U2: Bad: Live Aid: LIVE AID - BETTER THAN QUEEN?: Reaction
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.ย. 2024
- I recently read that U2 was the 2nd best act, behind Queen at Live Aid.... MMM thinks me, really? I didn't know they even played. O M G .... SIT BACK and Watch This!!!
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And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you become the biggest band on earth.
u said it
One of the best performances ever. The girl that was rescued by Bono from being crushed was interviewed 20 years later. Her name is Kal Khalique and she told the reporters that Bono saved her life that day.
If you loved this you MUST see the live performance of "All I want is you" transitioning into "Where the streets have no name" live at Slane Castle . This live performance shows every reason why I am a U2 fan since the 80s. Fun fact : U2 came together as a Band in 1976, the year I was born.
1976 a great Year! We had a bit of a reminisce on that year in the up coming Black Sabbath Video!
I SO agree!:)) U2 has some of the best transitions in live concerts ever! Its just magic!:)
Dude- Bono was rescuing those girls. The facts are that he saw that some of the crowd was in trouble from the stage and Bono saw that security was having trouble getting them out, so he jumped down to help them out himself. It was a tremendous act of selflessness and a legendary gesture of humanity that Bono performed on that day.
Truth
Bono saw a priority bigger than introducing a new song, brave and so caring.
God knows how much i love this song , my wife knows its a must to be played my funeral ,I’m wide awake I’m not sleeping
Bono spotted 15-year-old audience member Kal Khalique being crushed against the security barrier and that's why he jumped down
My introduction to U2. The performance of a lifetime. Bono stalked the stage like a lion 🦁 💚
U2 was already a growing musical force going into Live Aid, with a rabid fan base. However, after this show, the world heard them and took notice: the band of the 80s, 90s and 00s arrived and was now on top.
Crazy thing is they thought it ruined their career. They were pissed at Bono for doing it bc they didn’t get to play their newest song at the time - Pride.
@@alexandriaocasio-smollett5078 , yeah, they almost fired him. Just goes to show, sometimes things that were meant to be can’t be planned or avoided.
It was after this performance that they were catapulted into international fame. this performance took them to brand new heights and eventually into one being recognized as one of the greatest bands of all time.
when Bono was over on one side of the stage gesturing up, if you look to where he is looking, you can see a couple of girls getting crushed by the press of the crowd. he was trying to get security to get them over the railing before they got seriously hurt. Security got two of them but they missed the third, which is why he jumped over the upper railing to help. The band behind him had no idea what was going on. They were supposed to play three songs but after all that happened they had no time. They thought it was a disaster and got into a huge fight after. Ironically it was this performance and his obvious care for his fans that shot them to the stars.
Bono is probably my all time favourite male voice. The volume of passion amd emotion he conveys is epic. I’ve only grown to appreciate U2 more over the years.
At 10:17 or so, Bono drops the mic. The roadie who picked it back up was Greg Carrol. He was tragically killed in an accident involving Bono's motorcycle, after picking it up from the repair shop, in 1986. The song "One Tree Hill" on the album "The Joshua Tree" is dedicated in his memory and listed there in the liner notes.
How tragic and thank you for sharing this information with us. I will have to listen to the song again now knowing that
@@TheThamesmen No problem. Also, Bono almost got fired from U2 for pulling that little stunt on Live Aid. When the band and Bono realized what he was doing was if fact perfectly fine in others' eyes, they backed off. Bono only went off stage to keep the connection between the band and the fans more so; he didn't like that separation. He found that connection in the young lady he danced with.
@@minty_Joe no he never. He's the main songwriter
Oh wow! I never knew that who that was. I knew the story about Greg Carol. But I didn’t know that was him at Live Aid. Thanks for sharing that.
Like Queen, Love U2.
Queen at the time were the big thing, U2 were the relative newcomers. The thing is Queen played it relatively safe singing a medley of big hits (fantastically by the way) and that will always get the majority vote, U2 really took the bull by the horns and performed a song to the whole world that nobody but the ardent U2 fan will have known at the time.
Very brave, and that bravery has been with them throughout their careers,
I loved it also.... also helped I hadn't seen it before
queen were performed the hit songs as what they were asked to do !
Wide Awake in America was released in May '85 to absolutely no media publicity. It just appeared on record stores and I picked up a copy immediately. They transformed Bad from a toothless, meandering Daniel Lanois track into a proper U2 tour de force. When they decided to play this at Live Aid I was dumbfounded. No New Year's Day or I Will Follow, but this. The extended performance was unexpected and they were supposed to do Pride after Bad, but this was more than fine. I was a huge U2 fan at the time, and I felt that my precious little band was no longer mine. The world had them now.
