Live Aid 35th Anniversary: Look Back at Our 13 Favorite Performances

This entire list could easily be composed of Queen’s Live Aid set. The sheer power of Queen made them the perfect band for an event of this magnitude. Their iconic performance at Live Aid served as the climax to the 2018 biographical drama Bohemian Rhapsody.

If there’s a song that could serve as the Live Aid anthem, it’s the David Bowie classic. “We can be heroes, just for one day,” Bowie sings in the opening of this inspirational tune.

Patti LaBelle’s voice mesmerized the packed crowd in Philadelphia in 1985 and continues to do so every time this performance is queued up online. With her dynamic vocals at the forefront, LaBelle’s set at Live Aid was highlighted with this performance.

Phil Collins was arguably the MVP of Live Aid performing both in London and Philadelphia. This collaboration with Sting on a minimal rendition of “Every Breath You Take” may be one of the most beautiful of the event with Sting on guitar, Collins on piano, and a musician on the straight neck tenor saxophone.

U2 wasn’t yet the behemoth they are today, but their appearance at Live Aid helped skyrocket them to stardom. The band stretched out their performance of “Bad” from The Unforgettable Fire to over eleven and a half minutes with Bono making his way to the front of the stage and bringing several audience members up to embrace.

It’s always a treat to hear Eric Clapton on guitar during “Layla,” but this performance is noteworthy because it represents Phil Collins’ second appearance at a Live Aid event in the day. His cameo during Clapton’s set came after he hopped on a plane and flew over the Atlantic Ocean to make it to Philadelphia.

You want a singalong? You got a singalong. The Simple Minds song was the perfect anthem for the packed crowd and still leaves you reeling in the energy all these years later.

John and Michael were massive stars already at this point in their careers with their performance at Live Aid serving as a showcase of their musical talent. The performance was so good, Elton John enthusiastically jumped out of his seat at the end to embrace George Michael.

Outside of creating perhaps the biggest dance party of the day, Madonna paused her performance of “Holiday” to deliver a message of inspiration. “It doesn’t matter who you are, it’s why you’re here.” The song was so good, they went right back into it afterwards.

While you can’t tell in the YouTube video, McCartney’s microphone failed him during the last two minutes of this performance. This resulted in David Bowie, Alison Moyet, Pete Townshend, and Bob Geldof joining McCartney on stage for a beautiful live music moment.

The charity single officially closed out the event with a long list of artists and performers from the day heading out on stage to perform the track.

The Who’s Live Aid performance marked their first appearance together since their 1982 “farewell” tour. Although there’s some mishaps with their “Won’t Get Fooled Again” performance, when Roger Daltrey shrieks “yeeeaaaahhhhh” towards the end of the song, it send shivers down your spine.

Did you really think this list wouldn’t include “Bohemian Rhapsody?” One of the greatest rock and roll songs from one of the greatest rock and roll performances of all time caps off the list of our favorite Live Aid performances.