A musical based on Live Aid is coming to Canada. A conversation with Bob Geldof

Saturday, July 13, 1985, volition forevermore beryllium known arsenic 1 of the biggest days successful euphony history. Bob Geldof, the scruffy, scrappy frontman of The Boomtown Rats, strongarmed artists, venues, outer companies, and adjacent heads of authorities into participating successful a monolithic performance lawsuit to rise wealth to combat a catastrophic famine successful Ethiopia.

Over a 16-hour broadcast, Live Aid, divided betwixt Wembley Stadium successful London and JFK Stadium successful Philadelphia, brought successful implicit US$125 cardinal successful humanitarian assistance from a planetary TV assemblage estimated astatine 1.9 cardinal — astir 40 per cent of the world’s colonisation — successful 150 countries, including the Soviet Union. Queen’s 20-minute acceptable is wide regarded arsenic 1 of the top of each time. Bono’s dancing with a pistillate from the assemblage is present considered iconic. And Phil Collins jetting via Concorde to look connected some stages? Crazy.

There has ne'er been, nor whitethorn determination ever beryllium again, a much almighty objection of however euphony tin beryllium a almighty cause for societal and governmental change. Almost 40 years later, radical inactive speech astir Live Aid. And the speech has been rekindled, acknowledgment to a caller philharmonic based connected the lawsuit called Just For One Day (yes, the rubric is from the Bowie song, Heroes.) It follows respective characters who retrieve that time and intertwines real-life events with implicit 30 songs performed astatine Live Aid.

After a tally astatine the Old Vic successful London’s West End (the reviews were brilliant), the production’s adjacent halt is the Mirvish Theatre successful Toronto from Jan. 26 to March 25, 2025. Geldof was successful Toronto to speech astir the production. I sat down with Bob for astir fractional an hour. And Bob being Bob, I got successful precisely 2 questions during that time. Here’s a mildly summarized mentation of our chat.

Alan Cross: You ne'er struck maine arsenic a instrumentality of philharmonic theatre.

Bob Geldof: Well, if you’re a Catholic, you person your confirmation astatine 11. My dada took maine connected my confirmation dainty to spot South Pacific and it blew maine away. I got it. I truly similar Oklahoma. I’m a words guy. I tune into words archetypal and the words are truthful astute [Bob quotes backmost a clump of lyrics from Oklahoma]. And past West Side Story was conscionable phenomenally good. Why wouldn’t I beryllium into [musical theatre]? What I’m not into is worldly similar Cats. That benignant of nonsense doesn’t bash it for me.

AC: When it comes to Live Aid — the existent lawsuit — a batch of radical contiguous don’t recognize however large of an lawsuit that was. We successful ’85 seldom got to see our heroes, particularly if we were successful the hinterlands. Live Aid was transformative due to the fact that exertion allowed america to spot our people.

BG: That’s perfectly key. Rock ‘n’ rotation is simply a relation of technology. Elvis and Little Richard wouldn’t person communicated if not for the caller whiz-bang transistor radios. Six years later, successful comes these 4 young [men] who don’t recognize wherefore they should beryllium deferential. So you abruptly got done your TV successful a precise black-and-white, still-bankrupt, postwar Britain … colour! Optimism and joy.

The Rolling Stones! There’s nary WAY they would person breached done with that racket [without television]! Pure punk! Utter contemptuous insolence conscionable staring retired astatine you from the screen! Looking weird, you know? But each of america got it simultaneously. That’s fundamentally the communicative for Band Aid and Live Aid.

As I watched that quality clip connected the 6 o’clock BBC quality [reporter Michael Buerk’s communicative connected the Ethiopian famine], I thought this demands thing of the self.

The Boomtown Rats were disconnected the boil. There’s Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Boy George, Eurythmics. I’m not guaranteed a hit, truthful wherefore don’t I get those guys — who I knew, due to the fact that my missus [Paula Yates] was the big of the stone amusement of the hour, The Tube. So I called her and asked, “Who’s there?” Luckily, determination was Midge [Ure, the aboriginal co-writer of the Band-Aid opus Do They Know It’s Christmas]. And that’s however that began. A relation of technology.

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[After a travel to Africa aft the Band-Aid project, Geldof was shocked to find that nary of the atom purchased with the funds raised could get to the radical who needed it due to the fact that a cartel was holding up the trucks.]

I went backmost to the Band Aid spot and reported connected the trip. “I deliberation we should bash a concert” [to rise wealth for the spot to bargain its ain trucks]. I began to spell into Bob Mode. Suddenly, the satellite could perceive to this stuff. A relation of technology. “If we bash it globally,” I said, “then we tin bash this.”

I work that the LA Olympics was the lone Olympics that made money, truthful let’s get the feline who did the LA Olympics. I got ahold of him and I said, “This is what I privation to do. Are determination capable satellites?” They said, “Well, determination are but galore of them beryllium to the subject and determination are a batch of concealed ones up there.” And past I said, “Can we get them?”

I went to meal with the president of France [François Mitterrand] astatine Elysée Palace, similar you do, and I said, “Mr. President, France has a outer implicit cardinal Africa that I privation to beryllium successful connected this. I truly privation Africa to beryllium progressive successful this, to recognize that they’re not alone.” He goes, “Well, I don’t cognize if we’ve got satellites.” So this wide was called successful who said “Non, non, non! Cette impossible!” Then Mitterand said, “General, I’m your president. The question is, ‘Do we person satellites that run implicit cardinal Africa?” The feline said, “Yes, Mr. President, we do.” “Bob would similar to usage them for 24 hours.”

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So ne'er hide what this is. In our world, it’s astir this large infinitesimal of euphony erstwhile the top acts ever did their top songs ever and performed way implicit their norm. And it’s reverberated down done the years.

We — well, helium — spoke for immoderate clip aft this, yet moving to Live Eight, different planetary performance lawsuit that took spot successful 2006. He besides hinted astatine much 40th day Live Aid events coming successful 2025 positive a solemnisation of The Boomtown Rats’ 50th anniversary.

Tickets for Just for One Day spell connected merchantability Monday, Oct. 7, astatine 10 a.m. ET.

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Alan Cross is simply a broadcaster with Q107 and 102.1 the Edge and a commentator for Global News.

Subscribe to Alan’s Ongoing History of New Music Podcast present connected Apple Podcast oregon Google Play

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