Editing Live Aid (section)

== Criticisms and controversies ==
[[Bob Dylan]]'s performance generated controversy; prior to performing "When the Ship Comes In," he said: "I hope that some of the money that's raised for the people in Africa, maybe they can just take a little bit of it, maybe one or two million, maybe, and use it, say, to pay the mortgages on some of the farms that the farmers here owe to the banks."<ref name="CNN"/> He is often misquoted, as on the [[Farm Aid]] website,<ref>{{cite web|title=28 Years of Amazing Concerts|url=http://www.farmaid.org/site/c.qlI5IhNVJsE/b.2739785/apps/s/content.asp?ct=3851529|publisher=Farm Aid website|access-date=31 August 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102153719/http://www.farmaid.org/site/c.qlI5IhNVJsE/b.2739785/apps/s/content.asp?ct=3851529|archive-date=2 November 2013}}</ref> as saying: "Wouldn't it be great if we did something for our own farmers right here in America?" In his autobiography, ''Is That It?'' (published in 1986), Geldof was critical of the remark, saying, "He displayed a complete lack of understanding of the issues raised by Live Aid. ... Live Aid was about people losing their lives. There is a radical difference between losing your livelihood and losing your life. It did instigate Farm Aid, which was a good thing in itself, but it was a crass, stupid, and nationalistic thing to say."<ref>Geldof, Bob (1986) [https://books.google.com/books?id=wHLiNOvP__IC&dq=He+displayed+a+complete+lack+of+understanding+of+the+issues+raised+by+Live+Aid%E2%80%A6.&pg=PA390 Is That It?] p.390. Sidgwick & Jackson.</ref> Although Dylan's comments were criticised, his remark inspired fellow musicians [[Willie Nelson]], [[Neil Young]] and [[John Mellencamp]] to organise the [[Farm Aid]] charity, which held its first concert in September 1985.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=VicchWAszssC&pg=PA134 |title=Neil Young: Long May You Run|author=Daniel Durchholz, Gary Graff|date=6 May 2010|page=134|publisher=Voyageur Press, 2010 |isbn=9781610604536|access-date=24 May 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.farmaid.org/site/c.qlI5IhNVJsE/b.2723673/k.8C39/Past_Concerts.htm |title= Past Concerts – Farm Aid |access-date= 24 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110523191508/http://www.farmaid.org/site/c.qlI5IhNVJsE/b.2723673/k.8C39/Past_Concerts.htm |archive-date= 23 May 2011 }}</ref> The concert raised over $9&nbsp;million for America's [[family farmers]] and became an annual event.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theconcertstage.com/farmaid1985.html|title=Farm Aid 1985 – Champaign, IL|publisher=The Concert Stage|access-date=15 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090620083721/http://www.theconcertstage.com/farmaid1985.html|archive-date=20 June 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

Geldof was not happy about [[the Hooters]] being added as the opening band in Philadelphia. He felt pressured into it by Graham and local promoter Larry Magid. Magid, promoting the concert through [[Electric Factory Concerts]], argued that the band was popular in Philadelphia; their first major label album ''[[Nervous Night (album)|Nervous Night]]'' had been released almost three months earlier and had been a hit. In an interview for ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', Geldof asked: "Who the fuck are the Hooters?"<ref name="Eric Bazilian interview">{{cite web|last=Harris |first=Will |url=http://popdose.com/popdose-interview-eric-bazilian-of-the-hooters/ |title=Eric Bazilian interview |publisher=Popdose.com |date=25 February 2008 |access-date=6 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228015744/http://popdose.com/popdose-interview-eric-bazilian-of-the-hooters/|archive-date=28 February 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> However, in a twist of irony in December 2004, Geldof appeared on the bill with the Hooters in Germany as ''their'' opening act.<ref name="Eric Bazilian interview"/>

