Bob Geldof didn’t want Queen to Live Aid

It is now a fact, thinking about Live Aid and think about Queen It is one. Now Mojo magazine has published an interview with the Promoter Harvey Goldsmith And he reveals that the creator of Live Aid, Bob Geldofat first he was not willing to have the band of Freddie Mercury. A feeling shared also by Queen who did not seem so interested in performing.

As you probably know the Live Aid It was that epochal charity concert that was held on July 13, 1985 at the Wembley stadium in London and at the JFK in Philadelphia to raise funds and raise public awareness of the famine in Africa.

The London promoter.Harvey Goldsmith He helped Geldof and the other engine of the project, Midge Ureas regards the British part at the Wembley stadium, which would also have gone on live television. Bob Geldof it seemed to think that i Queen they were not up to the task.

Goldsmith says: “Geldof and I was organizing the live AID and evaluating potential artists. Being the manufacturer, I understood how the slots work and who went where. I also dealt with the technical aspect: we were doing two shows (in London and Philadelphia, ed. The Queen would have been perfect. I repeated to Bob, I really think they would be perfect for the time slot of 17.30, 18.00, knowing Freddie as I knew it, I knew they would give a show. I stuffed myself and said that nobody could make a better show than Queen. “

On the other side of the barricade, not even i Queen they were fully convinced that they participated in the Live Aidas the band’s guitarist explained last year to Classic Rock Brian May: “We definitely hesitated before saying yes. We had to evaluate if we were quite fit. The chances of making a bad figure were really high.”

Goldsmith always tells Mojo: “They had just finished a long tour, they were all a little exhausted and wanted to take a break. The day of the concert was very close. Freddie took a little back, I think he wanted to see what the reaction to the announcement of the live Aid would be. When he realized the reaction of the press, the media and the request for tickets, he spoke with the band, with their manager Jim Beach, They decided to do it. Of course, they wanted to close the show. I think that what Freddie really convinced was the thought of being able to play for a billion people in one time, nobody had ever done it before.

The rest is known history. THE Queen they got on stage at 18.41 on that July 13, Freddie Mercury took place on the floor and raised a short fragment of “Bohemian Rhapsody”Wembley handed their hands and feet. When they closed with “We are theChampions “about twenty minutes later, it was immediately clear to everyone that that performance would enter history.