Editing Live Aid (section)

== Performances ==
=== London, Wembley Stadium ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! {{abbr|Time|British time – UTC+01:00 (BST)}} !! Performer(s) !! Performed song(s)
|-
| 12:00 || [[Band of the Coldstream Guards|Coldstream Guards]] || "Royal Salute"<br />"[[God Save the Queen]]" <small>(First six bars only)</small>
|-
| 12:01 || [[Status Quo (band)|Status Quo]] || "[[Rockin' All Over the World]]"<br />"[[Caroline (Status Quo song)|Caroline]]"<br />"[[Don't Waste My Time (Status Quo song)|Don't Waste My Time]]"
|-
| 12:19 || [[The Style Council]] || "[[You're the Best Thing]]"<br />"Big Boss Groove"<br />"Internationalists"<br />"[[Walls Come Tumbling Down!]]"
|-
| 12:44 || [[The Boomtown Rats]] || "[[I Don't Like Mondays]]"<br />"Drag Me Down"<br />"[[Rat Trap]]"
|-
| 13:01 || [[Adam Ant]] || "[[Vive Le Rock]]"
|-
| 13:17 || [[Ultravox]] || "[[Reap the Wild Wind (song)|Reap the Wild Wind]]"<br />"[[Dancing with Tears in My Eyes]]"<br />"[[One Small Day]]"<br />"[[Vienna (Ultravox song)|Vienna]]"
|-
| 13:46 || [[Spandau Ballet]] || "[[Only When You Leave]]"<br />"Virgin"<br />"[[True (Spandau Ballet song)|True]]"
|-
| 14:07 || [[Elvis Costello]] || "[[All You Need Is Love]]"
|-
| 14:22 || [[Nik Kershaw]] || "[[Wide Boy (song)|Wide Boy]]"<br />"[[Don Quixote (Nik Kershaw song)|Don Quixote]]"<br />"[[The Riddle (Nik Kershaw song)|The Riddle]]"<br />"[[Wouldn't It Be Good]]"
|-
| 14:53 || [[Sade (band)|Sade]] || "[[Why Can't We Live Together]]"<br />"[[Your Love Is King]]"<br />"[[Is It a Crime?]]"
|-
| 15:18 || [[Sting (musician)|Sting]]<br />[[Phil Collins]]<br />[[Branford Marsalis]] || "[[Roxanne (The Police song)|Roxanne]]" <small>(Sting)</small><br />"[[Driven to Tears]]" <small>(Sting)</small><br />"[[Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)]]" <small>(Phil Collins)</small><br />"[[Message in a Bottle (The Police song)|Message in a Bottle]]" <small>(Sting)</small><br />"[[In the Air Tonight]]" <small>(Phil Collins)</small><br />"Long Long Way to Go" <small>(both)</small><br />"[[Every Breath You Take]]" <small>(both)</small>
|-
| 15:49 || [[Howard Jones (English musician)|Howard Jones]] || "[[Hide and Seek (Howard Jones song)|Hide and Seek]]"
|-
| 16:08 || [[Bryan Ferry]] <small>(w/ [[David Gilmour]] as backing guitarist)</small> || "Sensation"<br />"Boys and Girls"<br />"[[Slave to Love]]"<br />"[[Jealous Guy]]"
|-
| 16:40 || [[Paul Young]] || "[[Do They Know It's Christmas?]]" <small>(intro)</small><br />"[[Come Back and Stay]]"<br />"[[That's the Way Love Is (Isley Brothers song)|That's the Way Love Is]]" <small>(with [[Alison Moyet]])</small><br />"[[Everytime You Go Away]]"
|-
| 17:19 || [[U2]] || "[[Sunday Bloody Sunday]]"<br />"[[Bad (U2 song)|Bad]]" <small>(w/ snippets of "[[Satellite of Love]]", "[[Ruby Tuesday (song)|Ruby Tuesday]]", "[[Sympathy for the Devil]]" and "[[Walk on the Wild Side (Lou Reed song)|Walk on the Wild Side]]")</small>
|-
| 18:00 || [[Dire Straits]] || "[[Money for Nothing (song)|Money for Nothing]]" <small>(with Sting)</small><br />"[[Sultans of Swing]]"
|-
| 18:41 || [[Queen (band)|Queen]] || "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]" (ballad segment)<br />"[[Radio Ga Ga]]"<br />"Ay-Oh"<br />"[[Hammer to Fall]]"<br />"[[Crazy Little Thing Called Love]]"<br />"[[We Will Rock You]]"<br />"[[We Are the Champions]]"
|-
| 19:23 || [[David Bowie]] || "[[TVC 15]]"<br />"[[Rebel Rebel]]"<br />"[[Modern Love (David Bowie song)|Modern Love]]"<br />"[["Heroes" (David Bowie song)|Heroes]]"
|-
| 19:59 || [[The Who]] || "[[My Generation]]"<br />"[[Pinball Wizard]]"<br />"[[Love, Reign o'er Me]]"<br />"[[Won't Get Fooled Again]]"
