Live Aid

Live Aid

Bob Geldof is a singer and musician and was a part of the ¨Boomtown Rats¨. He was born in Ireland on 5 October 1951. He attended a private catholic school but informed the public that he didn’t enjoy attending the school because of its Catholic ethos and bullying his lack of rugby skills. 

He was involved in the Live Aid Concert. Bob Geldof was one of the main organisers of the Live Aid concert in Wembley Stadium, London. It was held for 16 hours and was named a rock extravaganza and was aimed at raising money and awareness for Africa. 

Midge Ure was a member of the New Wave band Ultravox. He was the guitarist and vocalist for the group. Midge Ure was born on October 10, 1953, in Glasgow, Scotland. He was famous for one of the hit songs that he co-wrote and produced. The song was ¨Do they Know It’s Christmas?¨, which sold 3.7 million copies in the UK. The song is the second highest-selling single in UK chart history. 

Together with Bob Geldof they organised the Live Aid Concert and released the single ¨Do they Know It’s Christmas?¨ Bob Geldof and Midge Ure were inspired by the plight of starving children that were widely seen on TV. It was a spontaneous event with many of the best-known names in pop music invited. It became an instant bestseller selling a record 3 million copies.

Do They Know It’s Christmas?
In October 1984, Bob Geldof visited Ethiopia to see their situation for himself. When Bob Geldof made his return he and Midge Ure of the group Ultravox produced the song ¨Do They Know It’s Christmas¨ and gathered up many different British Pop Stars and the name of Band-Aid to record it in time for the holiday release.  

It was continued by holding two simultaneous 16-hour concerts in Philadelphia and London. Multiple artists like Paul McCartney and the band Queen received immense popularity during the concert. The concert raised $127 million and was broadcasted over to over 110 countries. Geldof, after the concert, went to Ethiopia to oversee the distribution of supplies, so that they're distributed fairly.

You could say that Live Aid was a form of protest. The concert was to raise awareness about the situation in Ethiopia and protests are done to raise awareness about a certain topic. 

Artists organise different concerts all the time and since there has been a lot of topics that need to be raised so I think that artists could come together and raise awareness and raise money to donate.