Queen, particularly in the US, was a spent force by 1985. Not even Live Aid could give them a second life here. Wayne's World did that, and it was supposed to be a joke. The fact that they did so well at Live Aid is a testament to their talent, but 35 years after the fact, it's clear that U2 was the act that made the greatest impact that day.
@@Azabaxe80 your comment sums up my feelings about that performance exactly I was a big u2fan from the first time I heard I will follow and fire,I’d bought wide awake in America and still have it,I thought bad live was incredible and jumped out of my chair when it started at live aid,for me that performance was the greatest thing that day,never really liked queen anyway!
u2 had accumulated hundreds of weeks on the UK charts and several successful singles in the top 10, apart from 2 number 1 albums, U2 was one of the bands of the moment, especially in the United Kingdom, Queen was actually stumbling, never They were constant and this largely saved their career.
Everyone talks about Queen and Freddies performance, but this one for me its pretty epic as well, and in my opinion, this one its quite better, or more awesome performance than queens. THIS IS EPIC!
I agree
Both bands were great in different ways. Queen were polished and professional and had everything planned, U2 were passionate and unpredictable. Apparently, Bono was unpredictable to the rest of the band as well, since they thought they were going to be showcasing their latest single, if I'm not mistaken. Something took him over that day and the rest of them went with the flow. Definitely impressive, as you mentioned, but I've heard it caused some bickering backstage. Still, I'm glad they went there because it was just phenomenal.
I heard as far as Bono almost getting fired from it... They were really frightened he was hurt when he disappeared from the front of the stage and didn't come back right away... They didn't have a clue what was going on. Back then, big screens weren't really the fad yet so he couldn't be seen.
you don‘t really think they‘ve done no rehearsal, do you? it was also planned, but bono didn‘t follow their plan so the others were pissed afterwards. they simply had luck to come out of this quite well.
They were supposed to play pride bono claims he saw the girl being crushed .The band were devastated at first because they thought bono had blown it and had no idea nobody noticed iit was a cock up and they had gone down well
Three girls were being crushed into the barrier by the crowd surging forward behind them. Bono was motioning to security to pull them out before they were killed. Two of them were removed, but the girl who was in the most distress was still trapped. That’s why Bono jumped all of the way to the floor to personally help. The 3rd girl to be extricated said in a 2005 interview that she would have died had it not been for Bono. An absolutely iconic, career changing performance that showcased the band’s talent and humanity.
The height of music 1985 (it reached the mountain top over any decade )and live aid and the height and pinnacle of U2's career with Bad at live aid...the passion and sound just so amazing and the hairs still stand up every time even now here in 2024!!!
37 years today !!!!!! Brilliant performance still remember watching it live !!!
Wow. So long ago
I know !!! Frightening how time passes!!! Great reaction to a great performance guys 👍👍
U2 weren’t really famous then and he worked the crowd like pro. It was a life changing performance for me. A fan ever since.
well said
No but they were super edgy and up and coming and you can tell by the flags there was a lot of support for them.
I remember watching this live and being blown away … 40 years on and it still blows me away ❤
It's not "better" than Queen, its something different entirely. Queen played an incredibly polished entertaining set of their music. U2 were the new kids on the block who made a Raw, live, improvised moment for television. Millions of people around the globe saw Bono jump off stage and fell in love. So it's not strictly better but it's the bigger moment
Brilliant summary Sir.
Live Aid was basically a Queen concert with some other guests.
HA HA
They were just up and coming, barely known in North America. The lazy droning of the song on a hot summers day. The drums. Bono’s forays into the audience to pick some dance partners….. This single performance launched them into international recognizance. Maybe Joshua Tree cemented them but I think this single performance announced their arrival amongst the greats! Yes, I watched it live with, my brother, in our basement in Vancouver, on a scorching summer day, and was absolutely stunned and enthralled at the performance. I will never forget it!
Thats so cool. Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year from George and Alex!
I lived in Southern California in the early 1980s and U2 were definitely well-known among the under-20 crowd by 1983 at the latest. KROQ-FM played them all the time, especially after War was released.
@@djm55 Yes, in more sophisticated places in NA - like Cali, and Vancouver where I was. I remember searching for a 45 of Gloria for my girlfriend's younger sister. Let's just say, that very was early on!!