|-
| 20:50 || [[Elton John]] || "[[I'm Still Standing]]"<br />"[[Bennie and the Jets]]"<br />"[[Rocket Man (song)|Rocket Man]]"<br />"[[Don't Go Breaking My Heart]]" <small>(with [[Kiki Dee]])</small><br />"[[Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me]]" <small>(with [[Wham!]])</small><br />"[[Can I Get a Witness]]"
|-
| 21:48 || [[Freddie Mercury]]<br />[[Brian May]] || "[[Is This the World We Created...?]]"
|-
| 21:51 || [[Paul McCartney]]<br /><small>(w/ [[David Bowie]], [[Bob Geldof]], [[Alison Moyet]] and [[Pete Townshend]])</small> || "[[Let It Be (song)|Let It Be]]"
|-
| 21:57 || [[Band Aid (band)|Band Aid]] || "[[Do They Know It's Christmas?]]"
|}

Presenters:
* [[Richard Skinner (broadcaster)|Richard Skinner]]—opened the show and introduced [[Charles, Prince of Wales]] and [[Diana, Princess of Wales]]
* [[Tommy Vance]]—introduced [[Band of the Coldstream Guards|Coldstream Guards]], [[Status Quo (band)|Status Quo]], [[the Style Council]], [[the Boomtown Rats]], [[Nik Kershaw]] and [[Dire Straits]]
* [[Harvey Goldsmith]]—introduced [[Adam Ant]]
* [[Andy Peebles]]—introduced [[Spandau Ballet]], [[Elvis Costello]], [[Noel Edmonds]], [[Howard Jones (English musician)|Howard Jones]], [[Bryan Ferry]], [[Paul Young]], [[Griff Rhys Jones]] with [[Mel Smith]] and [[David Bowie]]
* [[Noel Edmonds]]—introduced [[Sting (musician)|Sting]] with [[Phil Collins]]
* [[Griff Rhys Jones]] and [[Mel Smith]]—introduced [[Queen (band)|Queen]]
* [[Jack Nicholson]] and Tommy Vance—introduced [[U2]] and [[the Who]]
* [[Billy Connolly]]—introduced [[Elton John]]
* [[John Hurt]]—introduced [[Freddie Mercury]] and [[Brian May]]

=== Philadelphia, John F. Kennedy Stadium ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! {{abbr|Time|Philadelphia time: UTC−04:00 (EDT)}} !! Performer(s) !! Performed song(s)
|-
| 8:51 || [[Bernard Watson]] || "[[All I Really Want to Do]]"<br />"Interview"
|-
| 9:01 || [[Joan Baez]] || "[[Amazing Grace]]"<br />"[[We Are the World]]"
|-
| 9:10 || [[The Hooters]] || "[[And We Danced (The Hooters song)|And We Danced]]"<br />"[[All You Zombies (song)|All You Zombies]]"
|-
| 9:32 || [[Four Tops]] || "[[Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)]]"<br />"[[Bernadette (Four Tops song)|Bernadette]]"<br />"[[It's the Same Old Song]]"<br />"[[Reach Out I'll Be There]]"<br />"[[I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)]]"
|-
| 9:45 || [[Billy Ocean]] || "[[Caribbean Queen]]"<br />"[[Loverboy (Billy Ocean song)|Loverboy]]"
|-
| 9:55 || [[Black Sabbath]] || "[[Children of the Grave]]"<br />"[[Iron Man (song)|Iron Man]]"<br />"[[Paranoid (Black Sabbath song)|Paranoid]]"
|-
| 10:12 || [[Run–D.M.C.]] || "Jam Master Jay"<br />"[[King of Rock (song)|King of Rock]]"
|-
| 10:27 || [[Rick Springfield]] || "Love Somebody"<br />"[[State of the Heart (Mondo Rock song)|State of the Heart]]"<br />"[[Human Touch (Rick Springfield song)|Human Touch]]"
|-
| 10:47 || [[REO Speedwagon]] || "[[Can't Fight This Feeling]]"<br />"[[Roll with the Changes]]"
|-
| 11:12 || [[Crosby, Stills and Nash]] || "[[Southern Cross (Crosby, Stills and Nash song)|Southern Cross]]"<br />"[[Teach Your Children]]"<br />"[[Suite: Judy Blue Eyes]]"
|-
| 11:29 || [[Judas Priest]] || "[[Living After Midnight]]"<br />"[[The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)]]"<br />"[[You've Got Another Thing Comin']]"
|-
| 12:01 || [[Bryan Adams]] || "Kids Wanna Rock"<br />"[[Summer of '69]]"<br />"[[Tears Are Not Enough]]"<br />"[[Cuts Like a Knife (song)|Cuts Like a Knife]]"
|-
| 12:39 || [[The Beach Boys]] || "[[California Girls]]"<br />"[[Help Me, Rhonda]]"<br />"[[Wouldn't It Be Nice]]"<br />"[[Good Vibrations]]"<br />"[[Surfin' U.S.A.]]"
