Live Aid

[Misdee]

7 hours ago, Linus27 said:

 

It sure is and I will admit that I am a big U2 fan, or at least up until Achtung Baby. Certainly the music they were releasing throughout the 80's is for me absolutely incredible. There was also a bunch of bands that were universally liked at the time by young people. We all had our favorites but bands like U2, Simple Minds, The Alarm, Big Country were grouped together and then there were others like Echo and The Bunnymen, The Cure, INXS, Tears For Fears and to some extent The Mission were also very much liked by the same groups.

 

Being a huge U2 fan, I was fortunate enough to work with the producer, Mark Wallis when we signed our record deal. He was chosen to produce our debut album and he was the mix engineer on U2's Joshua Tree album. He also produced the B sides on the album. I would spend many an hour discussing U2 with him which was also interesting. The one thing he told me which really stuck with me is something he said about Adam that sadly Adam is criticized for by other bassists. We were talking about Adam just playing 8's on a lot of track but he said there is no other bass player who can do that in time with as much consistency and drive that Adam. If you analyse each note, it is spot on in perfect time. Most other bass players waver in time but Adam is so accurate with his timing, which is why he does it so well. He is the same when playing 16's, for example on Where The Streets Have No Name. He said no other bass player he has worked with is as accurate or in time as Adam Clayton.

 

 

I've never understood why some folks see Adam Clayton as an inferior bass player. To anyone who understands the subtleties of the instrument he's a very good bass player. He knows how to create a hook with his bass parts- something that eludes a lot of virtuoso players- and when U2 were at their best his bass lines and gritty tone used to really drive the songs. There's an awful lot to like about how he plays the bass.

[NancyJohnson]

I've been watching the BBC iPlayer.  Observations?  Lots of mullets.  Quite a few performers long dead.  US show was a shambles.  U2 and Queen were great.  Elton John on for too long.

 

We were talking about the bands that didn't play (Geldolf, for instance, believed Big Country had split up).  

[kodiakblair]

For such a huge event I don't remember too much.

 

I remember my pal telling we were going as The Who were playing. Mind being broke and selling some golf clubs my old man had in the shed for the ticket.

Don't recall the trip down from Falkirk or how it took to get inside Wembley , I do remember we'd been inside 20 minutes and telling my pal to wait "Right here" as I joined a queue to buy smokes; never saw him again until the following week 🤣

 

I mind it was bloody hot and London prices shocked me, everything was £1.50 ; Can of beer back home was 20p.

 

At some point I ventured off the pitch and found a bar selling draught, again £1.50. It was there I saw the full horror of Bono's ego and Queen steal the show. Never was a fan of the band but the way they controlled the crowd was a wonder to behold 😎

 

Queues leaving the stadium were a nightmare, queue into tube station was the same.  Those queues meant I missed my train but luckily the Glasgow train was an hour late so got that instead.

Train was mobbed, parked my arse on the floor in-between carriages for 8 hours; tapping smokes of boy scouts heading to the lavvy for a sly puff 😀

[Misdee]

Talking of Elton John, it was great to see David Paton in the band. Looked like a vintage P Bass he was playing. Another great unsung bass player. So clever, so tasteful, so inventive.

 

It must have been around that time that he was playing on tracks for Elton's Ice On Fire album, including Nikita which was a classic example of an ,'80s big hit where the bass guitar is so prominent like you seldom hear on pop records nowadays. 

 

Fair play to the BBC for putting all this footage on again. I've really enjoyed watching some of it. If so had the time I'd probably sit down and watch it all.

Edited 20 hours ago by Misdee

[StingRayBoy42]

Live Aid was on my eleventh birthday.

I remember watching it and thinking "They're going to have to do something BLOODY spectacular for my twelfth..."

[Geek99]

On 14/07/2025 at 13:05, ezbass said:

Drumming was overly enthusiastic and the addition of a sax was superfluous. Sounded more like a jam, certainly not well rehearsed.

 

I’m not a huge Queen fan, but they were so slick, moving seamlessly from an abbreviated version of one tune to another. Plainly, well rehearsed.

 

If I were the three other members of U2, there would have been words about Bono’s excursion into the audience. Playing that riff over and over, for so long would have been wearing, not to mention boring. 
 

 

EDIT: The Who doing Won’t Get Fooled Again was an absolute car crash.

He always does that, they are used to it. I thought it was a masterpiece of showmanship. The riff does vary a bit. 

[Geek99]

12 hours ago, Linus27 said:

… saw the U2 set. I was blown away by it but mostly by Adam Clayton, strutting around the stage, with his black DM's, looking super cool, playing this beaten up Jazz bass and at that point I decided, that's what I want to do, I want to do what he's doing, I want some of that. From then on in, I got into music, took up the bass and the rest as they say is history.

