The idea came from Bob Geldof and Midge Ure. They wanted to raise money for the people starving in the famine in Ethiopia. Concerts were held at Wembley Stadium in London and at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, and they were broadcast around the world.
An estimated 1.9 billion people in 150 nations watched.
At 6:41 in the evening, it was Queen’s turn. They had only 21 minutes.
Freddie Mercury walked out in a white tank top and jeans, sat down at the piano, and played the opening of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The 72,000 people in the stadium roared.
From that moment, he had them.
He strutted across the stage. He led the crowd through call-and-response chants, his voice ringing out and thousands of voices answering. One long note he held during the a cappella section became known as “The Note Heard Round the World.”
The band played six songs, ending with “We Are the Champions.”
Bob Geldof later called Queen’s set “absolutely amazing.” Fired up by the performance, he went on air and demanded people donate.
Twenty years later, in 2005, a poll of more than 60 artists, journalists and music industry executives voted Queen’s Live Aid set the greatest live performance in the history of rock.
Freddie Mercury died in November 1991, at just 45 years old. But for 21 minutes on a summer evening at Wembley, he showed the whole world what a true showman looks like.
Did you watch Live Aid in 1985? Share this with a friend who still knows every word of “Bohemian Rhapsody.”