What people don't realise is that this concert is called 'Live Aid'. Live Aid was the biggest fund raising live concert ever until that time (and maybe/probably still), for Africa !! (hunger and troubles in Africa). Bono kissed the forehead of coloured girl !!!!!! and he pointed for minutes and minutes !!!!! in the crowd that he wanted HER to pick out of the crowd. A lot of blonde girls came out of the crouwd, but he didn't want them. Also afterwards two girls where on the stage that he didn't point to. He pointed to that black girl, that he definitely didn't know, I believe symbolically because of what 'Live Aid' was doing !!! Standing for !! (with maybe 200 lillion people watching live on TV)... And after that he sings... I'm wide awake !! He surely was, as a performer (what a voice) and also on a moral level with his action in the crowd that took so long that the band only could play 2 songs, instead of 3. The band, who couldn't see Bono (Bono was in the front of the stage and the bandmembers or defintely the drummer couldn't see him...° was angy at Bono it seemed (I read that somewhere I think) that they couldn't play their biggest hit at that time, Pride. Yes, this is indeed a extemely beautiful and emotional moment. I saw that when I was young. A lot of people didn't undertsand that moment I believe... and still now, people still don't see it.
The whole 3, U2, Queen and David Bowie were the absolute highlight of the event, We were so lucky to watch this happen live!
Seems not that long ago but it really was!
One of the best performances live ever.
Great and powerful voice ...
It's very difficult to explain to anyone who didn't witness this live exactly how it felt. A generation before us had their Woodstock. Yes, Queen was the headliner, but this performance was literally the beginning of something new. U2 were pioneers in music
Well said. It was an amazing day
Thank you guy's for playing the whole video without jumping in and stopping and starting it like other You Tubers have done. Excellent review
Our pleasure!
Live Aid I still remember watching it the whole day on TV. I was 15 years old, just discovered U2 through a tape of Under a blood red sky by a classmate. ❤ them and totally in ❤ with Larry Mullen jr. This was my band for years.
Some notes on the performance. It was mentioned how good the band was during all that Bono stuff. To add to this, back in those days there werent in-ear monitoring to communicate or screens tracking band members. Tech wasn't good enough yet. The band later revealed in interviews that they had no idea where Bono was. They couldn't see him. That stage was really high, so all of that was out of their sight. So they had to choose if they should keep going or wind the song down, having no clue where he was.
Bono often add clips from other artist songs to U2's songs. Bad is one where this has been done alot (not sure when this started). But the choices aren't random. Satellite of Love is somewhat obvious. Live Aid was one of the first live simultaneous broadcasts. Certainly it was the biggest. So this inclusion wasn't only a nod to Lou Reed but apropos to the event. Bono also altered the lyrics to Walk on the Wild Side inserting "London Town, Wembley Stadium". Again, this was acknowledged to the event and to the crowd in front of him. U2 were up and coming at the time. This is another example of Bono being aware of the situation and opportunity. Its a festival, the werent big yet. The majority of the crowd down know their songs. Adding well established songs, and sing alongs that are not actual words, is a great way to get every engaged. Anyone who thinks Bono is a fool is clueless, his intelligence is pretty obvious. He can certainly be silly and and a good, but this is Rock n Roll.
Surely one of the best stadium bands of the day! ❤
Da atualidade? Com certeza das últimas 3 décadas!!
Im a U2 since 1982 and i waited for and watched them on the telly during the Live Aid broadcast and thought yep well done. But for me that day Queen where untouchable Freddie showed how it is done live they where on a different level. This was the day Queen became Kings!
It was their resurrection and finely deserved
At 14:12, he looks back at the clock and releases, "Oh, shit!" -- he's way over time after all the theatrics. So he just further "elongates" Bad to fill the remaining time, and walks off as their time expires. They were supposed to play "Pride" last.
Review the entire U2 Live At Red Rocks concert. They were on FIRE that night.
Lemon (their best song) - ZooTV Live from Sydney '93
Story was that one girl was getting crushed. He was trying to get the security to grab her but they weren't getting the hint. Hence why he tumbled over the baracade to get to her.
Good ol Bono! Thanks for supporting our channel!!
Please do the live Slane Castle concert when they did All I Want Is You that has an epic blend to Streets with No Name. Can't go wrong with Kite or any song from that concert as well.
Ok... will check. Happy New Year and more soon.
Queen 🤟👑❤🏆
I agree sssh
queen has NOTHING on U2!
