Live Aid, 20 years ago today.

In light of last week's Live 8 and all of the media surrounding it I almost forgot that today is the actual 20th anniversary of the Live Aid concerts held in Philadelphia and London. Hard to believe it has been that long since I was able to be one of the 100,000 folks at JFK Stadium who endured the summer heat to be part of music history.

I clearly remember taking the subway from NJ at 5:30am, with coolers of ice and food in tow, as we made our way to the stadium. The "Global Jukebox" had just started as I walked through the stadium gates at 7:10am with Marty, my partner at the time. For more than 16 hours we endured the elements (both in weather and rowdy attendees) to hear the likes of Led Zeppelin, Tina Turner, Madonna, the Cars, Phil Collins, Patti LaBelle, Mick Jagger, Duran Duran and others. We watched live video feed from London's Webley Stadium where we saw and heard standards from the Style Council, Adam Ant, U2, Paul McCartney and Queen. The day was almost surreal in many ways in that it was like winning the concert lottery, the prize being the chance to hear so many big name acts live in one sitting.

The positive efforts of Bob Geldof are still felt every day. But as Live 8 stands testiment to, the problem of world hunger and famine is a never ending, on-going concern. Lets hope it does not take another Live Aid type event to keep the problem in the world's eye.