in spite of being the lead singer of a rather ailing band named "Boomtown Rats" (suck) whose greatest hit was back in 1979 "I Don´t Like Mondays" (suck). He punished one daughter with the surname "Peaches Honyeblossom" (suck). She modeled and died of drug abuse. His other children were punished with the surnames Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, Pixie and Fifi Trixibelle (you wouldn´t even name a dog like this). His wife ran away to the XTC singer Mick Hutchence (strangled himself with his belt) and died in 1999 of drug abuse.
Sir Bob Geldof´s net worth is now at an incredible 150 million $. He made that money (partly?) by selling off a TV company in the year 1999. He was born in 1951 and his last shirt surely won´t have any pockets.
Michael Hutchence was the singer of "INXS" not "XTC".
@@ralfandreakkd4368You mean N´Sync? And wasn´t it Justin Timberland or, wait, Timbalake, right. Justin Timbalake of N´Sync who ran away with Bob Geldoff as both had their coming-out!
Tiger Lily wasn't his daughter - she was fathered by Michael Hutchens but he still brought her up. I think the girls stupid names are their mother Paula Yates's fault - Peaches early death is probably a combination of stuff but her mum's suicide can't have helped. The other girls seem ok though - Fifi Trixibelle seems especially grounded and of course lives under a sensible name.
@@EmoBearRights A true fan writes us. One girl has changed her surname? That was a very good decision.
Adored this video Andy. Was thoroughly engrossed by your arguments. Possibly among your best
Live Aid was on my birthday! We celebrated by going to different venues and private parties where everyone was watching it. I am so grateful to have those memories!
It was 37 years ago 😉
I was at Live Aid in Philadelphia from start to finish....roughly 15 hours. I was a few months short of my 21st birthday. We each had a cooler filled with food, water, and alcohol. I don't remember anyone there whining and complaing about a guitar out of tune or someone's timing being off. Nobody cared. It was the most amazing concert experience I've ever had and I doubt very much if it will be surpassed, at least for me.
There was a very special unique atmosphere around on the day.
I think this was your best video yet Andy. Keep them coming brother!
Thanks! Will do!
Very excellent exploration/presentation, most of with which l concur.
Remember Sounds mag used to run these comedy top ten lists? Around that time there was a 'ten places you don't want to be', one of which was 'anywhere near the pub jukebox when We Are The World comes on'!
I'm from the 60's revolution and it's easy to believe the pinnacle of rock music started and ended at Max Yasgur's Farm in Bethel, New York with Woodstock in 1969. Virtually all of the cutting edge musicians performed there from Sly to Santana to Jimi Hendrix. They performed their stuff, no producers or record companies got them to comply with their obsession of hit writing, they told them to f*ck off. And that and that alone set that era of music above the rest, and the best, most important works became the legends in musical history. Woodstock remains the highest point in Rock musical history.
Woodstock was more famous, but Monterrey was the better concert.
It is unfortunate that the debt incurred meant the rights were sold to the corporates, who then selected “the most important” whom then went on to become our perceived “legends”. Many of the acts on the subsequent official soundtrack shared publishing companies or booking agents. But it was a turning point. As Neil Young observed, big business undoubtedly saw the news reports and moved quickly to capture the market it demonstrated.
@@chalkandcheese1868 that's a subjective observation for the most part.
@@fossilmatic your observation is understood but my statement was about the artists works, not the results of the indebtedness of the promotion of the event. What the artists presented on stage obviously has nothing to do with a financial result of the event. It was THEIR music, not a corporate partner's idea of what they should do or play.
Have you guys ever looked into how many of the 60's artists had families with deep military and intelligence backgrounds (Jim Morrison's dad was a Navy Admiral, for example)? If you really believe that such a massive movement was entirely organic and spontaneous, you are being naive.
"I'm not afraid to say that I think Band Aid was diabolical. Or to say that I think Bob Geldof is a nauseating character. Many people find that very unsettling, but I'll say it as loud as anyone wants me to. In the first instance the record itself was absolutely tuneless. One can have great concern for the people of Ethiopia, but it's another thing to inflict daily torture on the people of England. It was an awful record considering the mass of talent involved. And it wasn't done shyly it was the most self-righteous platform ever in the history of popular music."
"The whole implication was to save these people in Ethiopia, but who were they asking
to save them? Some 13-year-old girl in Wigan!
"People like Thatcher and the royals could solve the Ethiopian problem within ten seconds. But Band Aid shied away from saying that - for heaven's sake, it was almost directly aimed at unemployed people."
Morrissey and The Smiths did not take part.
Yeah and Morrissey has aged like milk into a bitter old fascist saying Anders Brevik isn't as bad the meat trade. I'm one of many vegetarians who wished he'd shut the eff up because he's getting us a bad name.