Thank you for this reaction!! Love you guys! My understanding is that Bono DID save the girl pulled over the barriers from being crushed. He saw her and jumped down to get her pulled out of the crowd. If you want to react to another great U2 clip, I would love it if you would do “Bullet the Blue Sky” into “Running to Stand Still” from their Sidney Zooropa Tour. I think you guys would totally find it AMAZING!! Happy New Year!!
He must’ve had a good idea to catch that in the crowd. Good on him. Thanks recommendations and thanks for the support
Absolutely LOVED this and yes on all your comments, but can we also acknowledge the brilliant stage hand who absolutely handled everything while quickly sliding across the stage on his bum? Also, the first thing I noticed was the camera crew were all in white-I didn’t realize at first that they were camera crew and thought “CREW IN WHITE?!? What alternate universe is this?!?” 😄 The band were SO young here! And yes, brought back so many memories. I hope you react to more U2 in the future. Happy New Year, Alex and George! Happy New Year fellow subscribers!
Bill Graham Crew!!!! He came in and organized it all!!!
HNY love A
@@TheThamesmen no wonder I was impressed. Whenever we broadcast shows with BGP, their crews always made our job easier!
That was Greg Carroll who tragically died, Bono was close to him he wrote one tree hill to honour his life ❤️
@@robbiecarroll5491 Are you related?
All I want is you / where the streets have no name live from slane castle elevation tour 2001
Ohhhh.... will check! Happy New Year from George and Alex!
I'm a huge U2 fan and I've watched many of their live performances. I don't even think the Lived Aid performance by U2 was their best. But I honestly can say The Queen performance in Live Aid was probably their best I've ever seen or even the best live performance ever. It was that amazing. Basically I think we never saw the best of U2 until like the Rattle & Hum tour and Queen was just magnificent in Live Aid.
ssshhh I agree. Thanks for being here and supporting us. Take care
Their performance of Sunday Bloody Sunday in Rattle & Hum was amazing.
This song on wide awake in America EP is the best version of this
Sunday Bloody Sunday - Live at Red Rock. The opening line from Bono explains it all….. or anything from that concert….
U2 Red Rock's is still one of the best live performances in history. Pure Rock 😁. Completly agreed.
Watching now... and loving!!!
@@TheThamesmen Until I recommended this, I didn’t realize that this was actually 2 years before Live Aid! My perspective on U2 is likely skewed, being in North America but not American. Canadians tended to follow British bands far closer than Americans, for obvious reasons, and so did our radio stations. Personally, I got hooked on U2 when I first heard Gloria, which was 1981 - so my perspective may be skewed. I still think Live Aid brought U2 to a larger audience, considering the world wide exposure.
There is a great Rolling Stone article about this show. U2 themselves thought that they ruined their career by sacrificing a song because Bono spent so much time calling those girls up on stage. But the response to this by the music industry made this performance their "Break Out" performance. Good article and worth the time to look it up and read it.
I secretly reckon it was "planned".. I could be wrong
Great publicity stunt..
Yes Queen were great, Bowie as well. But who to this day do they talk about ?? U2...
It was the best publicity stunt
And it worked
@@cwocky You might say it was planned if it was another band, but Bono has always got girls up on stage and danced or sung to them, even before Live Aid. The occasional flashes of the film showing the band whilst Bono is going off script shows that they really hadn't got a clue what was going on, and all they could do was keep circling around the same bar constantly. At one stage Edge changed the key in the hope that it would get Bono back onstage so that they could figure out what was going on.
U2, siempre genial, Bono increíble. Un capo el asistente, saltando y súper atento con los micrófonos.
He was rescuing them. He got into trouble with the band because they were supposed play another song.kite from Slane Castle.
Foi com essa apresentação apaixonada e crua que o Queen perdeu o reinado, a partir desse dia até hj o U2 carrega a tocha dos maiores !!
Crazy thing is ,today 2022 we can’t replicate un event like that even if we wanted.
So true!!!
I won't say a bad word about Queen. They gave the huge crowd a party... and the huge crowd deserved one. But the event's message was a serious one, (which some new observers seem to forget) and U2 brought rage and passion to the gig with the song they chose. Nobody else matched it, or tried to.
It was a big risk because the crowd was there to have a good singalong day. They risked being seen as misery kings.... but they knew. They knew. That's why they are still going. They knew the pulse, they knew they had IT. They trusted their instincts. And of course history proves they got it right.
They definitely had broken globally by then. Not at the level that The Joshua Tree brought them but New Years Day had broken in the US 2 years before and Pride (In The Name Of Love) was an even bigger hit for them from The Unforgettable Fire (same album as this of course). And this for me as budding musician back then was a way bigger moment than Queen... This is the best moment of the day by far for me.