|-
| 13:26 ||[[George Thorogood and the Destroyers]]<br /><small>(w/ [[Bo Diddley]] and [[Albert Collins]])</small> || "[[Who Do You Love? (Bo Diddley song)|Who Do You Love?]]" <small>(w/ Bo Diddley)</small><br />"[[The Sky Is Crying (song)|The Sky Is Crying]]"<br />"[[Madison Blues]]" <small>(w/ Albert Collins)</small>
|-
| 14:05 ||[[Simple Minds]] || "[[Ghost Dancing]]"<br />"[[Don't You (Forget About Me)]]"<br />"[[Promised You a Miracle]]"
|-
| 14:41 ||[[Pretenders (band)|Pretenders]] || "Time the Avenger"<br />"[[Message of Love]]"<br />"[[Stop Your Sobbing]]"<br />"[[Back on the Chain Gang]]"<br />"[[Middle of the Road (song)|Middle of the Road]]"
|-
| 15:21 ||[[Carlos Santana|Santana]]<br /><small>(w/ [[Pat Metheny]])</small> || "Brotherhood"<br />"Primera Invasion"<br />"Open Invitation"<br />"By the Pool"<br />"Right Now"
|-
| 15:57 ||[[Ashford & Simpson]]<br /><small>(w/ [[Teddy Pendergrass]])</small> || "[[Solid (Ashford & Simpson song)|Solid]]"<br />"[[Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)]]" <small>(w/Teddy Pendergrass)</small>
|-
| 16:27 ||[[Madonna]]<br /><small>(w/ [[Thompson Twins]] and [[Nile Rodgers]])</small> || "[[Holiday (Madonna song)|Holiday]]"<br />"[[Into the Groove]]"<br />"Love Makes the World Go Round" <small>(w/ Thompson Twins and Nile Rodgers)</small>
|-
| 17:02 ||[[Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers]] || "[[American Girl (Tom Petty song)|American Girl]]"<br />"[[The Waiting (song)|The Waiting]]"<br />"[[Rebels (song)|Rebels]]"<br />"[[Refugee (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song)|Refugee]]"
|-
| 17:30 ||[[Kenny Loggins]] || "[[Footloose (song)|Footloose]]"
|-
| 17:39 ||[[The Cars]] || "[[You Might Think]]"<br />"[[Drive (The Cars song)|Drive]]"<br />"[[Just What I Needed]]"<br />"[[Heartbeat City (song)|Heartbeat City]]"
|-
| 18:06 ||[[Neil Young]] || "[[Sugar Mountain (song)|Sugar Mountain]]"<br />"[[The Needle and the Damage Done]]"<br />"[[Helpless (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song)|Helpless]]"<br />"Nothing Is Perfect (In God's Perfect Plan)"<br />"[[Powderfinger (song)|Powderfinger]]"
|-
| 18:42 ||[[The Power Station (band)|The Power Station]] || "Murderess"<br />"[[Get It On (T. Rex song)|Get It On]]"
|-
| 19:21 ||[[Thompson Twins]]<br /><small>(w/ [[Madonna]], [[Steve Stevens]] and [[Nile Rodgers]])</small> || "[[Hold Me Now (Thompson Twins song)|Hold Me Now]]"<br />"[[Revolution (Beatles song)|Revolution]]" <small>(w/ Madonna, Steve Stevens and Nile Rodgers)</small>
|-
| 19:38 ||[[Eric Clapton]]<br /><small>(w/ [[Phil Collins]])</small> || "[[White Room]]"<br />"She's Waiting"<br />"[[Layla]]"
|-
| 20:00 ||[[Phil Collins]] || "[[Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)]]"<br />"[[In the Air Tonight]]"
|-
| 20:10 ||[[Led Zeppelin]]<br /><small>(w/ [[Phil Collins]])</small> || "[[Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin song)|Rock and Roll]]"<br />"[[Whole Lotta Love]]"<br />"[[Stairway to Heaven]]"
|-
| 20:39 ||[[Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young]] || "[[Only Love Can Break Your Heart]]"<br />"[[Daylight Again]]/Find the Cost of Freedom"
|-
| 20:46 ||[[Duran Duran]] || "[[A View to a Kill (song)|A View to a Kill]]"<br />"[[Union of the Snake]]"<br />"[[Save a Prayer]]"<br />"[[The Reflex]]"
|-
| 21:20 ||[[Patti LaBelle]] || "[[New Attitude (song)|New Attitude]]"<br />"[[Imagine (John Lennon song)|Imagine]]"<br />"[[Forever Young (Bob Dylan song)|Forever Young]]"<br />"[[Stir It Up (Patti LaBelle song)|Stir It Up]]"<br />"[[Over the Rainbow]]"<br />"Why Can't I Get It Over"
