video: [www.youtube.com] What a stoned glorious mess!! A riot! Thought so in 85 when I was there. Still do!

Probably the worst performance in the history of show business. A rock star parody. Or is it a coke ad really?

I remember watching it live - embarrassing.
It was later said they couldn't hear each other because all the other artists were practicing the We Are the World grand finale behind the curtain.
Good excuse, but not sure how much truth there is to that.

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Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

Its very true. They couldnt hear themselves in the monitors.

Worst peformance in history ever,they can,t hardly play nothing

I'm really in no position to criticise, I couldn't performed better in 1985 myself

.... ya dont need a weather man
ta know which way the wind blows ....



ROCKMAN

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Erik_Snow
I'm really in no position to criticise, I couldn't performed better in 1985 myself

Very nice comment! One of nicest that I have seen here ever!

I remember my mother yelling at the tv: "IT'S OVER, DYLAN!!!"


They probably went and drowned their sorrows with Page & Plant afterwards.

i like to see the scene at "blowing in the wind"
when dylan had a problem with his guitar, maybe a string broke,
and keith takes over and keeps the song going

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Witness

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Erik_Snow
I'm really in no position to criticise, I couldn't performed better in 1985 myself

Very nice comment! One of nicest that I have seen here ever!

Oh thank you kindly, though my comment was both mean and nice at the same time, as I was 4 years old in 1985



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2020-07-14 19:04 by Erik_Snow.

I consider it awesome! An all time classic song, and w/ Keith & Ronny!

I also didn't realize I did not have this, just ripped it to mp3 to include in my miscellaneous tracks from the 80s.

someone (can't remember who) wrote in some book (can't remember which one) that their performance reminded everyone that rock music has its roots in bad behavior…

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slewan
someone (can't remember who) wrote in some book (can't remember which one) that their performance reminded everyone that rock music has its roots in bad behavior…

Haha... I think most of the people thought - for a good reason - that their performance was subpar, tasteless or whatever, but at the time I thought they were cool... A kinda anti-thesis - or even a middle-finger statement - to all the hype concerning the whole event. Surely it was done for a good cause - hats off to Bob Geldof - but it looked like that the superstars, giving one day of their charmed life, took it some kind of PR event to promote their career. That what young, cynical Doxa, still having a bit of punk attitude in his heart, at least thought at the time...

And what a thrill it was to notice that shit, after Mick and Tina having taken one's breath away, Keith and Ronnie were there with Bob... One of the best 'live' Rolling Stones moments during the 80's... there really wasn't that many... Mick with Tina, followed by Keith and Ronnie with Dylan...

It continued during the big ending with "We Are The World"... Mick and Tina somewhere there behind singing along, on camera just for a sec or two, but it was Keith who stole that show for me... During the song, he sat down on the PA monitor in the front of the stage (the one he probably didn't have any help during their set), with his back on cameras/audience, looking wasted... if memory serves he also pointed to Bob and Ronnie to sit down there as well, but they didn't... All this while the 'whole world' watching live... As world's biggest Keith Richards fan, I think that that was pure rock and roll, Keef just couldn't do no wrong for me...

Memories...

- Doxa



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2020-07-14 18:03 by Doxa.

This, along with Mick's performance, was the low point in Stones history, for me anyway. Lower even than Dirty Work. You knew the band was broken up, had no new material and was being embarrassed. It felt like the organizers were saying, 'Yeah, let's shoehorn these old guys into the show somewhere.'
Mick was doing his pop star shtick and what the hell was Keith doing backing up Bob Dylan. I realize Dylan is a legend, but 'these are the Stones, man'. And of course they were a mess. That might be part of Dylan's charm, but the Stones are professional. They are supposed to deliver the goods.
But watching this you realized they didn't anything to deliver.

In regard to that WWIII bullshit and all... At the time I didn't see it odd at all that Jagger was performing solo. He just had a solo album out, so I thought that it was natural that he wanted to do something on his own. And it was interesting to see he would be like 'just' solo. It was later that I learned that not just performing solo or even releasing solo records was something like a majestic crime, and Jagger should be jailed for good for that. IORR has contributed a lot for that.

Anyway, as the records have shown, Geldof asked initially the Stones to perform, but Mick opted otherwise. I recall this letting at least Bill down, since he really wanted to have performed there. But then, it would have been interesting to hear how the Stones would have sounded at the time, having not played live for three years. Surely they would have rehearsed, but still... They were in the middle of DIRTY WORK sessions then, so there might have some kind of chemistry and routine. Or not...

But for a person watching the show from a telly, Keith and Ronnie's Live Aid performance was truely a nice surprise. There was no any hint of that before.

