Phil Collins used a Concorde so he could outrun time to perform in London and Philadelphia in a single afternoon
Published on Mar 09, 2026 at 4:49 AM (UTC+4)
by Molly Davidson
Last updated on Mar 05, 2026 at 8:39 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Mason Jones
Live Aid in 1985 was already shaping up to be one of the biggest concerts the world had ever seen.
Two stadiums, two continents, and a broadcast linking them together for a global audience.
Most performers simply chose which side of the Atlantic they’d appear on.
But Phil Collins decided to do both, and trusted Concorde to make it possible.
DISCOVER SBX CARS – The global premium auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
Phil Collins’ supersonic Live Aid race
Live Aid was split between Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia on July 13, 1985, and Phil Collins quickly realized something unusual.
Because Concorde could cross the Atlantic faster than the time difference erased the day, performing at both concerts wasn’t impossible.
It was simply a matter of timing everything perfectly.
His London set began at 3:18pm and ran for about 32 minutes.
As soon as he stepped off stage, the real race began.
Television host Noel Edmonds flew him by helicopter from Wembley to Heathrow Airport, where Collins boarded a regularly scheduled British Airways Concorde flight to New York.
The aircraft cruised at around Mach 2 and roughly 55,000ft, covering the Atlantic in about three and a half hours.
Because he was flying west, the five-hour time difference actually worked in his favor.
In local time, he landed in New York earlier than when he’d left London.
From JFK Airport another helicopter carried him to Philadelphia, where he still had time to take the stage again.
Collins played drums for Eric Clapton, performed a short solo set, and later joined the Led Zeppelin reunion performance.
Not bad for someone who had been performing in London just a few hours earlier.
Click the star icon next to supercarblondie.com in Google Search to stay ahead of the curve on the latest and greatest supercars, hypercars, and ground-breaking technology
The Concorde that made it all possible
By the mid-1980s, Concorde had already become one of the most recognizable aircraft in the world.
Its sharp nose, delta wings, and supersonic speed turned a routine flight into something closer to an event, and crossing the Atlantic on it carried a certain celebrity of its own.
World leaders, movie stars, musicians, and business executives all used it to move between continents faster than any other commercial aircraft could manage.
That reputation shows exactly why Collins’ Live Aid dash came together so perfectly.
On that day in 1985, Concorde didn’t just carry another famous passenger across the Atlantic – it helped create one of the most unforgettable logistical feats in concert history.
DISCOVER SBX CARS: The global premium car auction platform powered by Supercar Blondie
With roles at TEXT Journal, Bowen Street Press, Onya Magazine, and Swine Magazine on her CV, Molly joined Supercar Blondie in June 2025 as a Junior Content Writer. Having experience across copyediting, proofreading, reference checking, and production, she brings accuracy, clarity, and audience focus to her stories spanning automotive, tech, and lifestyle news.
