Edging my way down a packed Wembley Way one Saturday morning in July 1985, I already knew I was about to witness history.
Some of the world’s biggest rock stars were set to perform a charity concert in London to raise money for famine victims in Ethiopia and it was called ‘Live Aid’.
Interest from the south coast newspaper where I worked as a photographer was, to say the least, minimal. But little did they know the show would have a global audience of nearly two billion people – amazingly, around 40 per cent of the world’s population.
I made every effort to get accreditation for the press pit in front of the stage but, being from the provinces, I didn’t stand a chance.
The only alternative was to buy a ticket. It cost me £5 – plus a £20 charity donation, of course – the equivalent of about £100 today. And I decided that whether anyone wanted the pictures or not, I was going to spend my day off committing the event to celluloid.
I must have looked quite a sight entering Wembley through the turnstiles, armed with two Nikon cameras, boxed long lenses, a Widelux camera for panoramic images, a bag of films and a standard Manfrotto tripod.
Contrary to today’s zealous safety measures, I was actually helped into the ground and onto the pitch by a security guard.
Unlike normal events at Wembley, where the crowd filtered in over a few hours, Wembley Way was full of thousands of people arriving early so that when the gates opened they could make a dash for the stage.
This made for some great reportage pictures. With 72,000 rock fans packed in, I decided the best vantage point would be next to the mixing desk, midway between the touchlines – the right call, as it turned out.
This position ended up being key to my unique set of pictures, the only slight problem being the occasional haze of cigarette smoke filtered through sunlight! Not even a brief rain shower halfway through the concert could dampen what was a remarkable day.
By common consent, one of the great stand-out moments was Queen’s electrifying set, led by the irreplaceable Freddie Mercury, which took the show to another level.
I was thrilled when their lead guitarist, the great Sir Brian May, agreed to write the foreword to this book.
Other great memories include Paul McCartney’s first gig in six years, the re-formation of The Who and the since-unmatched ensemble rendition of Do They Know It’s Christmas?.
It is why 13 July 1985, for many people, remains the greatest day in rock ’n’ roll history. The fact that a star as big as Elvis Costello agreed to perform just one song to fill time while the crew changed kit between acts shows just how extraordinary the gig was.
Of course, the day wasn’t without its mishaps: Nik Kershaw forgot his words, Noel Edmonds introduced Phil Collins only for Sting to walk out instead, U2 were having an off day (their guitarist The Edge later admitted it was ‘c**p’) and Bryan Ferry had to sing into two microphones taped together after his set was beset by technical difficulties.
But it was all part of what made the day special. It didn’t feel like some over-curated pop concert planned to within an inch of its life by industry bigwigs.
It was chaotic and wild, fun and unpredictable. And I hope you’ll agree my photos capture something of that energy.
Forty years on and having stumbled across these old photos in my garage attic while looking for Christmas decorations, I’m thrilled to be publishing Live Aid Relived – with that powerful foreword by Sir Brian, words by renowned royal biographer Robert Hardman, and featuring over 230 photographs from the day, the vast majority of which have never been seen before.
As Sir Brian says himself, these shots are more than just a record of the day, they are a ‘compendium of precious memories’.
Live Aid Relived by Murray Sanders is exclusively available at music2you for £29.95. Order online at music2you.co.uk/liveaid
The BBC will show seven hours of highlights of the London and Philadelphia Live Aid concerts across two shows. Live Aid At 40: The Concert, Parts 1 and 2, Saturday, from 6pm, BBC2.
