Nearly 20 years on from Live Aid, the situation in Africa is worse than ever, Bob Geldof said yesterday when launching the DVD version of the 1985 concert.
While the release of the DVD was "a reminder that individuals need not be powerless in the face of monstrous human tragedy", it was "distressing" that "20 years on from Live Aid things have got worse in Africa", Geldof said.
"In 1985 musicians took the lead. In 2005 the politicians must take the lead by dealing with the causes of such suffering, not the symptoms. Next year is crucial for Africa - Britain will hold both the chair of the G8 richest nations and the presidency of the EU and we need Tony Blair and Gordon Brown to put Africa at the top of the agenda," Geldof told a press conference in London yesterday.
The initial show, recently defined in a consumer poll as the single greatest moment in the 50-year history of rock 'n' roll, was watched by a television audience of 1.5 billion people and raised over £140 million for African famine relief. The four DVD set of the Live Aid concert - including footage of the shows in London and Philadelphia - and which retails at £39 sterling, is expected to raise some £300 million between now and the end of the year.
"Live Aid was never supposed to be released, it was supposed to remain as a powerful cultural memory," said Geldof. "I had promised all the acts who played on the day that their performances would never be broadcast again - this is because of the nature of the event, none of the bands were able to soundcheck on the day. What we found though is that a number of pirate versions of the concert were being sold on the Ebay website. This enraged me - these sick f***ers were profiting from the event and thereby literally taking the food out of the mouth of starving people."
He said one of these pirates subsequently got a three-year prison sentence. It was widely believed, not least by Geldof, that no footage of the concerts existed. However, a trawl through the BBC archives found the full Wembley Stadium concert, and MTV in the US provided footage from the Philadelphia concert. Geldof had to approach every artist on the bill 20 years ago (including David Bowie, Sting, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Madonna and Bob Dylan) to get their permission for the DVD release.
"They were all gracious about it," said Geldof, "and again they are giving their performances for free. There was only one band who wouldn't give us permission and that was Led Zeppelin who felt that their show on the day was so sub-standard it would be a travesty to release it. I respected that and left them off but Robert Plant and Jimmy Page from the band have agreed to donate all profits from their own upcoming DVD to the Band Aid trust."
Geldof called directly on the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, to make sure that the VAT charged on all Irish sales of the DVD be returned to the Band Aid trust.
With a running time of over 10 hours, the DVD has been re-mastered in multi-channel surround sound and includes previously unseen footage. There is also a documentary film, Food, Trucks and Rock 'n' Roll which looks at how the money raised from the concerts was distributed.
Geldof ruled out the staging of a Live Aid II concert next year to mark the 20th anniversary of the event. "Live Aid was a one-off, it would be impossible to replicate now - the music world has changed and what we achieved that day - getting all the best bands in the world to play - won't ever happen again." He has, however, sanctioned the re-recording of the Band Aid single, Do They Know It's Christmas? featuring today's top acts - Coldplay, The Darkness, and Oasis among others - to be released later this month.