Yes U2 were big in 1985, that's why they were asked to play live aid, but they were big in a kind of "cult" way. It was like they were the biggest cult band in the world.
I went to see them perform only a week before live aid and there were 50,000 people there, but most of my friends at the time had never heard of them.
Even now U2 have managed to remain under the radar to some extent despite being one of the biggest bands ever, It's quite incredible how they remain under the radar of the mainstream but maintain their standing. 90% of music fans around the world wouldn't be able to name 5 U2 songs despite them being such a massive act, but I could play Queen at my Grandmas 95th birthday party and it'd be zimmer frames down and up on the dance floor.
It's just a different audience and a different set of listeners as Queen were pushed down everybody's throat, and Queen wanted to be pushed down everybody's throat.
U2 weren't pushed down everybody's throat and didn't particularly want to be.
U2 have always been a live performing band travelling around the world rather than a band that sought No1 hits, the shows got bigger and bigger but completely off the radar of anyone who didn't witness it.
Yes that all makes sense on timing thank you. They were definitely on the upward trajectory At that point.
@@MrJonnyblade Agree, they were very well-known in the US, I remember distinctly, especially among the younger (ie under 20) crowd. KROQ played them from at least late-1980 forward and played them consistently starting 1983 when War was released. So by 1985 U2 were probably one of the better-known acts among the younger set.
I remember thinking the 'rescue' was planned for effect . . but was very puzzled.
Meant to perform 3 songs, however Bono went off stage & they used their allocated time. Bono considered quitting the band afterwards - he thought he’d let the band & audience down.
Must watch October/Bullet the Blue Sky Paris 2017. Absolutely awesome.
Huh and where are they now!
The story goes they were supposed to play this and Pride. Bono spotted the girl in the crowd getting crushed and was making sure she was OK and pulled out. This caused the extended version of this song and the ad libs at the end which they did as the song over ran . Its prob the best live version of this song and launched U2.
The thing is..... he picked 3 girls. No boys? still... fab to watch. Happy New Year from George and Alex!
It was because they were being crushed. Bono wife was there, so seriously doubt he was procuring. Edited to add: really glad he did that - it would have been awful if there had been any injuries/deaths as there have been at other shows.
@@TheThamesmen I don't believe she was getting crushed, and there's nothing to back this up. I think this was a story made up afterwards to explain his actions, which he in the immediate aftermath upset his band and probably the broadcasters/producers because they were supposed to play their most-known new release. In the end of course it hardly matters because this rendition turned out to be iconic in and of itself.
Wide Awake in America is an excellent ep and Bad is a great U2 song.
I fully agree
Wide awake in America is amazing! Yes.
oh, as for other songs to do…. My favorite live moments. If you want to do another long one, react to a double song with them doing All i Want is You transitioning into Where the Streets Have No Name from Slane castle in 2005 or 6 I believe. Also Love is Blindness from ZooTV Sydney. Or if you want to go a bitter harder, Bullet the Blue Sky from that same show.
Love this show. you guys have an awesome chemistry and it’s entertaining
Will check these - thanks
Mate U2 live at Slane Castle was 2002.
@@Mark-lj9nu Mate U2 live at Slane Caste was 2001, they played two concerts, the 1st in August, this was the concert when Bono's fathers was burried one day before, and the second was in September, the day when Ireland made it to the FIFA World Cup Finals in 2002. Two concerts on two different days, with almost identical setlists, but with two completely different emotional backgrounds.
Loved this. If you're willing to do more U2 live I would also suggest something like:
"Gloria" and/or "New Year's Day" from Live at Red Rocks (1983)
"Exit" and/or "Sunday Bloody Sunday" from the Rattle and Hum docufilm (1988)
Good choices
A changing of the guard i would like to think as far as queen is concerned
how did he even see that lady was being crushed? he's got good eyes I guess.
Agreed. Bad on Wide Awake is the ne plus ultra of U2 songs.
Maybe we do a Wide Awake In American Special?
No one I knew thought Queen was the best that day. All anyone talked about was U2.
Interesting! Not the story now. Maybe at the time U2 was all new while Queen were a known quantity?
@@TheThamesmen I think the Queen movie gave them some recency bias. (The movie even gave U2 a nod when Queen passed them on the way to the Live Aid stage.) But as an 18 yo watching Live Aid, U2 stole the show.
