On July 13, 1985, the biggest stars in music gathered for two televised concerts (one in Philadelphia, one in London) that reached more than one and a half billion viewers. With all of the proceeds going towards the cause of famine in Africa, the Live Aid events sent out a very inspiring message. Released 20 years later, THE STORY OF LIVE AID goes inside the event's planning process and gathers highlights from some of its star performers. Due to the fragile nature of TV footage, many celebrated performances from the concerts were unable to be preserved for this collection. Nonetheless, the four-disc set does capture the essence of the event, as well as over 40 of its magnetic performances by acts such as Run DMC, Sting, Queen, Tom Petty, David Bowie, Elton John, the Beach Boys, Madonna, U2, Bryan Adams, Black Sabbath, and many others. Pretty much every major player in popular 1980s music makes an appearance here, as well as such timeless artists as Paul McCartney and Neil Young. In the spirit of further contributing to a good cause, all proceeds from this release will go toward the Band Aid Trust.

release year: 2005

star(s): Bob Dylan    Sting    U2