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(Credit: Alamy)
It was single-handedly the biggest concert to ever grace the world’s stage, and for that reason, even some 40 years on, Live Aid will forever be one of the most iconic pieces of music history. We all know the stories, whether you were lucky enough to be there, watch them, or have them passed down for those of us who only know them through famous anecdotes.
This was the gig that reunited Queen, saw Mick Jagger branch out from The Rolling Stones on his own for the first time, and premiered the iconic duet between Elton John and George Michael of ‘Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me’ – of course, among a slew of other highlights. But in some ways, Live Aid was as much a talking point for what it didn’t include just as much as what it did, and there’s a whole line of illustrious, if slightly embarrassed, artists who failed to make the lineup.
Across the stages of London and Philadelphia, only the very best of Britain and America would do in fulfilling the scale of Live Aid’s calibre, given the lengths Bob Geldof and Midge Ure went to in pulling it off. As such, the bill was about as starry as you could possibly imagine – but even still, with some notable names missing.
For starters, one of the world’s most enduring big rock stars was palpably absent, with Rod Stewart claiming hilariously in 2021 that he’d only found out recently that his manager had turned down the offer to appear with the Faces as he was struggling to deal with the bad press at the time.
Moreover, on the American front, Stevie Wonder was also missing in action – but his choice was more conscious. He had initially agreed to appear, but then, taking umbrage to the lack of racial diversity on the lineup, proclaimed he was not going to be the “token Black” artist of the show. However, not all the snubs were for equally honourable reasons – Prince, for example, only appeared in a pre-recorded video in Philadelphia because he didn’t believe the gig was good enough for him. It’s fair to say it didn’t do his reputation any favours.
Some artists were also – ahem, a little selfishly – too absorbed in their own projects to get into the charitable spirit. Bruce Springsteen was too tired off the back of finishing his recent tour, in which he had played the very same Wembley Stadium only the week before, and parts of his stage were left behind to help construct Live Aids. Meanwhile, although one of the spearheads of the US effort ‘We Are the World’, Michael Jackson was in the very final stages of brewing Bad and wanted to harness all his focus on that. Couldn’t a quick stop off at Live Aid have boosted his morale, though?
Regardless of the reasons, whatever excuses artists came up with to justify not gracing Live Aid pale in comparison to the space in music history they could have occupied by simply taking to the stage. It was for the likes of Queen to reap the benefits of rock and roll rapture off its back—and for those who missed out to read it and weep.
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