This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jul/08/one-day-decade-dylan-jones-review
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| The Eighties: One Day, One Decade by Dylan Jones – review | The Eighties: One Day, One Decade by Dylan Jones – review |
| (2 months later) | |
| It's nearly 30 years since Live Aid, but in many ways it seems a lifetime. For Dylan Jones, award-winning editor of GQ magazine, former Blitz kid who spent the 80s as editor of i-D and the Face, Live Aid was the decade's pinch point, "when a nation's attitudes and expectations were somehow captured and changed for ever". | It's nearly 30 years since Live Aid, but in many ways it seems a lifetime. For Dylan Jones, award-winning editor of GQ magazine, former Blitz kid who spent the 80s as editor of i-D and the Face, Live Aid was the decade's pinch point, "when a nation's attitudes and expectations were somehow captured and changed for ever". |
| Some would argue that there were other moments in the 1980s that reshaped the country, and most certainly their own life and community, from the miners' strike and the battle of Orgreave of 18 June 1984, to the sunny Saturday afternoon of 15 April 1989 that cast a long, dark shadow over football, after Chief Superintendent Duckenfield ordered an exit gate at the Leppings Lane end of Hillsborough stadium to be opened, leading to the worst stadium-related disaster in British history and the deaths of 96 Liverpool supporters. Many of us would also argue that the arrival of ecstasy and acid house in the late 80s redefined the British idea of a night out. | Some would argue that there were other moments in the 1980s that reshaped the country, and most certainly their own life and community, from the miners' strike and the battle of Orgreave of 18 June 1984, to the sunny Saturday afternoon of 15 April 1989 that cast a long, dark shadow over football, after Chief Superintendent Duckenfield ordered an exit gate at the Leppings Lane end of Hillsborough stadium to be opened, leading to the worst stadium-related disaster in British history and the deaths of 96 Liverpool supporters. Many of us would also argue that the arrival of ecstasy and acid house in the late 80s redefined the British idea of a night out. |
| But few would argue that anything captured the imagination of the rest of the world in one moment, or packaged it for TV, like Live Aid did. On Saturday 13 July 1985 nearly 2 billion people, Jones writes, "woke up with one purpose. Nearly a third of humanity knew where they were going to be that day. Watching, listening to, attending: Live Aid". Jones's book tells the story of the decade through the prism of that day at Wembley, sweeping backwards to the end of the 70s, and forward to the start of the 90s. Jones's social commentary touches on the miners' strike, acid house and many other key moments such as Red Wedge, although Hillsborough is absent. | But few would argue that anything captured the imagination of the rest of the world in one moment, or packaged it for TV, like Live Aid did. On Saturday 13 July 1985 nearly 2 billion people, Jones writes, "woke up with one purpose. Nearly a third of humanity knew where they were going to be that day. Watching, listening to, attending: Live Aid". Jones's book tells the story of the decade through the prism of that day at Wembley, sweeping backwards to the end of the 70s, and forward to the start of the 90s. Jones's social commentary touches on the miners' strike, acid house and many other key moments such as Red Wedge, although Hillsborough is absent. |
| Geldof came up with the idea for Band Aid after watching Michael Buerk's chilling BBC report on the Ethiopian famine, which began: "Dawn, and as the sun breaks through the piercing chill of the night on the plains outside Korem, it lights up a biblical famine, now, in the 20th century. This place, say workers here, is the closest thing to hell on earth." | Geldof came up with the idea for Band Aid after watching Michael Buerk's chilling BBC report on the Ethiopian famine, which began: "Dawn, and as the sun breaks through the piercing chill of the night on the plains outside Korem, it lights up a biblical famine, now, in the 20th century. This place, say workers here, is the closest thing to hell on earth." |
| Geldof corralled musicians into recording the Band Aid record he co-wrote with Midge Ure, Do They Know It's Christmas? It raised £8m, and Geldof guaranteed that every penny would reach those in greatest need. Live Aid was partly conceived from a need to break the trucking cartel blocking the direct shipment of aid. | Geldof corralled musicians into recording the Band Aid record he co-wrote with Midge Ure, Do They Know It's Christmas? It raised £8m, and Geldof guaranteed that every penny would reach those in greatest need. Live Aid was partly conceived from a need to break the trucking cartel blocking the direct shipment of aid. |