[[Adam Ant]] subsequently criticised the event and expressed regrets about playing it, saying, "I was asked by Sir Bob [sic] to promote this concert. They had no idea they could sell it out. Then, in Bob's book, he said, 'Adam was over the hill, so I let him have one number.' ... Doing that show was the biggest fucking mistake in the world. [[Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom|Knighthoods]] were made, [[Bono]] got it made, and it was a waste of fucking time. It was the end of rock 'n' roll."<ref>{{cite web | url= http://louderthanwar.com/adam-ant-brands-live-aid-a-mistake-and-a-waste-of-time-and-the-end-of-rock-n-roll/ | title= Adam Ant brands Live Aid a "mistake" and a "waste of time" and the end of 'rock n roll' | work=Louder Than War | date=26 August 2011 | access-date=18 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120830202929/http://louderthanwar.com/adam-ant-brands-live-aid-a-mistake-and-a-waste-of-time-and-the-end-of-rock-n-roll|archive-date=30 August 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Geldof stated in his autobiography that [[Miles Copeland III|Miles Copeland]], manager of Adam Ant and [[Sting (musician)|Sting]], asked Geldof if he had thought of asking Ant after Geldof contacted him to get Sting to appear: "I hadn't. I thought he was a bit passé. But then, so were the Boomtown Rats, and each represented a certain piece of pop history, so I agreed. I also thought that might entice him to encourage Sting, or perhaps all three of [[the Police]]."<ref>{{cite book |last=Geldof |first=Bob |date=1986 |title=Is That It? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wHLiNOvP__IC&q=philadelphia&pg=PA340 |location=London |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |page=333 |isbn=9780330442923 }}</ref>

BBC coverage co-host [[Andy Kershaw]] was heavily critical of the event in his autobiography ''No Off Switch'', stating, "Musically, Live Aid was to be entirely predictable and boring. As they were wheeled out – or rather bullied by Geldof into playing – it became clear that this was another parade of the same old rock aristocracy in a concert for Africa, organised by someone who, while advertising his concern for and sympathy with, the continent didn't see fit to celebrate or dignify the place by including on the Live Aid bill a single African performer." Kershaw also described the event as "irritating, shallow, sanctimonious and self-satisfied" for failing to confront the fundamental causes of the famine and being "smug in its assumption that a bunch of largely lamentable rock and pop floozies was capable of making a difference, without tackling simultaneously underlying problems".<ref>{{cite book |first=Andy|last=Kershaw |title=No Off Switch |year=2014|pages=192–193|publisher=Buster Press|isbn=978-0992769604}}</ref>

In 2024, Geldof rejected the charge that organising the concerts meant that he was a [[white savior]], calling the accusation "the greatest load of bollocks ever".<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.thetimes.com/article/bob-geldof-live-aid-white-saviour-just-for-one-day-jc7zhrr2g | title= Bob Geldof: Organising Live Aid doesn't make me white saviour | work=[[The Times]] | first=Emma | last=Taggart | date=15 February 2024 | access-date=9 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241125224829/https://www.thetimes.com/article/bob-geldof-live-aid-white-saviour-just-for-one-day-jc7zhrr2g|archive-date=25 November 2024  |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Led Zeppelin reunion ===
{{Quote box|style=padding:10px;|quote="I thought it was just going to be low-key and we'd all get together and have a play. But something happened between that conversation and the day – it became a Led Zeppelin reunion."| source =—Phil Collins on the Led Zeppelin performance<ref name="deriso">{{cite web |url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/phil-collins-led-zeppelin-live-aid/?trackback=tsmclip |title=Phil Collins Considered Walking Out of Led Zeppelin's Live Aid Reunion |publisher=Ultimate Classic Rock |first=Nick |last=Deriso |date=2 November 2014 |access-date=30 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630195607/http://ultimateclassicrock.com/phil-collins-led-zeppelin-live-aid/?trackback=tsmclip|archive-date=30 June 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>|width=25%|align=right}}

