1985 - The Live Aid benefit concerts take place simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Among the featured artists were David Bowie, Duran Duran, Hall & Oates, Elton John, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Pretenders, Queen, Run-DMC, Sting, U2, and The Who. (Thanks to the time zone differential between London and Philadelphia, Phil Collins was able to perform at both shows.) More than 170,000 attended the concerts (72,000 in London; 100,000 in Philadelphia) and approximately 1.9 billion people, across 150 countries watched the live broadcast. It raised close to $200m.
Today’s Birthdays include...The Byrds’ vocalist/guitarist Roger McGuinn (78); the legendary Cheech Marin (73); Dictators/Twisted Sister bassist Mark "The Animal" Mendoza (65); and screenwriter/film director/music journalist/honorary musician Cameron Crowe (63).
