Live Aid | Social Studies

Today we have started on a new unit called the Live Aid, this will be our final unit, so far we have learned about who the organizers are and their backstory and what bands they were in, we have learned about Live Aid which is a fundraising concert which relates to how the people live in Ethiopia.  

Bob Geldof

Bob Geldof is a musician and a singer and a lead singer for an Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, while Bob Geldof being in Boomtown Rats he wrote a song "I don't like Mondays" and how he came up with this song was that he heard about the news of a school shooting. This is based on a true story and his inspiration of the song took place. He was also involved in Band Aid which was a fundraising concert.

Midge Ure

 Midge Ure is a vocalist and a guitarist and in a band called Ultravox,  he began his career with a band called Salvation and later on name was changed to Slik and their genre was soft rock/bubblegum. His stay in the band Ultravox turned the band into a success, during these times he worked as a producer and making records. Later on Bob Geldof and Midge Ure were the organizers of Band Aid which again was a fundraising concert.

Song

Bob Geldof and Midge Ure joined up and both wrote the song "Do They Know It's Christmas, their idea was too share a song that raised awareness of how people of Ethiopia are living in famine. The insight of this song came when Bob Geldof went for a tour in Ethiopia, the song was a success and it sold millions of copies worldwide which set a spotlight in Ethiopia. 

Do They Know It's Christmas - Link

Live Aid -Second Part

We are given another task once we finished the maps and did research on Ethiopia and the Live Aid concerts. This will be our last unit for the term and the work I have done so far I am quite proud of and the amount of things I found out was quite enjoyable because I get to know more about history. So back to the topic we have to choose one song that was played at one of the Live Aid concerts. I chose to do one of the songs sang by Freddie Mercury and with his band Queen.

RADIO GA GA

 

              

There is no specific reason on why the Queens chose to do this song other than the fact that they wanted to perform all their songs in Live Aid to raise more money and entertain the big audience, this song was made and released in 1984 and was composed by Roger Taylor(Queens drummer). His inspiration for coming up with this song was from his son who was uttering words from a bad song is what he said, which from there he stayed home locked in his room coming up with lyrics, beats and etc. 

Live Aid would not be considered a type of protest but more of a fundraiser concert, in the end, the 16 hours of Live Aid paid off ending up earning more than $125 million which reached into good hands where Ethiopia economy can now fight famine and other relatable disasters.

 If Bob Geldof was able to raise awareness I think others have the ability to do that as well, one person can raise awareness and start another concert. Although it will take weeks to set up and plan but in the end, it all comes to a good ending where the money raised can go to charity or other poor countries who are living in poverty and such and at the same time people who attend the concerts can have enjoyment in the concert. I believe the fact that one person can make a change if the hard work is put into it and good reasoning of why we have to shine a spotlight on that person/country/place.

I don't have a personal favourite song but if I had a choice of which one I like amongst the other songs would be Bohemian Rhapsody by Queens. 

Live Aid was thought to be the most successful fundraising event in history, with live music and plenty of musicians and celebrities who came and put so much commitment into their performance. The amount of money earned in that concert was astonishing and no one has been able to surpass that amount yet, maybe someone has but who knows. After the successful concert, Bob Geldof was later knighted by Queen Elizabeth ll for his recognition of his work and organizing Live Aid and other concerts that raised millions for those who are struggling to fight famine in Ethiopia and some other parts of Africa.