Live Aid, probably THE most famous music concert of all time is being turned into a Westend stage musical in London in 2024.

Originally set up in 1985 to raise money for the millions of starving people in Ethiopia during a famine there, the Musical tells the story behind the day.

Live Aid the Musical will be called “Just For One Day” which is a line from the song Heroes. The stage show and musical will feature songs played that day by acts including of course Queen but also Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney, U2, and Sting. The show will be performed at London’s Old Vic Theatre running from 26 January to 30 March 2024. Bob Geldof has reiterated that this “isn’t a tribute thing” and that it’s not about the people but that the “songs drive the drama along”.

The plot of the Live Aid Musical “Just For One Day”, will show how the day came to be and will be “based on actual testimony from the day”.

To stay in line with the original ethos of the Live Aid show in 1985, 10% of of all ticket sales from the show will go to the Band Aid Charitable Trust.

The character of Bob Geldof will be played by Craige Els, who has previously appeared on Dr Who. Watching this in rehearsals, Bob Geldof said “It’s bad enough being Bob Geldof. It’s slightly worse seeing someone else pretending to be you. “

The Original History of Live Aid

Live Aid, which was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, was held in Philadelphia as well as at Wembley Stadium. It had probably the most prestigious lineup of musical acts in history including Queen, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Elton John, David Bowie, Tina Turner, U2, Madonna, George Michael, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, and many others who played to sold-out crowds at Wembley and JFK stadiums as viewers across the planet watched at home, thanks to TV producers who created one of the first live international satellite hookups. An estimated 1.9m people watched this on TV and probably millions more since the advent of YouTube.

Queen definitely stole the show at Live Aid and this was featured in the 2018 Queen Biopic Bohemian Rhapsody which won Rami Malek an Oscar.

So What do you Think of Live Aid the Musical Idea?

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