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Live Aid was forty years ago but being there seems like yesterday

8 0
12.07.2025

On 13th July 1985, the world witnessed a moment of collective action and cultural unity that, even now, has never quite been matched.

Live Aid was simply unique, and the old footage of Wembley Stadium packed to the rafters and the sight of some of the biggest artists of the time standing shoulder to shoulder to fight famine in Africa still feels electric today.

And, in the immortal words of Max Boyce, “I was there!” In the days before Ticketmaster, Live Nation and online ticket touts, I patiently queued outside Spillers Records in Cardiff - the world’s oldest record shop - to buy four tickets for a group of us for then expensive price of £25 (with 80% actually being donated directly to the Live Aid charity).

Forty years later, I still remember it like it was yesterday. Walking down Wembley Way to the old stadium on a gloriously sunny day with not a cloud in the sky, Status Quo opening at noon with Rockin’ All Over the World, and Queen’s show-stopping set that many now consider one of the best live performances ever (and was only twenty-one minutes long).

It was a time before mobile phones and social media yet the memories are still vivid. I was lucky enough to be down at the front of the crowd for most of the evening, including when Paul McCartney came on to play Let It Be at........

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