Yes totally. I think im Right in saying that his jazz bass that day is the same one as the New years Day video

[Geek99]

11 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I`ve read that in a few places, and agree that whilst it might not seem particularly taxing playing straight 8s (or 16s) through a whole track spot on is much harder than many would think. Probably many wouldn`t even realise how off they were until seeing the notes on the display in the studio - myself def included in this. It`s quite eye-opening to see just how much you`ve wavered when you thought you`d nailed it. Not all skills involve every fret and every string in a verse.

Totally 

I played zombie recently at an OM and had to throw in a 6 quarter note bar as I’d overstayed on the previous chord. Still finished on time with a sustained open E to the pleasant surprise of the two acoustic guitards, one of whom shouted me to the crowd and the other fist bumped me. Personally I think the only bit that went right was that last note and that only by chance. Crowd went nuts which was a pleasant surprise 

 

theyre used to playing acoustic unsupported so they obviously have ridiculously low standards 

[Linus27]

10 hours ago, Geek99 said:

Yes totally. I think im Right in saying that his jazz bass that day is the same one as the New years Day video

 

Nope totally different 😄 New Year Days bass is a black 70's fretless jazz with blocks and binding on a rosewood neck. The Live Aid bass is a sunburst jazz with maple board.

[Mike Brooks]

15 hours ago, Misdee said:

Talking of Elton John, it was great to see David Paton in the band. Looked like a vintage P Bass he was playing. Another great unsung bass player. So clever, so tasteful, so inventive.

 

It must have been around that time that he was playing on tracks for Elton's Ice On Fire album, including Nikita which was a classic example of an ,'80s big hit where the bass guitar is so prominent like you seldom hear on pop records nowadays. 

 Nikita... that boy, Pino, again...

[Misdee]

5 hours ago, Mike Brooks said:

 Nikita... that boy, Pino, again...

That's a common misconception, Mike.

 

It was David Paton, formerly of Pilot and Alan Parsons Project ect. who played bass on Nikita.

 

Apparently he got to the studio early one day, was just playing his Stingray along to the backing  track to test out a new piece of equipment, Elton heard it and loved it and the rest is history.

Edited 44 minutes ago by Misdee

[Mudpup]

On 17/07/2025 at 11:10, Linus27 said:

 

After the Live Aid performance, U2 very nearly split up. The rest of the band were furious with Bono for taking over and interacting with the crowd which forced the band to cut the song Pride which was at the time a huge hit for them, especially in the States. They ended up playing a 12 minute version of the song Bad due to Bono going off to interact with the crowd which meant they didn't have time to play their current hit single and the rest of the band felt like they were just passengers during the performance whilst Bono did his thing.

If he tried pulling a couple of girls over the barrier and snogging them nowadays imagine the fuss!!! That Spanish football official who kissed the lady captain a couple of years back was pretty much beheaded for it. 

 

I bet there's a few lawyers trying to find out where they are now 😂

[Dad3353]

2 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

If he tried pulling a couple of girls over the barrier and snogging them nowadays imagine the fuss!!! That Spanish football official who kissed the lady captain a couple of years back was pretty much beheaded for it. 

 

I bet there's a few lawyers trying to find out where they are now 😂

 

Isn't there a question of consent in there somewhere..? 

[Mike Brooks]

52 minutes ago, Misdee said:

That's a common misconception, Mike.

 

It was David Paton, formerly of Pilot and Alan Parsons Project ect. who played bass on Nikita.

 

Apparently he go to the studio early one day, was just playing his Stingray along to the backing  track to test out a new piece of equipment, Elton heard it and loved it and the rest is history.

Yes indeed... my mistake! Thank you, sir!

[Misdee]

9 minutes ago, Mike Brooks said:

Yes indeed... my mistake! Thank you, sir!

I too assumed it was PIno until I found out otherwise by accident, Mike. PIno does play on some tracks on that album, though.

 

 For my taste, one of the great bass lines of the 1980's .

[Stub Mandrel]

9 minutes ago, Misdee said:

I too assumed it was PIno until I found out otherwise by accident, Mike. PIno does play on some tracks on that album, though.

 

 For my taste, one of the great bass lines of the 1980's .

 

And Dave Mattacks on drums. That man grts everywhere! 

[Mykesbass]

Just watching the Ray Cooper tambourine masterclass (otherwise known as Don't Let the Sun go Down on Me). What a pro!

[bassace]

On 16/07/2025 at 22:53, TimR said:

 

 

 

Howard Jones was told that the keys on the piano were sticking so he had to give them a good bash to free them up first.

 

 

Useful piano player, that HJ. Certainly knows his chords.