Nerves, regrets egos... backstage tales of Live Aid

PACKED TO THE RAFTERS There were 72,000 in Wembley Stadium to watch the likes of Queen's Freddie Mercury, right, strut their stuff

- BY SANJEETA BAINS

ON July 13, 1985, some of the planet's greatest musicians banded together for one of the most memorable gigs the world would ever witness.

Put together by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, Live Aid was broadcast to 1.9 billion people and raised more than £114million for the famine-stricken people of Ethiopia.

Such were the nerves backstage, none of the artists seemed keen to kick things off at Wembley.

That was until model pros Status Quo stepped into the breach, having viewers Rockin' All Over the World.

Frontman Francis Rossi, 76, says: "Nobody wanted to go on first. There were lots of egos. I remember asking our manager if anybody had decided yet.

"I said we would gladly go on first, because everybody was arguing.

"We thought we would be out of there in 15 minutes and home, and didn't think the whole thing would be anywhere near as important as it became."