|-
| 21:50 ||[[Hall & Oates]]<br /><small>(w/ [[Eddie Kendricks]] and [[David Ruffin]])</small> || "[[Out of Touch]]"<br />"[[Maneater (Hall & Oates song)|Maneater]]"<br />"[[Get Ready (The Temptations song)|Get Ready]]" <small>(w/ Eddie Kendricks)</small><br />"[[Ain't Too Proud to Beg]]" <small>(w/ David Ruffin)</small><br />"[[The Way You Do the Things You Do]]"<br />"[[My Girl (The Temptations song)|My Girl]]" <small>(w/ Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin)</small>
|-
| 22:15 ||[[Mick Jagger]]<br /><small>(w/ [[Tina Turner]])</small> || "Lonely at the Top"<br />"[[Just Another Night (Mick Jagger song)|Just Another Night]]"<br />"[[Miss You (The Rolling Stones song)|Miss You]]"<br />"[[State of Shock (song)|State of Shock]]" <small>(w/ Tina Turner)</small><br />"[[It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)|It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It) (Reprise)]]" <small>(w/ Tina Turner)</small>
|-
| 22:39 || [[Bob Dylan]]<br />[[Keith Richards]]<br />[[Ronnie Wood]] || "[[Ballad of Hollis Brown]]"<br />"[[When the Ship Comes In]]"<br />"[[Blowin' in the Wind]]"
|-
| 22:55 || [[USA for Africa]] || "[[We Are the World]]"
|}

Presenters:
* [[Bill Graham (promoter)|Bill Graham]]—introduced [[Jack Nicholson]] (before his first and last appearance), [[Chevy Chase]] w/ [[Joe Piscopo]], [[Marilyn McCoo]], [[Dire Straits]], [[Carlos Santana|Santana]], [[Bette Midler]], [[Don Johnson]], [[Eric Clapton]] and [[Dionne Warwick]]
* [[Jack Nicholson]]—introduced [[Joan Baez]], [[U2]], [[Bryan Adams]], [[the Who]] and [[Bob Dylan]]
* [[Chevy Chase]] and [[Joe Piscopo]]—introduced [[the Hooters]]
* Chevy Chase—introduced [[Four Tops]], [[Billy Ocean]], [[Black Sabbath]], [[REO Speedwagon]], [[Judas Priest]], [[David Bowie]], [[Kenny Loggins]] and [[Duran Duran]]
* Joe Piscopo—introduced [[Run-D.M.C.]], [[Rick Springfield]], [[Simple Minds]] and [[Neil Young]]
* [[Marilyn McCoo]]—introduced [[the Beach Boys]]
* [[George Segal]]—introduced [[George Thorogood and the Destroyers]]
* [[Grace Slick]]—introduced [[the Pretenders]]
* [[Bette Midler]]—introduced [[Madonna]], [[Thompson Twins]], [[Patti LaBelle]], [[Mick Jagger]] and [[the Cars]]
* [[Don Johnson]]—introduced [[Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers]] and [[The Power Station (band)|the Power Station]]
* Jack Nicholson & Bette Midler—introduced [[Phil Collins]]
* [[Phil Collins]]—introduced [[Led Zeppelin]]
* [[Dionne Warwick]]—introduced [[Hall & Oates]]

=== Others ===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! {{abbr|Time|British time—UTC+01:00 (BST)}} !! Location !! Performer(s) !! Performed song(s)
|-
| 13:05 || {{flagicon|Australia}} [[Sydney]], [[Australia]]  || [[Oz for Africa]] || various (depends on the broadcaster)
|-
| rowspan=6|13:34 || rowspan=6|studio<br />{{flagicon|Japan}} (performers from [[Japan]]) || [[Loudness (band)|Loudness]] || "Gotta Fight"
|-
| [[Off Course]] || "Endless Night"
|-
| [[Takako Shirai (singer)|Takako Shirai]] || "Foolish War"
|-
| [[Eikichi Yazawa]] || "Take It Time"
|-
| [[Motoharu Sano]] || "Shame"
|-
| [[Meiko Nakahara]] || "Ro-Ro-Ro-Russian Roulette"
|-
| 14:12 || {{flagicon|Austria}} [[Vienna]], [[Austria]] || {{ill|Austria für Afrika|de|Austria für Afrika|vertical-align=sup}} || "Warum?"
|-
| 14:40 || {{flagicon|Netherlands}} [[The Hague]], [[Netherlands]]<br /><small>(from the [[North Sea Jazz Festival]])</small> || [[B.B. King]] || "When It All Comes Down"<br />"Why I Sing the Blues"<br />"Don't Answer the Door"<br />"[[Rock Me Baby (song)|Rock Me Baby]]"
|-
| 15:10 || {{flagicon|Yugoslavia}} [[Belgrade]], [[Yugoslavia]] || [[YU Rock Misija]] || "Za milion godina"