@Keith Stinson Yeah, I agree. The movie is influencing opinions of people too young to have lived it. I remember watching this live. The next day at school everyone was talking about U2, not Queen.
Agree - U2 was THE act of the day. The launched into the stratosphere with this performance.
kinda depended on where you lived. In the US, it was broadcast by ABC, which only did the last three hours of the show (meaning the Philadelphia part), and MTV, which only showed half of Queen's set before going to a commercial break. They showed all of U2's set though.
For me I don’t think either were “better”. Both show stoppers but very different. IMO this song by U2 holds more true raw emotion than most of Queens entire catalog. Queen is theatrical and if that’s your thing, then sure. But the power of U2, especially U2 live is the passion and emotion they evoke.
Also Bono giving a nod to Lou Reed (who is a big fan of the band and vice versa) and to the Stones just shows the bands reverence and appreciation for those that have influenced them. Which is unfortunately not seen much by other artists. This performance catapulted them from being a big band, to a very big band and then of course the biggest rock band in the world come 1987 and decades following.
On a side note, Bono was trying to get security to save several women who were being crushed by the force of the crowd against the gates.
I agree.
Flippantly saying Queen is only theatrical shows how little you know of their catalog.
freddie was famous for his emotional and versatile voice. you can hear it in „in my defence“ for instance. in many queen-songs too. if you like to hear queen‘s improvisations you can find it easily. and if you like to hear songs with freddie‘s voice which you hardly recognise as freddie‘s voice just compare „soul brother“ with „mustapha“ or „gimme the prize“. never ever could bono have such diversity in his voice. to me it‘s always the same in comparison.
@@greenogre22 I vehemently disagree. Listen to songs from the early 80’s U2, then to the more contemplative voice of the Unforgettable Fire, to the gospel style of I Still Haven’t Found… to the Blues vocals of Angel of Harlem and when Love comes to Town, to the insane notes he hit on Night and Day, to the gritty industrial sounds of Achtung Baby, to the beautiful falsetto of Lemon on Zooropa. Freddy had HIS style which was great. But nowhere near the range and variety that Bono has displayed over 4 decades.
This has been my favourite song of all time for 20 years now, since the day my dad forced me to watch rattle & Hum when I was 9 :D I usually don't bother with top song lists because there are so many phenomenal songs out there, but this one will always be number 1 for me. Such a transcendental song. I also chuckle when thinking of me, age 9 at the time, proudly declaring to my teacher that this, a song about heroin addiction, was my fav lol.
OMG .......
It was the greatest day in the history of music never to be bettered
Dennis Waterman died a couple of days ago. Your intro reminded me. "If you want me i'll change the situation"
Dennis Waterman was awesome. Very sad to have heard that news used to love watching him back in the day
Love Queen, Love U2. They made History
Was an epic time for sure
First, I loveeeeeeeeee U2, they are my favourite band🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻. I think you should see “With or Without you” live in Paris 1987. Or Exit/Gloria (in Denver) also 1987. Or October/New year’s day (red rocks) 1983. Or vertigo tour 2005 Chicago, the beginning (“The city of blinding lights” and “Vertigo”) I also really loved your video☺️☺️
Legendary
My 1st time watching!!! Happy New Year from George and Alex!
@@TheThamesmen the same for you 🤘
Live Aid 85 what a day. The comeback performance of Queen end the beginning of a journey that's called U2. In fact this journey still goes on. For years the Edge is an underrated guitar player. But you say it right he is the master of the pedals and still searching for new electrical sounds.
Amazing how long U2 have maintained their level and position
11 o'clock tick tock and Gloria live at Red Rocks 1983. Both versions are great.
I need to watch those. Thanks. Happy New Year from George and Alex!
You have to do U2 Until the End of the World its a great rock song and it has an epic guitar solo
Really - will check that out
I, for one, hold this performance in higher regard than Queen’s. But that’s just because I love U2 and appreciate some of Queen’s stuff
COOL!
An immersive experience this performance
I barely had heard of them at the time and to me, this performance of "Bad" was the best thing at Live Aid (close second goes to Knophler Sultan's)
Yes, U2 had broken globally in 85 - they were playing arenas in the US by then - a fair measure of success in America. The thing about U2 and Queen at Live Aid - and Midge Ure said it best, on a show to commemorate the 20th (or 25th?) anniversary of Live Aid (paraphrasing) Queen stole the show in Wembley, U2 stole the show on TV. This was reflected in the weeks, and months, after Live Aid, where all of U2's albums re-entered the charts, around the world. U2 were actually selling more records after Live Aid then anyone else, including Dire Straits (who had the blockbuster Brothers In Arms in the charts at this time), it just wasn't so obvious, because it was spread across all of their five albums. Also, the snippets from Lou Reed songs were because he hadn't been invited to play Live Aid.