Morissey always keeping it real.
You totally nailed it. This is a staggering work of simple insight.
Best part was Mike Love ragging on Jagger not having the guts to play on stage with the Beach Boys, then a couple hours later there’s Mick doing Satisfaction totally ghosting Love. Just beautiful
Lol
Mike Love is low hanging fruit.
A total tool.
Listen to the Chumbawamba song 'Slag Aid' off their debut 'Pictues of Starving Children Sell Records.'
"Rockin' in the Free World" by Neil Young came out 4 years after Live Aid. Young had just finished recording "Old Ways" for Geffen Records which went back to his country/folk rock style. At least he played the strong rocker "Powderfinger" as his last song in his set.
i stayed up for the whole weekend watching live aid.the 80s were cool.
Thanks for this Andy!! I clearly remember this event like it was yesterday brother! I was so pumped for it to finally air on MTV that day and praying there wouldn't be any technical issues for being one of THE largest live broadcasts in human history. BUT MOST OF ALL, it was totally electrifying in the fact that the mighty rock gods Led Zeppelin were going to take the stage, as well as, really hoping to see Sir Paul and Black Sabbath too, but performance wise though-Queen ruled the day and the audience without question what-so-ever!!... it was simply fucking awesome brother!!! , Jerry
Andy’s dad said The Concert for Bangladesh was the end of the line for rock and roll.
as a kid live aid was 100% about the Zep reunion and wow it was horrible. I remember them all looking confused onstage. Thompson I remember just pounding the drums at the wrong moment always and Page seemed not to know his own songs
Very interesting aspects, Andy! In general I like to follow Your socialphilosophic thoughts on music. In 1985 I was 27. Musician. Definitely something changed towards the end of the eighties.
I love this. First time.
I could listen to this all day.
I think you have many valid points. You have perspectives that never would have occurred to me. I agree with you. And you sold me that it is very possible for popular music to get "better" and resurrect the fundamental aspects that made it important to humanity.
Brilliant show, sir.
Really wonderful insight. I agree with what you agree. It's like the line when all the danger was officially sucked out of rock, heightened by Zeppelin dying up there. You began hearing bands that were dangerous relegated to this novelty status like there was something unusual now about excess and edginess in rock. Really the only period in modern music where parents and kids tastes could easily overlap.
I was 26 that year. Heavy into music, both as a fan and as a band member, guitarist. You are right 100% on all points 👍
The death of music came in 1985 but it wasn't Live Aid, it was the debut of a certain singer called Whitney. She was the first artist since the rise of rock& roll that your mum liked, and because she was so successful we've had a billion Whitney clones since.
My mother went to the Beatles concert in Adelaide South Australia with my sister and friends. Most of the mothers I knew liked them.
Never could stand Whitney Houston, she was just a shouter, plus a drug addict of course.
Love your thoughts on where music fits into the world, haven't seen anyone approach this anywhere else
I’m 60, grew up in Southern California, and ya, it’s been dead for a long, long time. When I was in my teens, for me, it wasn’t about “changing the world” it was about having fun. Music purely for fun, not for some “cause” and the simple truth that hardly anyone apparently understands anymore is that happy people make the world a better place.
Having grown up on UK Glam Rock, 1977 in retrospect seems like the end of rock being the basis of pop music in the UK. Henceforth, Rock would live on in the relatively niche areas of Punk and Metal, while Pop would be underpinned by various forms of dance music based in Black American music. Slightly different story in the US where their own brand of Glam Rock remained central to US Pop music throughout the 80's
The 80's had hair metal, "college rock" (which included stuff like REM and surviving New Wave bands like The Cure, etc.), and Heartland meat and potatoes rock like Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp. A handful of pop artists like Prince and Madonna, and Micheal Jackson dominated the sales charts, but rock, if you include all the popular artists of the big sub genres, sold as well as pop did overall on the American charts.
@@ryanjacobson2508 I think there was distinct parting of the ways between the US and UK in the late 70's and early 80's with "Dance" music far more central to the Pop landscape.
As a thirteen year old, I was listening to Rock-based acts like Slade, Bowie, Gary Glitter. My equivalent ten years later would have been listening to Ska-based Two Tone bands like Madness and The Specials or the electronic Motown of Duran Duran, Wham and the Synthi-Pop bands. Even hardcore post-punk bands like Gang of Four could talk about "the dialectics of Disco". This whole process is perhaps best epitomized by the evolution of Joy Division into New Order.
You are right about the legends Andy. RIP Wayne Kramer. A few weeks ago, Melanie Safka.
Geez! I spent a whole school bus trip listening to REO freakin speedwagon for more than an hour! IT damaged me for life.