|-
| 15:55 || {{flagicon|Soviet Union}} [[Moscow]], [[Soviet Union]] || [[Autograph (Russian band)|Autograph]] || "Golovokruzhenie"<br />"Nam nuzhen mir"
|-
| 16:27 || {{flagicon|West Germany}} [[Cologne]], [[West Germany]]|| {{ill|Band für Afrika|de|Band für Afrika|vertical-align=sup}} || "Nackt Im Wind"<br />"Ein Jahr (Es geht voran)"
|-
| rowspan=2|20:44 || rowspan=2|{{flagicon|Norway}} [[Norway]]|| [[Stavanger for Africa]] || "All of Us"
|-
| [[Forente Artister]]|| "Sammen for Livet"
|-
| 21:19 || studio || [[Kool & the Gang]] || "Stand Up and Sing"<br />"[[Cherish (Kool & the Gang song)|Cherish]]"
|-
| 22:11 || {{flagicon|UK}} [[London]], [[United Kingdom]]|| [[Cliff Richard]] || "A World of Difference"
|}

Presenters:
* [[Molly Meldrum]]—introduced [[Oz for Africa]]
* Mladen Popović—introduced [[YU Rock Misija]]
* [[Vladimir Pozner Jr.|Vladimir Posner]]—introduced [[Autograph (Russian band)|Autograph]] and made a speech between their performances
* Evelyn Selbert and Ken Janz—introduced Band für Afrika
* [[Udo Lindenberg]]—made a speech between the Band für Afrika performances
* [[Andy Kershaw]]—introduced [[Cliff Richard]]

=== Notable absences ===
[[Bruce Springsteen]] decided not to appear at Live Aid despite his huge global popularity in 1985. Geldof had originally scheduled the event for 6 July but moved the date to the 13th, especially to accommodate Springsteen. Springsteen later expressed regret at turning down Geldof's invitation, stating that he "simply did not realise how big the whole thing was going to be"<ref>{{cite book |first=Dylan |last=Jones |date=6 June 2013 |title=The Eighties: One Day, One Decade |publisher=[[Random House]] |isbn=978-1-4090-5225-8 |pages=150–151 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ywvmz2h9rxIC&pg=PT150 }}</ref> and regretted not performing an acoustic set.<ref>{{cite web |first=Lucinda |last=Kent |date=13 July 2015 |title=Live Aid 30th anniversary: Seven things you may not know about Bob Geldof's charity concert |website=[[ABC Online]] |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-13/live-aid-30th-anniversary-seven-things-need-to-know/6615328 |access-date=1 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715162525/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-13/live-aid-30th-anniversary-seven-things-need-to-know/6615328|archive-date=15 July 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> During the MTV broadcast, VJ [[Martha Quinn]] repeatedly and erroneously claimed that Springsteen would in fact make an appearance.<ref>{{cite book |last=Edwards |first=Gavin |pages=247–248 |date=2013 |title=VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV's First Wave |publisher=Atria Books |isbn=978-1-4516-7812-3}}</ref>

[[Michael Jackson]] declined to appear. His press agent, Norman Winter, released a statement at the time saying that Jackson was "working around the clock in the studio on a project that he's made a major commitment to" and consequently could not free up sufficient time to rehearse and perform at Live Aid. Winter added, "Michael is just about living in the studio, rehearsing and recording. I know what could be more major than Live Aid, but Michael couldn't turn his back on his responsibility to the people he's working with. This affected employment for a lot of people."