| Context and cultural positioning aside, the book revolves around the day itself, with intimate backstage detail about the egos and differing approaches of the artists. Bowie was nervous, Elton was nervous, Freddie Mercury was nervous; only Status Quo, who opened the London leg with Rockin' All Over the World, weren't. It might not have been snowing in Africa that Christmas time, but it was in Quo's dressing room. "Live Aid was no different to me from any other gig," says Francis Rossi. "I had already done a gram of coke and half a bottle of tequila before we went on stage." But Quo were hardly alone, Jones reveals. "It was 1985, for chrissakes," PR Bernard Doherty explains. "It was a sea of cocaine backstage… you couldn't move for the stuff." Despite this, backstage enmity was largely absent; even George Michael and Paul Weller were cordial to each other, despite Weller having told Michael at the Band Aid recording: "Don't be a wanker all your life. Have a day off." | Context and cultural positioning aside, the book revolves around the day itself, with intimate backstage detail about the egos and differing approaches of the artists. Bowie was nervous, Elton was nervous, Freddie Mercury was nervous; only Status Quo, who opened the London leg with Rockin' All Over the World, weren't. It might not have been snowing in Africa that Christmas time, but it was in Quo's dressing room. "Live Aid was no different to me from any other gig," says Francis Rossi. "I had already done a gram of coke and half a bottle of tequila before we went on stage." But Quo were hardly alone, Jones reveals. "It was 1985, for chrissakes," PR Bernard Doherty explains. "It was a sea of cocaine backstage… you couldn't move for the stuff." Despite this, backstage enmity was largely absent; even George Michael and Paul Weller were cordial to each other, despite Weller having told Michael at the Band Aid recording: "Don't be a wanker all your life. Have a day off." |
| It was Queen and U2 who stole the day: they realised that, charity aside, this was a unique personal promotional opportunity to capitalise on. "It was the perfect stage for Freddie: the whole world," says Geldof. U2 left the stage feeling their performance had been clumsy; they had missed the opportunity. In fact, the opposite was true: Bono's walkabout during Bad, playing the faux rock messiah and pulling a girl out of the crowd, became a defining moment and made them true stadium stars. | It was Queen and U2 who stole the day: they realised that, charity aside, this was a unique personal promotional opportunity to capitalise on. "It was the perfect stage for Freddie: the whole world," says Geldof. U2 left the stage feeling their performance had been clumsy; they had missed the opportunity. In fact, the opposite was true: Bono's walkabout during Bad, playing the faux rock messiah and pulling a girl out of the crowd, became a defining moment and made them true stadium stars. |
| After Live Aid, a BBC producer was quoted as saying that the project had sounded the death knell for Geldof as a rock star, as he could not be a rebellious symbol of youthful alienation one moment and sending food to Africa the next. He wasn't the only one who thought Live Aid had changed perceptions of popstars. Duran Duran moaned to Love magazine recently that for them Live Aid was the day that popstars started having to be role models. | After Live Aid, a BBC producer was quoted as saying that the project had sounded the death knell for Geldof as a rock star, as he could not be a rebellious symbol of youthful alienation one moment and sending food to Africa the next. He wasn't the only one who thought Live Aid had changed perceptions of popstars. Duran Duran moaned to Love magazine recently that for them Live Aid was the day that popstars started having to be role models. |
| In a questionable YouGov poll last year of moments that "changed TV for ever", Live Aid was only at No 7, just above Emu attacking Michael Parkinson, but it remains, as Jones writes, "one of the most extraordinary days in postwar history, the first cultural event that attempted to involve the whole world", and the fascinating vignettes from Jones and the main protaganists give a unique insight into the day, and the decade. | In a questionable YouGov poll last year of moments that "changed TV for ever", Live Aid was only at No 7, just above Emu attacking Michael Parkinson, but it remains, as Jones writes, "one of the most extraordinary days in postwar history, the first cultural event that attempted to involve the whole world", and the fascinating vignettes from Jones and the main protaganists give a unique insight into the day, and the decade. |
| Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. | Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |
| Write your review of this or any other book, find out what other readers thought or add it to your lists |