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Today, 30 years ago, the Beach Boys performed at the Live Aid benefit concert, with Brian Wilson in tip-top shape, taking the lead vocal, (Although Jeff and Al are as well) on WIBN. One of my favorite performances, with the boys as a powerhouse, well, except for Mike's nasal and out of tune "Live without it, talk about it." Carl absolutely killing Good Vibes. Anyone here remember Live Aid or even attended it?

Ahh yes! I've been seeing various social media stuff popping up about the anniversary. Forgive any lapses of memory or errors. I was just a few years too young to actually go to JFK stadium in person, but being in the Philly area one of the networks, I think it was channel 6 ABC or maybe one of the UHF channels, ran the event live on TV so I remember watching whatever i could of the concert(s). I know one of them definitely ran the full Philly portion of the show, so most of those who performed there we could watch at home. It was cool to have that access, especially for me at that time being a top-40 Hot Hits 98 radio fanatic and getting to see some of the current acts and the classic artists play live. The others I didn't see i had to fill in years later as video of the events started to spread and even be rebroadcast as greatest hits compilations.

I do know there were some issues with the sound at various points, I haven't seen it for years and maybe someone has a video of it to confirm, but didn't McCartney take some criticism for improvising a lyric in "Let It Be"? The sound was acting up during his set, and he sang a line "there will be some feedback, let it be..." which I think actually upset some people!

But what stood out for me, and among all the music it may seem trivial...

It was a VERY hot day in Philly for the concert. JFK was an old stadium which had little or no shade or cover, it was kind of antiquated even 30 years ago (they tore it down in '92). All those fans were basically standing for hours in the direct sunlight, on a very humid day, and people started getting sick, passing out, etc. from the heat. At some point the fire department showed up and started spraying water from their hoses into the air over the crowd so they could cool off. I couldn't believe that in my younger mind at the time, I thought it was a wild scene to see the crowd actually getting hosed down by the fire department! Now the outdoor festivals and all-day events have those cool-down tents where people can step in and get a spray of water, but in 1985 I don't know of any shows that were regularly doing this. Was Live Aid in Philly the start of all that with the FD hosing down the crowd? I really don't know but it was quite a visual to see on TV.

After "Band Aid" and the Christmas single which everyone I knew bought the 45 when it came out the previous year, 1985 into 86 was like the year of the musician-based charity event, I remember we did something with "Hands Across America" at my school, then there were the various music videos, etc. So Live Aid was very, very much an event of its time for 1985.

Too young to have been there in person.  But, from the video I've seen The Beach Boys had a pretty good day. 

Although, the undisputed champion of Live Aid was Queen. 

I don't remember the number, but I know that Brian Wilson is one of a few artists that appeared at both Live Aid and Live 8.  I know McCartney, U2, Geldof, David Gilmour, and The Who were some of the others. 

One thing that I remember from watching it on TV here in Philly was that for most of the day The Beach Boys were the one set that raised the most money. They were tracking how much money was raised by each performer during their sets.

During a chat with Jeff Foskett a while back, he shared a great memory of the day with me:

"It was so cool. We did 'Wouldn't It Be Nice' and Brian and I were singing it together and they had Brian's picture up on the screen of that for the majority of the time and, it was so cool. We walked off that stage and somebody, y'know, had a cell phone -- which was fairly new in '85, I mean, they didn't really start happening till later in the '80s. And somebody called from Wembley backstage and said, 'The Beach Boys just destroyed Great Britain!' (Laughs) How cool is that? That was a really, really great gig."

I saw it live on TV. I wish I would've gone, just for historical sake; I lived close enough. Obviously, it was very interesting and thrilling to watch, so much to see, so many legends present.

Beach Boys' related, my initial impression was how great they all looked, especially Brian. I think that was the first time I saw him without his beard. I thought they played the perfect setlist. The crowd appeared to love them; the Beach Boys were perfect for an outdoor, summer concert like that. It's funny the thoughts you carry with you and recall/mention years later. I mean, an "out-of-tune" line is a curious thing to point out. Oh well...

Brian did look great that day. He had a haircut that was similar to how he wore it in 1966. He looked like his old self that day. Yes, the whole band looked great and acted like superstars. It was a great set!