There was a thing called alternative rock brewing at the time. Rock didn’t die, it was demonetised till 1991 by the record industry, by radio, by T.V. You had to go & search for interesting music.
Man...I think I am a few years younger than you...and I am American...and I agree with so much of what you are saying...and you have even made me rethink a few things as well...what an excellent video...I am glad I found your channel!
39 years ago. You were born 1 day before me and it was 39 years ago for me.
Amazing how fucking fast time motors.
Disturbing, isn’t it?
I was also wondering about that math at the beginning. 1985 is not just 27 years ago, not even just 37.
The Smiths didn't do it as Morrissey said what about the poor starving English!
Well when were you born ?
@@fleadoggreen9062 🌎 day 68.
Simon LeBon's note always deserves a mention.
Yeah - I'm a Duranie I seem to gravitate towards epic eff ups. On the OG Dancing with the Stars in the UK - the soap opera twink I liked forgot both his routines in the quarter final luckily he'd established as a good dancer before that point and got saved by the public.
The big bands sold a lot of CDs afterwards, so the record companies made some shekejs, as did the bands/artists. But from what Ive read, muxh if not most of the cash raused for Ethiopia went straight to warlords to buy weapons etc etc. The road to helk is paved with charriddee singles.
The food was left to rot on the trains, no one who needed the benefits received a thing!!!
@@user-ud5qj7dj1q still no shortage of Africans now, it would seem...there are enough for everybody!
It has been reported that every act except for Adam Ant reaped a massive harvest of profits due to playing at Live Aid. Also as far as I remember the total raised on both sides of the Atlantic back then was 29 million pounds. I always wondered exactly how that vast amount was spent .
Absolutely spot on analysis - loved this.
I am in total agreement. While it was a great day and a tremendous achievement, it signalled that rock had become the establishment instead of a force for youthful rebellion. I've used the phrase the day music died many times over the years in relation to this and was often shouted down for being too cynical.
Do you not think that pop/rock music was always controlled by the establishment or at the very least from the moment that its potential to influence and shape the thinking and therefore behaviour of the masses, became understood?
Youthful rebellion is overrated.
@@theredraven Especially when that "rebellion" is sold to the youth by rich, powerful old men.
it’s a paradox…
I think that Metallica, Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer & Guns & Roses still had edge in the late 80's.
I loved this video man, great ideas and view point.
Appreciate it!
Good argument, well made. Luckily for me I was/am a Zappa fan, so managed to appreciate an artist who continued to evolve, experiment and challenge, while avoiding getting sucked into the abyss you describe.
The 80's had too many "AIDS" related things going on. Live Aid, Band Aid, Farm Aid, and then there was the REAL AIDS...this other thing going on that kinda ended up having something to do with a couple of the artists that performed at Live Aid later on...
The Canadian version of Band Aid (Northern Lights,Tears are Not Enough) is a lesser known but hilarious one to watch (I'mCanadian andd I'm still not sure who half the people singing are) Almost as good as the heavy metal one created by Ronnie James Dio.
I was in the comment section a few minutes ago for a video for extreme metal pioneers Venom. A 13 year old chimes in saying his father introduced him to that music. I respond saying I was hiding Venom cassettes from my father when I was his age. The timeline of me doing so was very slightly after Live Aid, but your point stands.
Great points, Andy. This mirrors some of the things we discussed in our interview.
Thanks for watching....would love another chat at some point!!!!
@@AndyEdwardsDrummer We'll have to follow up sometime this year.
Live Aid was a mirror to the pop/MTV culture. It was two days of TV based fun. It was huge. Loved it.
TV based fun...the best sort of fun!
From the US standpoint it was for MTV
No-one in the UK knew what the hell MTV was in 1985 or the cable/satellite thing either.
Maybe got a 2 second glimpse of your band performing on TOTP or see their video, until next week
Andy, the might be your most important video yet.
In his book Mr Geldof says that several major black stars turned down the chance to perform at band aid so really their refusal to play helped create the saintly white rock star image.
Those that refused were probably much more rooted in reality and aware of how ugly the idea of Live Aid actually was.
Excellent analysis !
Well... I'm glad this was a podcast because your very pertinent observations could never have fitted into a conversation (Dang man! It took a time to get there and to the point!)
But... yes. Yep. You got it.
Something triggered me in a conversation with a friend in late 1986 to launch into an impassioned rant about the musicians and the music they were making then being completely unlike the musicians and the music around the time of Woodstock. I agree wholeheartedly with your views here.
I was a Junior in High School washing dishes in a local restaurant that day. We had the concert playing on TV all day. We even put a TV in the kitchen so we could see it. It was quite the event. I still have my VHS recording of the 3 hour special ABC ran that evening.
