Contemplating how lengthy music and politics have gone hand in hand, it’s shocking it took so lengthy for musicians to appreciate that they may make a distinction by doing what they did finest – performing. However after George Harrison staged The Live performance For Bangladesh, in 1971, the thought of charity live shows started to take maintain. The largest profit live shows have since raised international consciousness for the whole lot from famine aid to AIDS consciousness, and have grow to be an extremely efficient software on the politically acutely aware musician’s disposal.
Listed here are 10 of the largest profit live shows of all time.
Live performance For Bangladesh: Madison Sq. Gardens, New York Metropolis (1971)
When sitar maestro Ravi Shankar realized of the fast-escalating humanitarian disaster going through the displaced natives of East Pakistan in the course of the early months of 1971, he confided his worries to his shut pal, George Harrison. Shankar initially deliberate to host a profit live performance of his personal, however as soon as the facility of an ex-Beatle was harnessed, a partnership with UNICEF established, and Madison Sq. Gardens booked, the world’s first large-scale profit gig was underway.
Because the line-up was revealed, pleasure grew to feverish ranges. Not solely did The Live performance For Bangladesh (really two exhibits on the identical day) mark Harrison’s first main efficiency of a solo profession that had obtained off to a flier with All Issues Should Move (and with a backing band that includes the likes of Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, Leon Russell, and Ringo Starr, no much less), however it might additionally function Bob Dylan’s first present because the 1969 Isle Of Wight Pageant.
The live shows came about on Sunday, August 1, at 2:30 p.m. and eight p.m., and have been a convincing success – not solely in elevating funds for the trigger, however in heightening international consciousness. And so they set a precedent for the largest profit live shows that adopted, with Harrison passing his experience on to Bob Geldof for 1985’s Stay Help. The ensuing Live performance For Bangladesh album stays an exhilarating doc, too.
The Secret Policeman’s Ball (1976-2008)
This sequence of profit exhibits to boost funds for the human rights charity Amnesty Worldwide began in 1976 with A Poke In The Eye (With A Sharp Stick), that includes prime comedian expertise together with Peter Prepare dinner, the Monty Python staff, and The Goodies. But it surely was solely when The Who’s Pete Townshend appeared on the 1979 present that musicians started to do their bit.
Since then, those that supplied their companies have included Joan Armatrading, Kate Bush, Duran Duran, Morrissey, Sting, and U2. Plus the unforgettable second, in 1991, when rock gods Spinal Faucet have been joined by David Gilmour.
Rock Towards Racism Carnival, Victoria Park, London (1978)
Proving that the largest profit live shows could make an enormous distinction with out counting on star organizers, April 30, 1978’s Rock Towards Racism was the end result of a two-year grass-roots marketing campaign of anti-racist gigs, zine distribution, and conferences aiming to halt each the rise of racism in society and The Nationwide Entrance in UK politics.
Organizers had hoped 20,000 folks would possibly attend the occasion. When roughly half that quantity had gathered in Trafalgar Sq., London, by 7 a.m., able to march simply over 4 miles collectively to East London’s Victoria Park for the live performance, expectations have been unexpectedly revised. Ultimately, it’s estimated that 100,000 poured into the park for a invoice together with The Conflict, Tom Robinson, Metal Pulse, X-Ray Spex, and Sham 69.
The success of RAR led to extra gigs, elevated consciousness of the trigger, and, considerably, made strange folks really feel they may make a distinction. Whereas assist for the Nationwide Entrance, now totally publicly discredited, fell sharply, Rock Towards Racism lived on.
Live shows For The Individuals Of Kampuchea, London, December (1979)
From 1975-79, the Khmer Rouge regime, headed by Pol Pot, was liable for untold struggling and as much as two million deaths in Cambodia (referred to as Kampuchea throughout this era). In late December 1978, Vietnam launched an invasion of Cambodia with the intention of displacing the chief, which led to elevated consciousness of the extent of the horrors that the nation, closed off from the world, had endured.
The then UN Secretary-Normal, Kurt Waldheim, enlisted the assistance of Paul McCartney and UNICEF to rearrange a sequence of live shows that came about at London’s Hammersmith Odeon, between December 26-29, 1979, to boost cash for the war-ravaged folks of Kampuchea. McCartney’s connections stood him in good stead: performers included Queen, The Who, The Conflict, Elvis Costello & The Points of interest, Pretenders and, closing proceedings, Wings’ last-ever gig.
Stay Help, Wembley Stadium, London / JFK Stadium, Philadelphia (1985)
“Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” Bob Geldof and Midge Ure’s 1984 single, recorded to learn victims of the 1984 famine in Ethiopia, had been an unlimited success, that includes the cream of UK pop and staying on the prime of the UK chart for 5 weeks. However the affect of the music was better than its fund-raising success: it seeped into the nationwide consciousness. This was evident on the finish of Tradition Membership’s run of Christmas exhibits that 12 months, when an impromptu rendition of the music left singer Boy George overwhelmed; there was a suggestion {that a} live performance must construct on the music’s momentum.
Bob Geldof stepped up. One of many greatest profit live shows in historical past would really be two huge occasions, held on July 13, on either side of the Atlantic, with line-ups staggered to reduce downtime and maximize TV audiences. And he pulled it off. Stay Help was an unlimited success and captured the creativeness of the world. David Bowie, Queen, U2, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Black Sabbath, Madonna, a Led Zeppelin reunion… and that’s simply scratching the floor. Stay Help finally raised $127 million {dollars} in famine support and helped persuade Western nations to donate surplus grain provides to impoverished nations.