Going on the Live Aid/Live 8 subject, what made headlines at the time of the original was that Phil Collins (who at that time was quite possibly one of the biggest stars to be featured thanks to his near constant presence on MTV and other TV spots) played both the UK and the Philly shows. As soon as he wrapped up his first set, he took the Concorde trans-Atlantic and performed the same day at the other venue. For 1985, that was pretty big news, I do remember that being a headline. Remember this is when (as Howie's post recalled) cel phones were still a novelty for the rich and very expensive to buy and operate, VHS and Betamax were the way to record TV shows and blank tapes if I recall averaged 10-15 bucks each at the stores, and the instant media via internet society didn't exist outside the deepest of the deep computer geeks who were doing primitive online gaming (as seen on AMC's Halt And Catch Fire this season), and my school at the time had BIG news that we were getting an Apple IIGS to replace the Apple IIC models we had been learning basic programming on and playing games like Oregon Trail during free periods. If you wanted up to date music news, you'd go to MTV if you had cable, you'd watch Solid Gold, Bandstand, etc for the current hits, and you still went to the local retail store to buy 45's you heard on the radio, if you were into top 40.

In that context, having these shows on two continents and having a performer fly supersonic to play at both venues was almost futuristic for kids like me! And, again with MTV and Miami Vice and all that, I liked Phil Collins. Remember he got Benny Hill to be in a video when my parents thought Benny Hill was still "too adult" for me to watch.  ;D

The Live Aid set was fabulous, all the guys had a chance to shine and Brian looked great! I love the way the camera pans across to Brian when the intro to Wouldn't It Be Nice starts.  In the interests of fairness though I would have to say that it wasn't Mike singing off during the part you mention above but Brian.  I also remember thinking it was Brian singing the whole lead until I realised it was being tripled!  Still great though to have him up there though.

Notice Mike rubbing Brian's back during the bridge.  Was this to put him off or offer encouragement to his cousin?  Much like the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Brian speech. Let's give Mike the benefit of the doubt.  ;D

Really? I had no idea. It feels as if my whole life has been a lie.

To put him off, of course. Being the evil person he is, how could he miss a chance to put off his cousin before 1.5 billion TV viewers?

 ::)

It was quite an event. Watched MTV coverage. I was pretty pumped that CSNY reunited. Queen put on one of the best live shows ever. Beach Boys sounded good. If i recall MTV had a lot of annoying commercial disruptions, but hey gotta pay the bills I guess.

Phil Collins also played the drums in the much hyped, but underwhelming, Led Zeppelin reunion.  (Led Zep would do a much better full reunion show at the 02 in 2007 with Jason Bonham on the drums). 

yeah, watched it live on MTV.  Back in the early days of my fandom but my fandom (like most of us here) was already rabid.  My biggest memory of course was the shock of seeing Brian without his beard, how great he looked, seeing him sing lead on WIBN and being hopeful about the BB's future. 

I was at the Wembley gig, prob 3/5s of the way back from the stage, and recall leaving my gal and brother and pals for a few minutes to get closer to one of the big screens to watch while the BBs played the JFK. Some guy shared his flagon of cider with me and we shared the moment together. The triple-tracking is interesting - I thought I was listening to some pre-recorded robo-Brian during the actually performance as he seemed to nail it too well.

I too feel as though my life's been a lie.

Phil Collins was already smoozhing with Royalty at this and taking the rock and roll out of rock and roll. This is where it was all becoming establishment and paving the way for bands to endorse Tony Blair's election campaign years later. If'n only we'd'a known…

Probably one of the best Beach Boys performances available on video. And I don't think Brian ever looked better.

It was a great set and a great performance. Brian seemed happy to be there and sang his heart out!
However... Al and Mike's respective shirts make my eyes bleed. And once again, Mike ruins Good Vibrations by talking, talking, talking... I really like Mike, but the man looooves the sound of his own voice, especially here!!!

Also... Dennis' not there. It's hard for me to fully appreciate those first years after Dennis' death.

On a good note, Bruce was wearing his big boy pants that day!

