Forty years ago today, Tina Turner, David Bowie, Joan Baez, and U2 were among the 75-plus acts that played for a 16-hour “superconcert” held in two locations, London and Philadelphia, with a collective 170,000 fans in attendance. Satellites beamed the performances to another 1.9 billion viewers in 150 countries. All told, the benefit concerts raised over $100 million to support famine relief in Ethiopia.
Live Aid was conceived of by Irish musician Bob Geldof, who was moved to action after seeing a news report about the hunger crisis in the African country. He organized a supergroup of U.K. musicians — Band Aid — to record a benefit song, which topped the U.K. charts and raised millions. That inspired artists in the U.S. to do the same, and the international Live Aid concerts were organized to continue the momentum. Queen stole the show in what is considered by many to be one of the greatest rock performances of all time.
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