[[Led Zeppelin]] performed for the first time since the death of their drummer [[John Bonham]] in 1980. Two drummers filled in for Bonham: [[Phil Collins]], who had played on singer [[Robert Plant]]'s first two solo albums, and [[Tony Thompson (drummer)|Tony Thompson]]. The performance was criticised for Plant's hoarse vocals, [[Jimmy Page]]'s intoxication and out-of-tune [[Gibson Les Paul]] guitar (his [[Gibson EDS-1275]] guitar was in tune), a lack of rehearsal, and poorly functioning monitors. Plant described the performance as "a fucking atrocity for us ... It made us look like loonies."<ref>{{cite book|last=Williamson|first=Nigel|title=The Rough Guide to Led Zeppelin|year=2007|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=978-1-84353-841-7|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetoledz0000will}}</ref>

Page later criticised Collins' performance, saying: "Robert told me Phil Collins wanted to play with us. I told him that was all right if he knows the numbers. But at the end of the day, he didn't know anything. We played '[[Whole Lotta Love]]', and he was just there bashing away cluelessly and grinning. I thought that was really a joke."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/live-aid-anniversary-queen-freddie-mercury-performances-bob-geldof-a9612071.html |title=Aaaaaay-o! Aaaaaay-o! Why Live Aid was the greatest show of all|work=[[The Independent]]|author=Mark Beaumont|date=11 July 2020 |access-date=10 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713123104/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/live-aid-anniversary-queen-freddie-mercury-performances-bob-geldof-a9612071.html|archive-date=13 July 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Collins responded: "It wasn't my fault it was crap... If I could have walked off, I would have. But then we'd all be talking about why Phil Collins walked off Live Aid – so I just stuck it out... I turned up and I was a square peg in a round hole. Robert was happy to see me, but Jimmy wasn't."<ref name="deriso"/>