This is great. He nails my discomfort with all of these big charity events perfectly. And the reason why I love ‘We Care A Lot’ by Faith No More so much…
Far more British acts! Even the US show was dominated by the UK, the British were just way ahead of the game! You’re so right about the decline of our cultural and artistic expression … end of an era! It’s almost as if there was a “creative portal” that was open for a few years and then suddenly closed. Even the “legends” can’t come up with anything decent and are now just touring their hits from 40 years ago.
Basically, you seem to be saying Live Aid is responsible for the fact that rock stars are old farts now. It’s just the passage of time that did that. And the idea that popular music wasn’t “corporate” until a charity concert - where everybody gave their time for free and not a single corporation got to display their logo - is one of the most bizarrely naive theories I’ve ever heard. It’s one of the few moments when popular music WASN’T corporate. Popular music has been fundamentally corporate for more than a century.
I have UK and US citizenship. In 1977, I was at university in the UK and saw a few punk bands. I hated punk. I was living in the US during Live Aid. There is a myth in the UK, spread by the BBC and the music press, that punk changed music. Punk had little impact in the US. The British punk bands did not sell many records in the US. Many British rock musicians moved to the US or focused on the US market in the 1980s. Prog bands like Yes, King Crimson, Rush, and the Moody Blues retained an audience in the US. Live Aid also resurrected the careers of Queen and Eric Clapton who had been overlooked in recent years,
exactly right....
Maybe Eric Clapton but Queen had a hit single in 1984 with 'I Want to Break Free' so they were already huge at the time.
The original ‘Punk’ was Lou Reed / Velvet Underground , Punk before Punk - the king of New York rip ❤
So Bob killed Rock. You bastard, Bob!
Bob killed rock when he formed the boomtown prats.
Great essay Andy, Many paralells to my life journey. I am a bassist/guitarist who went to art school in 1987.
Very interesting! Thank you.
I think good looks and appearance were always important and promoted. For example, Julie London's album covers from the 1950's. There are zillions of albums covers from the 60's to 70's with attractive women, often semi naked, which extends to Japan and Italy and France. Stephen Stills was rejected by The Monkees gig because of his teeth and receding hairline. Cass Elliott only made it into the Mamas and Papas because John Phillips got outvoted. How sexy is Carly Simon's Possum album art from the 70's.
Nah mtv ,the video generation had already destroyed music by then. Duran, culture , madonna, wham. I was in my formative years , teenager, so this should be my era and I hated it so much I went backwards. Being a beatles fan in school in the 80s was not the same as now. Non cormformity was liking guitars not synthesisers.
Very interesting insights here. Enjoyed the video and your thoughts on the state of music.
@1:49
This is right. Artists gave their performance time on stage for free.
Who paid for their FREE FLIGHTS to the concert area? Who paid for their FREE Backstage FOOD? Who paid for their FREE Backstage ALCOHOL? Who paid for their FREE Backstage V.I.P. area? Who paid for their FREE Backstage toilet facilities?
There Is No Such Thing As A FREE LUNCH.
What a day! I video taped the whole thing. Don’t have those tapes now though….i did buy the dvd boxset when it was released. I was super pumped for Zeppelin too. It was definitely disappointing,but fun nonetheless. I absolutely live the Wembley side of the concert. Much better than the Philadelphia lineup. It was such an exciting day. I loved the 80’s!! Cheers ✌️
Ps REO Speedwagon 🤣🤣👍
Your impersonation of “REO Speed Wagon” was hilarious! When I hear something on modern radio, it’s sounds an awful lot like that in my head. 😂
Meanwhile in 1985, Dave Mustaine releases +Killing Is My Business … And Business Is Good!+
Great video Andy - very thought provoking and I agree with about 90% of it.
i think you have a point ...live aid was a watershed moment, ..it's hard to say exactly when rock and roll died but this gig could have been the largest nail in its coffin.
Let me help you. Feb 2 1959
@@Thenogomogo-zo3un Bye Bye Miss American Pie.
Live Aid featured have-beens and established artists. My favorite rock musicians then were newly emerged artists like the speed metal bands from the East Bay of San Francisco (like Exodus), Venom, Celtic Frost and guitarists from Shrapnel Records. None of these played for Live Aid. I didn´t care about the music of Live Aid then.
Live Aid was still one helluva concert. You can't fault the players for doing it. The hidden hands of the Globalist Master of Puppets was pulling their strings just as they'd always done since the invention of their new modern mythology. They needed that mythology to steer humanity in the direction they wanted us to go. Ultimately, though, they failed to achieve their goal and that's why the mythology has died. Live Aid was without question the turning point just as you've described... but it's not the reason for all that's happened since. The reason is "They failed." And for that we should all be celebrating. Being freed from the rudder of Globalism, humanity is once again free to chart its own course and freely redefine its destiny.