Re: LiveAid

[A Park <apark@globalserve.net>]

Leo O'Sullivan wrote:
> Live Aid: Andrew writes:
> >It wasn't a satellite problem.  The power went out at Wembley disabling
> >everything including the broadcast.
> 
> Well anyway, that's what poor Bill Graham said to the angry mob in
> Philadelphia that day, "It's the satellite", but I'm sure he'd say
> anything to keep from being pelted with whatever ninety thousand      >people
> could lay to hand.  Didn't someone who was at the Wembley show write  >in
> and say that The Who's performance never missed a beat and the people >in
> Wembley had no idea that the rest of the satellite fed world were     >being
> tortured with Who-silence.  Was it John that said that?  How did the
> whole thing play out anyway?
On the 10 year anniversary tape of Liveaid I have, the BBC executive
producer of the show says all of Wembley went down ... the tape then
goes into WGFA with a text underline "Just five minutes later, The Who
were back".  Sounds like they had to stop, but I'm not sure.

By the way, one other great tidbit from this tape is an interview clip
with a stage manager who describes a green, yellow, red light system
they had put at the front of the stage with yellow meaning the band had
2 minutes left in their alloted time and red meaning times up and they
were going to "pull the plug on them". He says everyone adhered to it
through the day, except when The Who started going long and Pete "sticks
his boot into the thing and smashes the lights to bits".  Good ol'
Pete!!

Andrew