And Jeff Foskett also played an important role in the vocals and received a playful slap from Bruce during Good Vibrations if I remember correctly.

Exactly. Bruce leaves the stage (to take a pee?) and when he comes back, he playfully slaps Jeff on the cheek. Those two seemed to have a lot of fun that night.
And Carl, as always, was wonderful.

Nice acrobatic mic adjusting from Bruce during Help Me Rhonda.

It was amazing to see Brian looking so good again, really was a 66 flashback. Just the fact that he was up there, singing, instead of staring blankly at a grand piano, was amazing. I was a little surprised they didn't play their current hit "Getcha Back", but it was a great set. Never did get all the fuss about Queen, but I enjoyed seeing Hall and Oates singing with their old friends Ruffin and Kendrick. They made a sincere effort to get those 2 on the comeback trail, but sadly, it never really got off the ground.

Brian and Carl interview on the day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UsuKnQntyE

Nah...Just getting the audience to clap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clFVFGX1K4k

I think the rule from Sir Bob was "the hits, and nothing but the hits." Live Aid was not about giving artists a platform to promote their latest album or song and it was a success because of that.

I was lucky enough to be at Wembley that day and can confirm that the Beach Boys went down a storm there and certainly better than any other acts from Philly – although as I will explain they were in the right place at the right time. If I remember correctly, the first act ‘beamed in’ from Philadelphia was Bryan Adams (about 5pm British Summer Time). His set was beset by interference. The Beach Boys were next by which time the technical problems had all but cleared up. They came over great and the crowd were all singing along to California Girls, Good Vibes etc. Remember in 1985 seeing a gig projected on a large screen was still pretty rare! (I remember feeling really proud of ‘my band’ and the wonderful  way they were ‘getting over’ at Wembley).  After the BBs the scheduling started to go awry somewhat. What was supposed to happen was that UK and US acts would alternate so that there would be something for the Wembley crowd to watch while the next UK act was setting up for the stage, but pretty soon this all decoupled and the Wembley acts started to overlap with the Philly ones, making it much harder for the US bands to make an impact – or even to be seen of course if the performances were simultaneous. So in a way, the Beach Boys had the best slot of all (from the vantage point of the UK concertgoers). But this doesn’t detract a jot from what a great performance they put in (it was SUCH a thrill to see Brian etc.)

FWIW, it’s true what is often stated. Queen absolutely stole the show. It was a great day of course but a lot of it was actually rather tedious, with many perfectly good acts punching way above their weight trying to reach out to the whole stadium. For the record, my favourites (apart from the Beach Boys) were Elvis Costello, Sting/Phil Collins and Howard Jones – oh! and the Boomtown Rats – for obvious reasons).

I imagine it must have been impossible at that time to be a fan and NOT thinking that a great new era for the BBs was beginning.

Yeah, it was my very first of many what could have been's. I really thought I was discovering the band at the start of Brian's real comeback and on the brink of their renewed peak. What a moron I was...

I remember one of the local radio stations doing a simulcast of the concert along with the coverage on MTV. For some reason the radio broadcast was live and the TV was about a half hour behind. Some things I remember in my head but could be faulty memory are:
- Paul McCartney singing into a dead microphone for most of Let it Be (I later read that only the broadcast was faulty and that he was audible at Wembley).
- The power getting shut off for U2 for going beyond their playing time (The broadcasters said Geldof set strict limits on performance times and if anyone went over their plug would be pulled)
- The Stones NOT playing though Kieth and Ron Wood joined Dylan and Mick sang with Tina Turner.
- Power Station playing without Robert Palmer and the fill in Michael DeBarres getting drenched with water thrown by the crowd.

One band that isnt mentioned that seemed to go over well in Philadelphia was Judas Priest. I remember even the square radio announcers being impressed with their set and how it seemed to get the crowd going.
The set up at the stadium was weird, with that giant screen right in the middle of the arena. It would have sucked to have paid probably $20 for a ticket and have to sit behind that giant screen.

As for our boys, MTV did a documentary of sorts later in the year on Live Aid and Bob Geldof himself mentioned how astonished he was to hear the entire stadium at Wembley singing along to California Girls.