Bono

It’s for those who were too young to be there (or in the yet-to-be-born category), those geographically too far away to attend, and those simply not fortunate enough to have been witness to the music magic. It’s the chance for the generations that missed out on one of the greatest fund-raising music events ever, to relive the magic on screen.

The recently-announced DVD release plans of Live Aid marks a return to the original fund-raiser where melody, in one of its early forays into fund-raising, helped ring in millions for famine victims.

On November 25, 1984, 36 British recording artistes gathered at a studio in Notting Hill, London, to record a song written by Bob Geldof (the musician and campaigner behind Live Aid) and Midge Ure (of the then-famous group Ultravox) to raise funds for relief in Ethiopia.

The result was the historic Do They Know It’s Christmas? performed by the who’s who of the 1980s music scene, including Bananarama, Phil Collins, Culture Club, Duran Duran, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Kool & The Gang, Annie Lennox, George Michael, Spandau Ballet, Status Quo, Sting, U2 and Paul Young — under the banner of Band Aid. The song was a straight UK number one and became “the biggest-selling single ever”.

Bob Geldof

In the US, the song inspired a similar fund-raising recording, We Are The World, by another star-studded line-up calling itself USA For Africa. In March 1985, as Bob Geldof and Midge Ure accepted their Novello Award for the song, the first shipment of food and medicine paid for by Band Aid arrived in Ethiopia. The effort managed to raise millions for the famine relief programme. But that wasn’t enough for Geldof.

The afternoon of July 13 saw “the biggest pop event ever” staged over a one-day period getting underway. Held simultaneously over a 16-hour period in Philadelphia and London, 60 of the world’s biggest rock stars performed without charging a penny at the two concerts in front of a live audience of 1,62,000 and broadcast to around 1.9 billion TV viewers in 150 countries across the world.

Wembley Stadium was the venue in London (with the Prince and Princess of Wales in attendance) and the JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. The acts were given 17 minutes each to perform, while Geldof urged viewers to phone in with promises of contributions.

Heady musical cocktails included a duet between Tina Turner and Mick Jagger and a super trio of Bob Dylan, Keith Richard and Ron Wood on the US stage. Led Zeppelin reunited with Phil Collins on drums, Black Sabbath linked up with front man Ozzy Osbourne, and Neil Young, Tom Petty, The Cars, Bryan Adams, Joan Baez, The Beach Boys and Duran Duran put in their precious bits.

Paul McCartney

The Wembley line-up saw Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, BB King, The Pretenders, Paul Young, Spandau Ballet, Cliff Richard, Bryan Ferry, Paul Weller, INXS and Queen perform. Even The Who and Status Quo came together for the event. Geldof was back with his Boomtown Rats. As a testimony to his commitment to the cause, Phil Collins managed to play at both shows. After Wembley, he hopped on a Concorde, jetted across the Atlantic and played again in Philadelphia later the same day. The British show ended with a flourish as Paul McCartney and Pete Townshend hoisted an exhausted Geldof on their shoulders.

Live Aid eventually raised 40 million pounds for the famine that claimed over a million lives between 1984 and 1985 and Geldof was knighted in 1986. Similar aid concerts were quick to follow, including Comic Relief, Artists Against Apartheid, Sports Aid and Farm Aid.

After 20 years, the original fund-raising rock show is being released on DVD, marking the first time it will be available on video. Bootleg copies being sold over the Internet prompted organisers to auction the DVD release rights.

Warner Vision International won the bidding and has set a November 10 release date for the four-disc DVD package. The set will also feature a documentary, Food, Trucks & Rock ‘’ Roll, and performances from related Live Aid events around the world.

Proceeds from the sale will go to the Band Aid Trust, which still functions to relieve poverty and hunger in Ethiopia and surrounding areas.

The only bit music lovers will miss out on, however, is the set featuring Led Zeppelin, who refused permission for their act to be included, owing to “sub-standard performance”.

SOUND SCAN

A.R. Rahman

Mixed-up melody

These days, film-makers in Bollywood are not taking any chances. To make sure that by signing a particular music director they do not alienate a certain section of the audience, they are into mix-and-match mode. So, in Atul Agnihotri’s directorial debut Dil Ne Jise Apna Kaha, starring Salman Khan, Bhoomika Chawla and Preity Zinta, you have the musical coming together of A.R. Rahman and Himesh Reshammiya.

And there is a whiff of controversy in the album, too. If the film’s title track has been composed by Rahman, the instrumental version of the same has been done by Reshammiya. But don’t jump to any conclusions because the two tunes are quite different. The album also sees a healthy mix of mainstream and off-beat singers. While the Reshammiya tracks are sung by Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik and Sonu Nigam, the Rahman numbers have been rendered by the likes of Sujata Trivedi, Kamaal Khan, Madhushree, Pamela Jain, Gayatri, Kartik and Raquib.

Touchstone returns

It’s the return of the original college band. Paraspathar’s Dekho, the band’s latest offering, comes after a gap of three years. Different musical styles are delved into and a mix of ballads and upbeat tracks balance each other.

“The emphasis, as always, is on the melody,” says Mahua Lahiri of Asha Audio, the band’s label. “The love songs are more mature than the first college-crush anthems that the band is best known for,” she points out. No changes in the line-up of Ayan, Rishi, Samidh and Kingshuk either for the eight-track album. Paraspathar debuted with Ajo Achhe in the early 1990s and followed it up with Ichchhedana, spinning out hits like Sujan and Bhalo Lagey.

Air Hendrix

Does it get wackier than this? Guess not. The World Air Guitar Championship slated to take the stage in Oulu, Finland, between August 25 and 27, promises to fulfil the fantasies of some Hendrix, Slash or Satriani fans. In its ninth year, the competition allows participants, believe it or not, to play an imaginary guitar “in the air” to their favourite tunes! And no kidding, this is serious business, complete with an independent and annually-changing panel of judges and a two-day training camp where “world champions and experts” will coach aspirants.

The finals consist of two one-minute rounds — one where participants play a song of their choice and the other a compulsory song selected by the organisers. The World Champion will be awarded with “a genuine handmade Flying Finn guitar” worth 2,500 euros.