Led Zeppelin has blocked broadcasts of the performance and withheld permission for it to be included on the DVD release.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3534576.stm | title= Zeppelin defend Live Aid opt out |work=[[BBC News]]| date=4 August 2004 | access-date=28 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110075219/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/3534576.stm|archive-date=10 January 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Philadelphia (magazine)|Philadelphia]]'' named it "one of the worst rock-and-roll reunions of all time", with Victor Fiorillo writing: "I'd like to be able to blame all of the awfulness on anaemic Phil Collins, who sat in on drums, and Page himself later fingered the [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]] drummer for screwing up the set. But Collins was just the beginning of the bad. Go ahead. Watch and remember. It really ''was'' that terrible."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.phillymag.com/news/2012/06/15/bad-rock-band-reunions/ |title=The 10 Most Painful Band Reunions |work=[[Philadelphia (magazine)|Philadelphia]] |location=Philadelphia |first=Victor |last=Fiorillo |date=15 June 2012 |access-date=4 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106091146/http://www.phillymag.com/news/2012/06/15/bad-rock-band-reunions/|archive-date=6 November 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Fund use in Ethiopia ===
[[File:Pink floyd live 8 london.jpg|thumb|[[Roger Waters]] (right) rejoined his former bandmates [[Pink Floyd]] at [[Live 8]] in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] in London, on 2 July 2005|alt=A concert stage lit by purple lighting. Four men are performing on the stage as a crowd stands in front of it. Behind the men are video screens displaying images of vinyl records.]]
In 1986, ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' published a so-called exposé on Live Aid's actions in Ethiopia. It claimed that Geldof deliberately ignored warnings from [[Médecins Sans Frontières]], who had complained directly to Geldof even before Live Aid, about the role of the Ethiopian government under [[Derg]] leader [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]] in causing the famine and that by working with Mengistu directly, much of the relief funds intended for victims were in fact siphoned off to purchase arms from the [[Soviet Union]], thereby exacerbating the situation.<ref name="Spin"/> Geldof responded by deriding both the article and Médecins Sans Frontières, who had been expelled from the country, and reportedly saying, "I'll shake hands with the Devil on my left and on my right to get to the people we are meant to help."<ref name="Spin">{{cite web|url=http://www.spin.com/featured/live-aid-the-terrible-truth-ethiopia-bob-geldof-feature/|title=Live Aid: The Terrible Truth|work=Spin|date=13 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714222035/https://www.spin.com/featured/live-aid-the-terrible-truth-ethiopia-bob-geldof-feature/|archive-date=14 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spin.com/2015/07/live-aid-bob-geldof-response-spin-1986-feature/|title=Live Aid: Bob Geldof's Original Response to SPIN's 1986 Exposé|work=Spin|date=15 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716153655/http://www.spin.com/2015/07/live-aid-bob-geldof-response-spin-1986-feature/|archive-date=16 July 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2010 the [[BBC World Service]] claimed that some aid funds were siphoned off to buy arms for the [[Tigrayan People's Liberation Front]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=1 October 2014|title=BBC - The Editors: Bob, Band Aid and how the rebels bought their arms|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/theeditors/2010/03/ethiopia.html|access-date=13 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141001212633/https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/theeditors/2010/03/ethiopia.html|archive-date=1 October 2014}}</ref> This coalition [[Ethiopian Civil War|battled]] at the time against [[Derg]]. The BBC did not claim that Band Aid funds were involved but played the Band Aid single to introduce the report. Other BBC programmes then repeated the World Service allegation and added an explicit reference to Band Aid. The Band Aid Trust complained to the BBC Editorial Complaints Unit regarding the specific allegations in the BBC World Service documentary, and the later repetitions, and their complaint was upheld.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2010/03/ethiopia.html#bottom|title=Use of funds generated by Live Aid Band Aid Complaint|work=BBC News|access-date=17 November 2015}}</ref> In 2010 the BBC issued an apology before every tv and radio news bulletin to the Trust and acknowledged there was no evidence money had been diverted,<ref name="BBC 2010"/> while the [[British Ambassador to Ethiopia]] at the time, [[Brian Barder]], issued a detailed rebuttal of the BBC claims <ref>{{cite web | url=https://barder.com/ethiopia-famine-relief-aid-misinterpreted-allegations-out-of-control/ | title=Ethiopia famine relief aid: Misinterpreted allegations out of control | date=April 2010 }}</ref> making clear that "the diversion of aid related only to the tiny proportion that was supplied by some NGOs to rebel-held areas" and was not an allegation about the bulk of emergency aid to Ethiopia during the famine.<ref name="Barder"/>

Although a professed admirer of Geldof's generosity and concern, American television commentator [[Bill O'Reilly (commentator)|Bill O'Reilly]] was critical of Live Aid's oversight of the use of the funds raised. O'Reilly believed that charity organisations operating in aid-receiving countries should control donations rather than "chaotic nations".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/bellaire/news/article/Bill-O-Reilly-9816413.php |title=Sharing the Wealth |first=Bill|last=O'Reilly |publisher=Houston Chronicle |date=14 June 2005 |access-date=7 August 2020}}</ref> Arguing that Live Aid accomplished good ends while inadvertently causing harm at the same time, [[David Rieff]] gave a presentation of similar concerns in ''[[The Guardian]]'' at the time of [[Live 8]].<ref>{{cite news |first=David|last=Rieff |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jun/24/g8.debtrelief/ |title=Did Live Aid do more harm than good? |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=24 June 2005 |access-date=6 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130829061237/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jun/24/g8.debtrelief/|archive-date=29 August 2013|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Tim Russert]], in an interview on ''[[Meet the Press]]'' shortly after O'Reilly's comments, addressed these concerns to [[Bono]]. Bono responded that corruption, not disease or famine, was the greatest threat to Africa, agreeing with the belief that foreign relief organisations should decide how the money is spent. On the other hand, Bono said that it was better to spill some funds into nefarious quarters for the sake of those who needed it than to stifle aid because of possible theft.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna8332675 |title=Transcript for June 26 – Meet the Press |publisher=NBC News |date=26 June 2005 |access-date=6 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308011115/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna8332675|archive-date=8 March 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>