Also, because it took so long for Bono to find a girl to dance with, they had to drop their third song, Pride, which was their biggest hit at this point, and a real 'crowd singalong' track. I think 80,000 people at Wembley singing the "oh-oh-oh"s in Pride would've rivalled Queen for crowd participation.
Sorry fellas Live Aid was a world event, actual 3rd act & finale of fund raiser. 1st Act was Band Aid's Do they know it's Christmas, 2nd act was 'We Are the World', in US, after American Music Awards. In addition to Philadelphia and Wembley, going on, Australia had a music festival too. It will not be repeated, in any generation
Was an interesting time. One hell of a coming together
Bono don’t do private pipeline he’s besotted with Ali
The difference:
U2 was there to put on a show WITH the audience.
Queen was there to put on a show FOR the audience.
This attitude has always set U2 apart from all other bands and why they are the most successful live artists of all time.
Bono interacted with one member of the audience. Queen interacted with all seventy-some thousand of them from the beginning of their performance to the end. Heck, Freddie ad-libbed vocal exercises. And the audience all participated - the entire stadium. I've read from people who were at the show in Philadelphia that the same thing happened there too even though they only saw Queen on a monitor. Also, there's an amusing vid here on youtube of Bono being interviewed after U2's set, and in the background you can hear the audience roaring, 'we will rock you' back to Freddie. starts about 2:45. th-cam.com/video/mrHoyDBXj4E/w-d-xo.html
U2 did give the Live Aid promotors headaches by threatening to pull out the night before. The stunt that Bono pulled by jumping down to the crowd and pulling out a fan caused the band to almost fire him. But it did give them great attention.
Thank you for your cheery holiday appearance…..
Tut.... u2! Happy New Year from George and Alex!
@@TheThamesmen Yes. They originaly ought to play their new song - I thing that should be Pride. But because of Bono they had no time and had to leave. They were realy angry but this made them such a good promo!
1985 I was 19..... what I wouldn't do to go back to 1985...... you all would've loved it.....
We were there at about the same age as you!
Wide Awake in America is AMAZING!!!!
Its soooo amazing - The best!!!
No this was not staged. And there are many pieces of evidence to squash this thought. Is Bono a prat (Id say a lovable goof, but no idiot) who is a master at recoding a moment and seizing it. How do we know this wasn't planned?
1) They were supposed to play Pride, the most current and biggest single at the time. They couldn't play Pride because Bad took too much time.
2) The rest of the band was pissed, and they thought they had just ruined their big moment/opportunity and they all got in a huge fight. There were witnesses. They didn't realize, until press came out later, that what Bono did actually made the moment huge, and captured the hearts of the audience watching on TV, even more than the crowd in attendance.
3) The 1st girl from the crowd was later interview and confirmed she was being crushed and the security did not notice and did nothing.
4) If this was planned, we would have seen better footage of the girl prior to Bono coming down. Bono is no idiot. He has always been aware of the camera even back then. There is early footage of him directing/leading where the camera should go on some TV performance
5) There would have been an easier path to the stage. U2's crew is really good, and this would have been handled. Others have noted how great the crew was during this song - running all over the place getting the wire out of the way, having the mic immediately ready etc.
6) Note the 2 girls who were on the stage when Bono returned... THAT is how it would have gone. But right from the get go.
This is great. Thanks so much for taking the time to pass this on.
Agree it wasn't staged, look at Bono at 14:12-- he clearly realizes he f**ked up. He gives a startled look then a huge sigh. He looks back at the clock and he's way overtime. So he has to further extend "Bad" and scrap Pride, which they were supposed to play. Given the satellite coordination and the limited timeslot for every band, they could not go "over" and play Pride.
no......queen ruled that day and i'm a fan of both
It's going on 17 years now, but you guys forgot to mention Live 8 in 2005 was the big worldwide concert for that generation. U2 opened the London Concert with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Beautiful Day, Vertigo, and One.
George here. Honestly I had forgotten about that concert. It was no way as impactful or as big as the original though was it?
@@TheThamesmen not sure about impact, because they weren't asking for donations. But I'd like to think 10 concerts around the world on the same day is pretty big. The G8 Summit didn't really live up to its promises on helping against poverty afterwards either.