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/17/arts/michael-jackson-project-kept-him-from-concert.html|title=Michael Jackson Project Kept Him from Concert |date=17 July 1985|work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=22 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140509064411/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/07/17/arts/michael-jackson-project-kept-him-from-concert.html|archive-date=9 May 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Prince (musician)|Prince]] also declined to appear in person but sent a pre-taped video of an acoustic version of "4 the Tears in Your Eyes", which was played during the concert in Philadelphia. The original version appears on the ''[[We Are the World (album)|We Are the World]]'' album,<ref>{{cite book |first=Mick |last=Wall |date=28 July 2016 |title=Prince: Purple Reign |publisher=[[Hachette UK]] |isbn=978-1-4091-6923-9 |page=70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2_03DAAAQBAJ&pg=PT70}}</ref> while the video version was released in 1993 on Prince's compilation ''[[The Hits/The B-Sides]]''.<ref>{{cite book |first=Arthur |last=Lizie |date=15 June 2020 |title=Prince FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Purple Reign |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |isbn=978-1-4930-5143-4 |page=122 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BOvSDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA122 }}</ref>

[[Culture Club]] leader [[Boy George]] decided not to take part in the concert. He feared that Culture Club would fail to measure up performing for two billion people, and he disliked what he viewed as self-important posturing on the part of other participants. In his memoir ''Take It Like a Man'' he said his band members were angry with him because he had "ruined their chance of a part in history".<ref>{{cite book |last=George |first=Boy |pages=317–318 |date=2012 |title=Take It Like a Man |publisher=It Books |edition=Reissue |isbn=978-0062117786}}</ref>

[[Huey Lewis and the News]] were scheduled to play the Philadelphia leg and were in some of the promotional material but decided on 28 June to pull out over concerns that the money raised by relief efforts thus far had not been reaching those it was intended to help. "It was a very tough decision", Lewis told ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. "We felt, having done the [[USA for Africa]] thing, that we should wait and watch that ... The prudent thing to do is to see how that money translates into food for the people before we do another one." [[Harry Belafonte]], who had organised USA for Africa, responded harshly, calling Lewis's scepticism "disruptive and divisive". He had himself recently returned from a trip to Africa to see how the money had so far been spent and suggested that Lewis do the same. "For him to sit back here and send out information based on hearsay is unfair to his colleagues and very unfair to the victims."<ref name="Rolling Stone story">{{cite news|last=Goldberg|first=Michael|title=Live Aid 1985: The Day the World Rocked |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/live-aid-1985-the-day-the-world-rocked-180152/ |newspaper=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=16 August 1985|access-date=13 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180920161407/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/live-aid-1985-the-day-the-world-rocked-180152/|archive-date=20 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Annie Lennox]], whose hits as the vocalist of [[Eurythmics]] included 1983's "[[Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)]]", was forced to pull out of performing at Live Aid due to a serious throat infection; she appeared at [[Live 8]] held in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]], London in 2005.