On this day in 1985, the star-studded benefit concert Live Aid was held  simultaneously in the UK and the US

Since 1982, famine in Ethiopia had become a widely known issue, and in 1984, images of thousands starving to death were broadcast by the BBC in the UK. Among the viewers of this program was the lead singer of Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, Bob Geldof. Geldof was deeply moved by what he saw, and could not understand how in this “time of plenty, some had food and some do not.”  His first attempts to raise money were by recording songs “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and “Band-Aid” which were extremely successful, raising 8 million pounds for the relief.

After this, Geldof’s next plan was to hold a huge concert to raise further funds, an idea he received from Boy George of Culture Club fame, who had helped with recording Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The concert soon evolved into a dual-venue televised event featuring a massive line-up of hugely popular artists and presented by film and television stars. The two selected venues were Wembley Stadium in London, which featured acts like Sting, U2, Dire Straits, Queen, David Bowie, The Who, Elton John and Paul McCartney, and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, with performances from the likes of Joan Baez, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Neil Young, Madonna, The Beach Boys, Judas Priest, Bob Dylan and Hall and Oates. Concerts inspired by the movement were also held simultaneously around the world, in countries such as Australia, Japan, Canada and the Soviet Union.

Also performing in Philadelphia was Led Zeppelin, performing for the first time since the death of legendary drummer John Bonham in 1980. Phil Collins and Tony Thompson filled in on drums for the band in a performance that drew some criticism, though concert-goers were just glad to see the band perform again.

The most popular and well-known performance however, belonged to Queen, with  a twenty-one minute show that had the crowd join in on a legendary back and forth refrain. This was followed by an a capella section, during which Mercury held a sustained note of “Aaaaay-o” in what would become known as “The Note Heard Round the World.” In 2005, an industry poll would vote the show the greatest live performance in the history of rock.

While some debated the efficacy of the concerts, they managed to immidiately raise between forty and fifty million pounds and it is now estimated a total of one-hundred and fifty million pounds have been raised as a direct result of the concerts. In addition, the publicity created by the concerts encouraged Western nations to contribute more grain to end the immediate famine concerns in Africa. The idea of benefit concerts has since become a popular fund-raising tool for charities around the world.