Backstage at Live Aid: Rivalries, friendships and disasters of iconic event explored

10 July 2025, 14:44

Tensions were sometimes fraught behind the scenes of Bob Geldof and Midge Ure’s famous concert.

Despite Live Aid taking the world by storm on July 13, 1985, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure likely could never have anticipated the significance their event would still have 40 years on.

In fact, fans today are still obsessing over getting an insight into what it was really like for all the big names performing that day through all the event’s best backstage photos, videos and gossip.

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From Wembley to Philadelphia and broadcast around the globe, it's safe to say THE music event for the ages was hardly without its hiccups and twists.

Friendships were formed, meanwhile other bonds were broken. Duran Duran famously didn’t perform again for almost 20 years following their appearance in the US’ JFK Stadium.

Here’s a rundown of some other notable events which occurred behind the scenes of Live Aid 1985...

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Ego-driven arguments

Unsurprisingly for such a star-studded event, several egos clashed behind-the-scenes.

Status Quo frontman Francis Rossi recently recalled (via the Mirror) how this led to the issue of “nobody want[ing] to go on first” to open the concert.

“There were lots of egos. I remember asking our manager if anybody had decided yet. I said we would gladly go on first because everybody was arguing,” he added.

So, after a rousing performance from the Coldstream Guards, Status Quo went on to open the event by performing ‘Rockin’ All Over the World’, welcomely sorting one of many fraught scheduling issues from the day.

Stressful 18-minute sets

With so many artists performing at Wembley and in Philadelphia, Bob Geldof became militant with his insistance that everyone keep to the very limited 18-minute set times arranged for each act.

As the day’s official backstage footage (see below) reveals, signs were placed all around Wembley’s backstage area to remind artists of the day’s running order, stressing the importance of keeping to time.

Live Aid - Rare Backstage Impressions (13th July, 1985)

A traffic light system was also set up backstage, with a green light shown to bands for most of their performance, an amber light shown when just a minute remained, and red shown to any acts who went over.

U2 fall out

Duran Duran were not the only band to encounter post-show blues following Live Aid.

After Bono derailed U2’s planned setlist by extending their performance of ‘Bad’, the group were forced to cut playing ‘Pride (In the Name of Love)’ as a result – angering the rest of the band.

As Larry Mullen Jr. told Rolling Stone in 2014: “We felt like we’d blown an opportunity to be great.”

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The Edge recalls: “It really took us by surprise when people started talking about U2 as one of the noteworthy performances of the day. I thought they were joking.”

In the end, the band patched up their differences as they came to realise how Bono’s ‘Bad’ performance – and the special moment it captured between him and one of the crowd’s fans – had electrified the group in the eyes of the world.

Bono summarised in 2014: “Crap sound, crap haircuts, and we didn’t end up playing the hit ‘Pride (In the Name of Love)’ because the singer f****d off into the crowd – band wanted to fire me as a result – [but] it turned out to be one of the best days of our life.”

Sweet moment Phil Collins asked Nik Kershaw for autographs for his children

Of course, not every backstage moment from 1985’s famous concert was a bust up – many sweet friendships were also formed by the stars who shared a stage that day.

Backstage footage of the concert posted on Live Aid’s official YouTube account captures the sweet moment (starting around 4:55) Phil Collins asked Nik Kershaw for autographs on behalf of his children, Simon and Joely.

Elton John fanboys over Nils Lofgren

The aforementioned backstage footage also shows a meeting between Elton John and American singer Nils Lofgren, who visited Wembley’s backstage area during Live Aid.

Sir Elton shares with Nils his pre-show nerves, and in another wonderfully down-to-earth moment, lets out his inner fanboy by sharing how much he admires Nils’ musical talent.

Elton John cooked burgers for everyone

Concerned there wouldn’t be good food backstage, the ‘Crocodile Rock’ artist brought along his own motorhome to Live Aid and cooked burgers on a grill for his friends, Spencer Bright told the Daily Mail in 2015.

David Bowie and Freddie Mercury were some of the stars Sir Elton served, reports say.

Helicopter chaos

According to Dylan Jones in his book The Eighties: One Day, One Decade, David Bowie was sent to placate an angry father-of-the-bride when the event’s celebrity arrivals caused issues for his bride.

Helicopter arrivals for the event were landing on a nearby cricket field where her wedding reception was due to take place later that evening, leading to tensions rising between organisers of both events!

But a photo with the ‘Starman’ singer sorted out the upset, and thankfully all arrivals had made it to Wembley before the reception took place.

Elvis Costello almost didn’t perform

After his set was cut down from four songs to just one by Bob, Live Aid organiser Pete Smith recalled in 2015 interview with Henley Standard how Elvis Costello’s manager threatened the star would walk away from the event if any more compromises had to be made.

Adam Ant’s set was almost cut too, but his manager – who also managed Sting – made sure he performed by telling Bob that Sting would also leave if Adam didn’t get a song (via Yahoo Entertainment).

Paul McCartney wasn’t confirmed

Organiser Pete Smith also recalled in 2015 how Paul McCartney’s involvement in Live Aid’s emotional day wasn’t a given until very late in the show’s organisation.

In the end it was his children who convinced Paul to get involved, with him telling Pete “the management” had brought him around to the idea several weeks before he confirmed his involvement.

“I mean the real management,” he said. “My kids. They’ve been doing Live Aid projects at school for a month or more. They promised their mates that I’d do it.”

Paul hadn’t performed since John Lennon’s death, and was apparently full of stage fright on the day before he impressed Wembley’s 72,000 crowd and over a billion people watching at home with his performance of ‘Let It Be’.

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