<ref>{{cite news |title=Annie Lennox: career timeline |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/8813544/Annie-Lennox-career-timeline.html |access-date=14 March 2022 |work=The Daily Telegraph|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010034303/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/8813544/Annie-Lennox-career-timeline.html|archive-date=10 October 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Cliff Richard]] later stated he had been unable to perform as he was already committed to a gospel charity concert in [[Birmingham]] the same day.<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.digitalspy.com/music/a658048/30-fun-facts-for-the-30th-birthday-of-live-aid/ | title= 30 fun facts for the 30th birthday of Live Aid | work=[[Digital Spy]] | first=Briony | last=McKee | date=13 July 2015 | access-date=10 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329195059/https://www.digitalspy.com/music/a658048/30-fun-facts-for-the-30th-birthday-of-live-aid/|archive-date=29 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

A reunited [[Deep Purple]] were also due to appear from Switzerland via satellite, but pulled out after guitarist [[Ritchie Blackmore]] refused to take part.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://liveaid.free.fr/pages/faquk.html#refusal |title=Live Aid F.A.Q |publisher=Liveaid.free.fr |date=13 July 1985 |access-date=31 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051026220520/http://liveaid.free.fr/pages/faquk.html#refusal|archive-date=26 October 2005|url-status=live}}</ref> Deep Purple (minus Blackmore, who left the band in 1993) appeared at Geldof's Live 8 sequel 20 years later, performing at the Toronto leg of the event. Bill Graham is said to have turned down [[Foreigner (band)|Foreigner]] and [[Yes (band)|Yes]] because there was no free space on the bill for them.<ref name="autogenerated1" />

[[Marillion]], riding high in the UK charts that summer with their ''[[Misplaced Childhood]]'' album and "[[Kayleigh]]" single, missed out on an invitation to perform at Wembley because their manager had deemed it not worthwhile for singer [[Fish (singer)|Fish]] to participate in the "Do They Know It's Christmas?" single. Fish was quoted: "When it came to the bill for the concert, we were passed over."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fish-thecompany.com/email/stes5.htm |title=Early Stages sleeve notes 5 |publisher=Fish—TheCompany.Com Official Site |date=September 2008 |access-date=4 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140411075653/http://fish-thecompany.com/email/stes5.htm|archive-date=11 April 2014|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[UB40]] lead singer [[Ali Campbell]] admitted that his band was also ignored by Geldof while planning the list of musical acts of the British leg of the event: "We weren't asked to do Live Aid because Uncle Bob didn't like our music much. It was a great gig, but I thought it was a bit dodgy not having any black acts on the bill when it was raising money for Africa."<ref>{{cite news |first=Graham |last=Chalmers |title=Interview: Ali's battle for heart and soul of UB40 |publisher=The North Yorkshire News |url=http://www.northyorkshirenews.com/whats-on/music/interview-ali-s-battle-for-heart-and-soul-of-ub40-1-6617183 |date=15 May 2014 |access-date=9 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904193937/http://www.northyorkshirenews.com/whats-on/music/interview-ali-s-battle-for-heart-and-soul-of-ub40-1-6617183|archive-date=4 September 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Thin Lizzy]] keyboard player Darren Wharton expressed regrets about the band not being asked to perform: "That was a