@@jakewhite3132 have they ever!?
so much better
Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen. Best rhythm section in rock.
Soild
I do think the U2 took ahold of the opportunity they had. Queen was well established and U2 was relatively new and it gave them a huge boost. . It was awesome for sure.
It was and also, I felt, super staged! Happy New Year from George and Alex!
@@TheThamesmen which act ?
@@theholyfather1 Bonos performance
@@TheThamesmen Queen were trying to become relevant again after playing apartheid sun city at that time ! To be fair to them that was a great comeback but they will never reach U2s level
@@theholyfather1 I'm a big fan of both U2 and Queen and I felt the 2 concerts that Queen played in Wembley was more iconic than the live aid performance.
Also this had to be the most epic hour in music history. First you have U2, then Dire Stairs, then Queen, and then Bowie
This has to be up there with one of the best live stadium performances of all time?
Thanks for the comment and also thanks for being here and more soon. Thanks G&A
Maybe......
I love Queen and I love U2...comparing the two is difficult. The Queen set is absolute, incredible perfection. I've never seen a single performance where a singer had the crowd in the palm of their hands like Mercury did. He was one of a kind. Of course, knowing the backstory to this, that the women were in danger of being crushed has added to U2's legend and Live Aid was another brick in the wall of establishing U2...With the bands at different places in their careers, a comparison isn't fair to anyone. Both were amazing for what they were. I would have absolutely loved to hear "Pride" in this venue, however.
Thanks for being here, we never take it for granted. Be well and more soon!
From that day on U2 become the biggest band in the world
You can tell when a band is in sync when the lead singer goes off script, & the band still performs as if it was planned.
Yup. Totally worked through it
Ha Ha ha,...NO WAY! MOIN from Hamburg.😎
Thank you for the support and thank you for being here. We did have to ask the question though!
Top reaction top presenters
Many thanks!!
i know i'm late to this particular party but i'd love to hear the song U2 ran out of time to play, "pride (in the name of love)". if you can find the alternate official video (recording of it at slane castle montage), that would be fab!
also i agree, once U2 did THE JOSHUA TREE they started to lose me. until they did ACHTUNG BABY. haven't truly LOVED anything they've done since. i really miss the '80s.
p.s. love your interplay and reactions! cheers!
I mean, despite the title, it's not bad, but it's not Queen, it's not even Bowie, but it could come in about third with Clapton. I'm not sure why I thought the nods to Lou Reed were a little forced, I didn't see it as a natural mesh with the song. Having said all that, I do love the performance. But why does Bono always seem such a prat? Is it wrong to enjoy his music and still feel that way? I'll find a recording of my fave U2 song for you below, but in the meantime, more please!
U2 and B.B.King, live in Sydney 1989. When Loves Comes to Town th-cam.com/video/eT3rXNPGFOM/w-d-xo.html
"Why does Bono always seem such a prat?"...is the eternal question. It's up there with "What is the meaning of life?". Despite that, I don't think it's wrong to enjoy his music. :D
HA HA...... He knew this was HIS chance.. He seemed super cognizant of the opportunity and looked to max it out and I suppose it worked.
Well said.
Queen were very good but not in U2s level
Okay the question comes down to which is the better live band? Queen is theatrical, U2 adlibs a bit more although some of the performance is pre-planned. Bono has done the jump off the stage routine. In my view Queen and most of their songs were made for arena rock. But I can't envision Queen in a smaller indoor venue, the nod goes to U2. Queen were at their height. I enjoyed the U2 performance more as I also prefer U2. I would say on this Queen has it by a whisker.
It's interesting, as Queen I have seen a billon times....but this is the 1st time seeing U2 at Live Aid, so it felt new. I think Freddy controlled the crowd way better than U2 but I liked this song from U2 more.
Queen could play any venue. Check out their earlier concerts around 1974-1975. The Rainbow and the Odeon were fantastic, smaller audiences.
Great reaction guys. I’m a huge fan so yes I love their early work but the new stuff is amazing! Do a binge of really listening to everything after Joshua Tree. Especially the last to albums.
That is good to know and thank you for the advice. Really appreciate your support happy new year
Watching it live as a teenager at the time...ths was my highlight of the whole couple of days.....Obviously then Queen came along and made every other artist there redundant...but fuck me...U2 were amazing
Thanks for the note. More soon and hope you have a fab weekend. Cheers G&A
Wow were you wrong about the women from the crowd. Epically so.
Wide awake in America.... S tier
I agree.....