- Doxa

I actually do think it's real cool as well, it's such a contrast to the slick style of both the mid 80s and Live Aid. And Dylan is singing very fine, all things considered

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wonderboy
This, along with Mick's performance, was the low point in Stones history, for me anyway.

I say the low point was Mick's shot voice on SNL in '78.

Dylan annoyed Geldof. One of my highlights of the day

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wonderboy
This, along with Mick's performance, was the low point in Stones history, for me anyway. Lower even than Dirty Work. You knew the band was broken up, had no new material and was being embarrassed. It felt like the organizers were saying, 'Yeah, let's shoehorn these old guys into the show somewhere.'
Mick was doing his pop star shtick and what the hell was Keith doing backing up Bob Dylan. I realize Dylan is a legend, but 'these are the Stones, man'. And of course they were a mess. That might be part of Dylan's charm, but the Stones are professional. They are supposed to deliver the goods.
But watching this you realized they didn't anything to deliver.

interesting perspective as Dylan's early 80's shows were, if anything, more professional and rehearsed sounding than the ones the Stones were playing in the same period.

I remember watching that weekend and being impressed that Mick did State of Shock with Tina (and the Hall And Oates Band!- WTF?) as I always liked that little ditty, mortified at the Keith, Ronnie and Bob debacle and pissed that my favorite band couldn't be bothered to perform together.

Context is everything. The Summer of 1985 was only three years removed from the '81-'82 tour where the Stones were the global kings of rocks and roll; it is easy to forget just how ginormous that tour was, I really cannot think of any band before or since that had that much media coverage for a concert tour. It was just two years removed from the release of the Undercover album which was a US #4 and got quite a bit of MTV play when that meant something. The Rewind compilation had come out just the year before. They were hardly old guys getting shoehorned in between Duran Duran and U2, they were the classic rock band that everybody still adored. They could have come out and played Undercover of the Night, Miss You and Satisfaction and been heroes, instead it was nonsensical rockstar hubris.

Worth remembering that in summer 1985, the biggest acts in the world were probably the Stones, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson and Madonna.

Madonna was the only one of them who performed at Live Aid. The Stones decision to not play it as a band wasn't really that outrageous.

That's true, Gazza. But I don't think that The Stones were that big in 1985. They hardly did exist as a band. Madonna, on the other hand, peaked that year.
Strange though that neither Bruce or MJ took part of the event. Maybe they were in middle of tours?

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Stoneage
That's true, Gazza. But I don't think that The Stones were that big in 1985. They hardly did exist as a band. Madonna, on the other hand, peaked that year.
Strange though that neither Bruce or MJ took part of the event. Maybe they were in middle of tours?

This is what I recall: Bruce & the E Street Band were invited but had just finished a tour leg and had a short break before resuming. Bruce said he didn’t want to ask the guys to go back to work during the break. There were rumors on the day of the show that Bruce would show up by himself. I wish he had.

I was at the Philadelphia show and I liked Dylan with Keith and Ronnie, even if it was a subdued way to follow Mick & Tina.

Bob is sweating profusely. You don't really see performers do that any more.

Bob is sweating profusely. You don't really see performers do that any more.


Maybe they were all involved
in the Falkands War with Prince Andrew .........



ROCKMAN

Yeah, maybe they just got back. That would explain a lot.

I'm a simple man
I got simple solutions ....



ROCKMAN

Fact - no monitors; lots of noise just in back of them with Bill G. getting everyone set for the last song. You can see how they struggle to hear, to even keep time. Most everyone would fail in this situation.

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Stoneage
That's true, Gazza. But I don't think that The Stones were that big in 1985. They hardly did exist as a band. Madonna, on the other hand, peaked that year.
Strange though that neither Bruce or MJ took part of the event. Maybe they were in middle of tours?

The Stones previous tour 3 years earlier was the biggest grossing tour of all time to that point. Whilst they had been inactive for a couple of years they still would have been the biggest concert draw in the world had they toured in 1985

Springsteen's European tour finished 6 days before Live Aid. He had a month off before an American stadium tour. There was talk the band had worked up a miniset to play at the Philly show if it had been possible to fit them in but I think in the end he was told they only had room for one song, so he declined.

He did leave his stage at Wembley so that it could be used for the London Live Aid show however.

Michael Jackson (who was a big part of USA For Africa project and co-wrote 'We Are The World') declined to play the show, as did Prince. It was interesting seeing a documentary on BBC last weekend on the event which basically indicated that most of the major black artists in the US decided, as a bloc, that they wanted no part of Live Aid.