tragic, tragic decision. It could've been, and it should've been the turning point for Phil ([[Phil Lynott|Lynott]]). And I think that really did Phil in quite a lot that we were never asked to play. I mean Phil, he had a few problems at the time, but at the end of the day, if he would've been asked to play Live Aid, that would've been a goal for him to clean himself up to do that gig. We were all very upset of the fact that we weren't asked to do it because Phil knew Geldof and Midge Ure very well indeed. I was surprised that we weren't asked to do that. I don't think Phil ever forgave Bob."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.69facesofrock.com/thin_lizzy_interview.html|title=Thin Lizzy|first=Mark|last=Kadzielawa|publisher=69 Faces of Rock|access-date=16 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150203183350/http://69facesofrock.com/thin_lizzy_interview.html|archive-date=3 February 2015}}</ref> Lynott died less than five months after the concert, from complications associated with his drug and alcohol addictions.

"I tried to pitch into Live Aid," recalled [[Roger Waters]], "They asked me to put [[Pink Floyd]] back together for it, and I said no, but I'd bring my new band to play. They didn't want that. But that's alright. I went along on my own."<ref>[[Steve Turner (writer)|Turner, Steve]]: "Roger Waters: The Wall in Berlin"; ''[[Radio Times]]'', 25 May 1990; reprinted in ''[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]'' No. 148, August 2010, p. 81</ref>  Waters appeared backstage at the Wembley Stadium leg of Live Aid (where he was interviewed), and the classic Pink Floyd lineup reunited for the follow-up to Live Aid, [[Live 8]], in 2005.<ref>{{cite news |title=Roger Waters – Backstage Interview (Live Aid 1985) |url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eo7t7jZYIXA  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/eo7t7jZYIXA| archive-date=11 December 2021 |url-status=live|access-date=29 April 2021 |agency=YouTube |publisher=Live Aid}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

[[Neil Peart]], drummer of Canadian rock band [[Rush (band)|Rush]], said: "[[Geddy Lee|Geddy]] was involved with the [[Tears Are Not Enough|Northern Lights]] charity record here in Canada, although Rush wasn't invited to participate in the Live Aid event—mainly because if you look at the guest list, it was very much an 'in-crowd' situation. We were 'out' by then. We didn't refuse to take part because of any principles. Mind you, I wouldn't have been happy being part of this scenario. Those stars should have shut up and just given over their money if they were genuine. I recall that [[Tears for Fears]], who made a musical and artistic decision to pull out of the concert, were subsequently accused by Geldof of killing children in Africa—what a shockingly irresponsible and stupid attitude to take. But I have nothing bad whatsoever to say about Bob Geldof; he sacrificed his health, his career, [and] everything for something he believed in. But others around him got involved for their own reasons. Some of those involved in ''Northern Lights'' were actually quoted as saying that their managers told them to get down to the recording sessions because it would be a good career move!"<ref name="Metal Hammer">{{cite interview | first=Neil | last=Peart | interviewer=Malcolm Dome | title=All Fired Up | magazine=Metal Hammer | url=http://www.2112.net/xanadu/interviews/neil.htm | date=25 April 1988 | access-date=13 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010219070058/http://www.2112.net/xanadu/interviews/neil.htm|archive-date=19 February 2001|url-status=live}}</ref>