Countless lives saved by Geldof’s golden jukebox

Revelling in the recent blanket coverage of the 40th anniversary of Live Aid was like being transported back in time, to the days of our relative youth.

It wasn’t just the mullets and brightly coloured, oversized suits – it was the soundtrack of our younger days, played out on Geldof’s global jukebox.

The BBC honoured this milestone anniversary superbly, with a three-part documentary examining the impact and legacy of Band Aid and Live Aid – and even Bob Geldof knew it wasn’t all good news because wheels had to be greased to keep the forward momentum – followed by the 16 hours of the day itself edited to about half its airtime.

That’s still a mammoth musical feast, starting in Wembley, alternating between London and Philadelphia as the other side of the world woke up, and then ending in the US with a stellar singalong in the early hours of the morning.

Apart from the fact that this was effectively the eighties musical playbook because everyone who was anyone took to the stage, there were a couple of things that hit home, 40 years on from the day itself.

One was how many of these stars we have since lost – and of course that shouldn’t be a surprise at all because Live Aid is now ancient history, but you tend to think of them as still here because their music remains on the airwaves.

Freddie Mercury was in his pomp, holding the audience in the palm of his hand; Geroge Michael performed that unforgettable version of Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me with Elton (who is very much alive), and David Bowie got the cash rolling in by ending his rip-roaring set by introducing that iconic CBC video of the famine in Ethiopia to the soundtrack of the Cars’ Drive.

Tina Turner is gone, Tom Petty, Brian Wilson, Rick Parfitt from Status Quo, David Crosby and Graham Nash – and of course Geldof’s then-wife Paula Yates who was such a part of the day’s events.