40 years ago, Concorde played a starring role in the greatest show on earth

40 years ago in 1985, Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof hosted Live Aid, the concert tipped to end world hunger, and the iconic Concorde played a starring role in what became the greatest show on earth.

Following the smash success of the Band Aid single Do They Know It’s Christmas? Bob Geldof decided to get all of the most famous singers of the ’80s together for two simultaneous concerts in London and Philadelphia.

Nothing like this had ever been done before, switching between the London and Philadelphia shows on television. But some audience members would be forgiven if they thought they might be seeing double.

Among the performers were Queen, Elton John, David Bowie, George Michael, Tina Turner, Madonna, The Who, Status Quo, Sting, Phil Collins and…wait is that Phil Collins again?

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Live Aid: The Greatest Show on Earth

Anyone feeling a bit nostalgic will be aware that it has been 40 years since the concert to end all concerts, AKA the Greatest Show on Earth, Bob Geldof’s Live Aid.

To raise funds to end the famine in Ethiopia, the Boomtown Rats frontman used his power and celebrity contacts to put on two spectacular concerts simultaneously, one in London and one in Philadelphia.

The shows were packed to the gills with stars, including an unprecedented reunion of the band The Who. But a surprising starring role went not to THAT spectacular Freddy Mercury performance, but to Concorde.

Off the back of his massive success in the 1980s, the Genesis singer turned solo artist Phil Collins put on a great set in London with Sting. He was then whisked away by helicopter for an exciting little plan.

Concorde for a good cause

After his performance in London, Collins hopped on the supersonic jet, Concorde.

They flew to Philadelphia, where he arrived just 30 minutes before his next set. Which was on the same day during the same concert, but just on a different continent.

Collins performed with Eric Clapton, looking slightly more dishevelled than he did just hours before in his performance in London. But after achieving this incredible feat, you could tell it was all worth it.

Live Aid has gone down in history as one of the most successful charity fundraisers to ever take place, raising more than $40 million to stop famine in Ethiopia.

Phil Collins, Concorde, and the Boomtown Rats, it doesn’t get more iconically ’80s than that, does it?

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