Farm Help, Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois (1985)
By no means one to mince his phrases, when Bob Dylan took the stage on the Philadelphia leg of Stay Help, as a part of a ramshackle trio with Keith Richards and Ronnie Wooden, he prompt that deprived US farmers have been additionally in want of assist. Regardless of the furor that adopted, lots thought he had a degree – together with Willie Nelson, who was watching the occasion on his tour bus.
Nelson started researching the disaster that was plaguing the US agriculture trade on the time. Because of a farm invoice that favored company agriculture, household farmers have been struggling, with rising numbers submitting for chapter. Becoming a member of forces with John Mellancamp and Neil Younger, Nelson staged the primary Farm Help occasion on September 22, 1985, placing collectively a line-up that learn like a Rock And Roll Corridor Of Fame guestlist: The Seaside Boys, Johnny Money, Dylan, Emmylou Harris, B.B. King, Roy Orbison, Lou Reed and lots extra, together with units from the organizers themselves.
Thirty-three years later, Farm Help nonetheless stays one of many greatest profit live shows going, having completed untold quantities of excellent aiding farmers and funding an infrastructure to assist sustainable agriculture. Every little thing from emergency aid to counseling hotlines are funded by the reliably enormous crowds Farm Help attracts.
The Freddie Mercury Tribute Live performance For AIDS Consciousness, Wembley Stadium, London (1992)
When Queen singer Freddie Mercury died from problems arising from an extended battle with AIDS, his bandmates shortly determined one of the best ways of honoring him could be with a live performance to boost cash for AIDS analysis. The tribute was becoming, maybe, provided that, seven years earlier, Mercury had delivered the efficiency of his life at Stay Help.
Following an announcement on the 1992 Brit Awards, all 72,000 tickets for the occasion offered out, regardless of a newly frontman-less Queen being the one confirmed draw. As soon as April 20 got here round, nonetheless, these early birds weren’t disenchanted.
The primary half of the live performance noticed stellar acts together with Metallica, Def Leppard, and Weapons N’ Roses carry out quick units, warming the gang up properly earlier than the primary occasion – a charged greatest-hits set from Queen that includes a outstanding solid of stand-in singers. The likes of David Bowie, Robert Plant, Elton John, Annie Lennox, and Axl Rose stepped up, nevertheless it was George Michael who seized the day with a passionate, thrilling efficiency of “Somebody To Love.” One of many greatest profit live shows of all time, The Freddie Mercury Tribute Live performance For AIDS Consciousness was broadcast in 76 international locations, and it was estimated that one billion folks tuned in worldwide, with all proceeds donated going to a specifically created AIDS charity group. Mercury would little doubt have accepted.
Tibetan Freedom Live performance, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (1996)
When Beastie Boy Adam Yauch met activist Erin Potts in Kathmandu, Nepal, he was given a crash course on the plight of Tibetan exiles from China and the work Potts was doing to assist them. They stayed in contact over the subsequent few years, Potts conserving Yauch knowledgeable as to developments within the activist neighborhood, till it was determined to stage a profit live performance to assist the trigger.
The inaugural Tibetan Freedom Live performance was one of many greatest profit live shows of the 90s: an enormous occasion with 100,000 folks packing San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park over two days to see Björk, A Tribe Referred to as Quest, Rage Towards The Machine, John Lee Hooker, Fugees, Pavement and the Beasties themselves. However Potts and Yauch made certain that the message wasn’t misplaced on the music lovers, with speeches from Tibetan exiles and specialists on the area’s historical past being integral to the invoice. Tibetan Freedom Live shows continued till 2003, elevating each consciousness worldwide and large quantities for the trigger.
The Live performance For New York Metropolis, Madison Sq. Backyard, New York Metropolis (2001)
It was maybe inevitable that an occasion resembling 9/11 would result in one of many greatest profit live shows the US has ever seen. An try to salvage some pleasure from the devastation brought on by the bombings, The Live performance For New York Metropolis, held on October 20, 2001, was a profit to honor police and firefighters who had acted as first responders within the tragedy, and people concerned within the rescue and restoration operations that had taken place since.
Paul McCartney organized a invoice that blended traditional rock acts with modern US pop stars: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, Bowie, Elton John, and James Taylor rubbed shoulders with Future’s Youngster, Backstreet Boys, and Jay-Z. However the greatest response was brought on by the visceral, emotional efficiency from The Who. Their quick set left such an enduring impression that, in December 2008, surviving members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend have been awarded Kennedy Heart Honors.
One Love Manchester, Previous Trafford Cricket Floor, Manchester (2017)
No person would have blamed Ariana Grande if she had retreated from the limelight following the bombing that occurred throughout her live performance at Manchester Area on Might 22, 2017. As an alternative, the singer confirmed outstanding bravery and tenacity, organizing a live performance to learn victims of the assault, held simply over two weeks after that horrific night.
Pop and rock royalty turned out to supply their assist to the victims of the bombing, together with star turns from a few of Manchester’s very personal within the form of Take That and Liam Gallagher. Actually, nonetheless, all eyes have been on Grande, and she or he one way or the other made it by not solely one of many greatest profit live shows of all time, however arguably the largest live performance of her life to that time. For a lot of, essentially the most memorable second of the night time was her Coldplay-assisted rendition of “Don’t Look Back In Anger,” the music that had grow to be a unifying balm for town over the previous couple of weeks.
