38 years on: Watch Freddie Mercury and Queen perform their iconic 1985 Live Aid set

Publish Date
Thursday, 13 July 2023, 9:16AM

It's hard to believe, but it has been 38 years since Live Aid hit screens across the world to raise money for African famine relief.

The amazing production - which was simultaneously broadcast from both Wembley Stadium in London (attended by 72,000 people) and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia (attended by about 100,000 people) - brought the world together and raised around $250 million for Africa.

While Phil Collins managed to perform at both stages across the world thanks to the blistering pace of the Concorde, the set that stole the show - and has since been labelled as one of the greatest live performances of all time - was Queen.

Their iconic 22-minute set - which was performed by Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon at London's Wembley Stadium - saw the rockers belt out six of their biggest hits, including 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'Radio Ga Ga', 'Hammer To Fall', 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', 'We Will Rock You' and 'We Are The Champions.' 

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Other performers included a reunited Led Zeppelin, a reunited The Who, plus U2, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, Elton John, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Bryan Adams, Madonna, Sting, the Beach Boys, Duran Duran, Tom Petty, Neil Young and many more.

Live Aid was one of the largest-scale satellite link-ups and television broadcasts of all time with an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations, watching the live broadcast.

Do you remember watching the live stream?

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