Forty Years On - Live Aid was a benefit concert held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia on 13 July 1985. Organised by Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof and Ultravox vocalist Midge Ure, the event drew an estimated 1.5bn television viewers and raised millions for famine relief in Ethiopia.
Years of drought, civil war, and failed attempts at government control of the grain market in the early 1980s led to a catastrophic famine that threatened hundreds of thousands of lives in Ethiopia. After seeing a television news report on the subject in 1984, Geldof wrote the lyrics for Do They Know It’s Christmas? Ure crafted the melody of the song, and Geldof recruited some of the biggest names in the British new wave scene to contribute vocals.
The single, recorded in November 1984 and marketed under the name Band Aid, sold over three million copies and inspired similar all-star benefit projects. Most notable among these was Quincy Jones’s USA for Africa, which hinged on the recording of We Are the World in January 1985. The success of Band Aid and USA for Africa inspired Geldof and Ure to stage a fund-raising event that was described as a “global jukebox” collecting dozens of acts for a marathon 16-hour live music event. The anniversary of the landmark event is featuring in a number of broadcast documentaries.
The Last Time - Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath went out with a bang at what they say will be their final gig, in front of 40,000 fans and supported by an all-star line-up who have been influenced by the founding fathers of heavy metal. Ozzy, 76, who has Parkinson's disease, sang while seated on a black throne - clapping, waving his arms and pulling wild-eyed looks, just like old times. He appeared overwhelmed at some moments. "You have no idea how I feel. Thank you from the bottom of my heart," he told the crowd at Villa Park in Birmingham.
Cultural Bonus - A rise in visitor numbers experienced by Bradford’s Alhambra Theatre and St George’s Hall has been linked to the city’s UK City of Culture 2025 status. City Councillors have welcomed the additional "spotlight" on Bradford’s "incredible cultural offer", following a rise in visits to the two theatres, four museums and galleries.
The 1,400-seat Alhambra Theatre and Victorian concert hall St George’s have both seen a leap in attendances over the last year, council figures reveal. The Alhambra welcomed 248,000 visits in the 2023/24 period and 340,000 in 2024/25 – equating to 92,000 more trips to the theatre. Meanwhile, 2,000 more visits to St George’s Hall in 2024/25 than in 2023/24 saw the figures leap from 84,000 trips to 86,000. Touring musicals to visit the venues included Wicked, Hamilton, and The Book of Mormon.
Museum News - Chic’s Nile Rodgers has guest-curated a display for the new David Bowie Centre, including personal correspondence between the two singers. London's V&A Museum, which is behind the new David Bowie Centre, said Rodgers has also selected a bespoke Peter Hall suit worn by Bowie during the Serious Moonlight tour for the Let's Dance album. The David Bowie Centre will open within the museum's new East Storehouse in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, in Stratford, east London, on 13 September.
West End News - Elf the Musical is to play the Aldwych Theatre this year, taking over the space from the seven-year-long run of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. The Christmas-themed musical, based on the 2003 film starring comedian Will Ferrell, is to run from 28 October until 3 January 2026.
Elf will once again be directed by Philip Wm. McKinley, who previously led the show in its former West End runs in 2022 and 2023. The show premiered on Broadway in 2010. Featuring choreography by Liam Steel, lighting by Patrick Woodroffe, sound by Gareth Owen, and video by Ian William Galloway, the production is to incorporate a "brand-new set" adapted for its new home theatre’s dimensions by Tim Goodchild.
In The Saleroom - Ticket stubs for 1960s gigs by The Beatles that cost pennies at the time are among a collection expected to fetch up to £500 at auction. The 17-stub archive includes two for The Beatles and Roy Orbison at Birmingham Town Hall in June 1963, costing fans eight shillings and sixpence. The band was originally second on the bill, but were bumped up to co-headline as Beatlemania grew and ended up closing the set. The stubs will go under the hammer on 14 July, at the Lichfield Auction Centre in Fradley Park.
(Jim Evans)
