By Allen Goodrich, Ardmore, PA

Although I didn’t actually attend Live Aid at JFK or Wembley on July 13th, 1985, that day, for me, was monumental for many different reasons. When I first learned of the trans-Atlantic concerts, my initial reaction was to be flabbergasted. As I read through the list of acts, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I thought, “You’ve got to be kidding! How can all of these people play at one concert?” It literally sends a chill down my spine to recall it, all these years later. I have often told people, that if I had been asked to put that list of artists together instead of Sir Bob Geldof, our two lists would have mirrored each others about 95%! With a few notable exceptions, such as Pink Floyd, Springsteen, Frampton and a handful of others, the list of performers that day was a who’s who of Rock ‘n’ Roll! Even the Philly hosts, Midler and Nicholson, were right on! Early on, somebody had spray painted the small building in the middle of JFK with graffiti hailing Led Zeppelin and the anticipation of waiting all day for them to perform was indeed torturous! I had 2 TV’s set up that day, one to record MTV and the other for Ch 29. I think the spirit of the day was best summed up in the title and lyrics of the Bowie tune “Heroes” when he proclaims, “We can be heroes, just for one day.” Growing up, many times I was looked down upon for my love of rock music and the lifestyle that went with it, so this day to me was a kind of vindication for putting up with that ridiculous, mean-spirited abuse. To see all of those performers, whose music and lyrics provided me with so much pleasure and inspiration, give of themselves for such a noble, worthy cause showed the world that they cared deeply about others and not just about themselves. That fact in itself was very meaningful and inspirational to me. Incredibly, all of the musicians seemed to be “on” that day (even Madonna). Even though it was about 95 degrees in Phila that day, everybody “went for it”, sweat be damned. The London show was truly great, with memorable performances by Sting, Paul Young, U2, McCartney, Queen, Bowie, Dire Straits and many others, but the real crescendo for me came as the afternoon turned to evening at JFK. The Phil Collins (who amazingly played both shows!) - Eric Clapton - Led Zeppelin segue is a “must see”, even now, for anyone who even considers themselves a casual fan of Rock and Roll! There is no doubt in my mind that in my 52 years on this planet that Live Aid was by far my “Most Memorable Moment”, especially when you consider that seeing and hearing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show is probably my 2nd most memorable moment!!!