<\/p>\n Live Aid\u2019s 20 or so hours of music played out as a day for guitar heroics that were at times notable, notorious, triumphant and tepid. The players came from the worlds of rock, metal, blues and jazz, and nearly three dozen of them went on to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n Latest Videos From Here we recall some of the most notable guitar stories from Live Aid.<\/p>\n Led Zeppelin: Like a Lead Balloon<\/p>\n Led Zeppelin grounded itself immediately after drummer John Bonham died in September 1980, with the three surviving members going their own ways. But with Jimmy Page\u2019s the Firm and Robert Plant both on the road, circumstances dictated an ascent back up the stairway to heaven, if just for one day. Plant was the first to sign on and wanted Page to be involved \u2014 but not necessarily to get the Led out.<\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n \n Robert Plant and Jimmy Page perform with Led Zeppelin on Live Aid’s Veteran’s Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 13, 1985. (Image credit: Paul Natkin\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n \u201cThe original idea was not to do a Robert Plant set as such, but something a little lighter \u2014 like the Honeydrippers,\u201d Plant said at the time, referring to an ad hoc all-star band he\u2019d put together to record an EP of rock and R&B oldies in 1984.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Jimmy was part of the Honeydrippers I phoned him and said, \u2018Would you like to be part of it?\u2019 He did, and as we got to talking about it, we said, \u2018While we\u2019re doing it, why not do two of our [Led Zeppelin] songs?\u2019 The whole thing really evolved.\u201d<\/p>\n It ultimately sounded better in discussion than onstage. With former Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones on keyboards rather than bass<\/a>, Paul Martinez from Plant\u2019s band on bass, and Chic\u2019s Tony Thompson and Phil Collins on drums, the shambolic three-song set felt like a genuine moment for the euphoric crowd at JFK Stadium, but not beyond.<\/p>\n Collins, who had flown in on the Concorde to play at both the London and Philly shows, introduced Zeppelin after playing solo piano renditions of a couple of his hits. He hadn\u2019t rehearsed, and it showed, as did any lack of plan between him and Thompson on songs \u2014 \u201cRock and Roll,\u201d \u201cWhole Lotta Love<\/a>\u201d and \u201cStairway to Heaven<\/a>\u201d \u2014 that really weren\u2019t made for two drummers.<\/p>\n Jones also had a small amount of rehearsal on the day of the show, Page \u2014 who busted out his Gibson EDS-1275 double-neck electric guitar<\/a> for the occasion \u2014 sounded out of tune at times, and Plant was a bit hoarse from playing the night before in Detroit. To make matters worse, the stage monitors reportedly weren\u2019t working properly. Plant later termed the performance \u201chorrendous.\u201d<\/p>\n What to read next<\/p>\n The dissatisfaction was evident during a tense post-show interview with MTV\u2019s Alan Hunter, which Collins dominated when the others proved truculent. The drummer later wrote in his 2016 memoir, Not Dead Yet, \u201cIf I\u2019d known it was to be a two-drummer band, I would have removed myself from the proceedings long before I got anywhere near Philadelphia.\u201d<\/p>\n Led Zeppelin – Live Aid 1985 – Full Show – 4K AI Enhanced – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n Collins, who\u2019d played on Plant\u2019s first two solo albums and toured with him in 1983, also took exception to Page laying blame for the failure on him for \u201cbashing away cluelessly and grinning.\u201d Collins noted, \u201cIf you look at the video, you can see Jimmy dribbling [cocaine] onstage, Robert not hitting the notes and me miming, playing the air.\u201d<\/p>\n Not surprisingly, Page, Plant and Jones refused to allow the performance to be included on Live Aid\u2019s subsequent official DVD release. Led Zeppelin would have more satisfying reunions at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary Concert in 1986, its Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 1995 and the 2007 Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert in London, which is, as of now, its final performance.<\/p>\n The Who: Before They Got Old<\/p>\n There are several tellings of how the Who came to be part of Live Aid\u2019s London program, the group\u2019s first time onstage since breaking up after a farewell tour in late 1982. In his memoir, Is That It?, Geldof says Townshend suggested it after he invited the guitarist to take part on his own. That led to a series of protracted negotiations with singer Roger Daltrey, who refused to play with drummer Kenney Jones, and bassist John Entwistle, who refused to not play with Jones.<\/p>\n \n The Who perform at Live Aid in London. (Image credit: FG\/Bauer-Griffin\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Townshend, however, subsequently accused Geldof of blackmailing and bullying the band into being part of the show. In his memoir, Who I Am, Townshend wrote, \u201cWhen Bob sensed I might refuse to appear, he took the gloves off…\u2018Every pound we make will save a life. Do the fucking math. And do the fucking show!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Geldof denies he blackmailed or bullied the guitarist but makes no secret of how important it was for the Who to be part of Live Aid.<\/p>\n \u201cI live, die and swear by this band,\u201d he explained recently. \u201cI really minded that the Who reformed and did it, \u2019cause it\u2019s significant. I felt that 20 million people would watch that; if five percent of them contribute, we\u2019re home.\u201d<\/p>\n The Who – Won’t Get Fooled Again (Live Aid 1985) – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n Though Townshend contended that \u201cthe Who were out of practice and should probably have left it to Queen and George Michael, who stole the show,\u201d the four-song evening set \u2014 part of a killer chain that included U2, Dire Straits, Queen and David Bowie \u2014 was one of the day\u2019s most exciting, despite any flaws \u2014 and stage monitor issues. \u201cMy Generation<\/a>,\u201d \u201cPinball Wizard<\/a>,\u201d \u201cLove Reign O\u2019er Me\u201d and \u201cWon\u2019t Get Fooled Again<\/a>\u201d crackled with vintage Who energy. Townshend was in full, furious, windmilling<\/a> form, while Daltrey opened his shirt, twirled his microphone and jogged around the stage like a marathoner in training.<\/p>\n Even Townshend would acknowledge, perhaps grudgingly, that \u201cwe all felt proud to be there\u201d and happily helped Paul McCartney close the show with \u201cLet It Be,\u201d with the two rock icons hoisting Geldof on their shoulders at the end of the song.<\/p>\n Bob Dylan: Too Rolling Stoned <\/p>\n It was another Live Aid collaboration that probably looked good on paper.<\/p>\n Bob Dylan<\/a>, who\u2019d sung on USA for Africa\u2019s famine relief single \u201cWe Are the World,\u201d was chosen to close the show in Philadelphia and in turn recruited Rolling Stones Keith Richards and Ron Wood<\/a>. The trio, along with Faces\/occasional Rolling Stones keyboardist Ian McLagan, gathered at Wood\u2019s New York home to rehearse, with Dylan ultimately choosing two deep cuts \u2014 \u201cBallad of Hollis Brown\u201d and \u201cWhen the Ship Comes In\u201d \u2014 along with the iconic \u201cBlowin\u2019 in the Wind\u201d to play on the night.<\/p>\n \n (from left) Ron Wood , Bob Dylan and Keith Richards perform at Live Aid, July 13, 1985, at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. (Image credit: Bettmann\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n There was undoubtably tension in the air at JFK Stadium, not only because of the occasion but also because the trio was directly following Mick Jagger\u2019s explosive performance \u2014 backed by Daryl Hall & John Oates, and with Tina Turner guesting \u2014 at a time when Jagger and Richards were on the outs.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, Dylan\u2019s performance was followed by a group performance of the hit \u201cWe Are the World\u201d that would close the event.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sound guys had no idea we were going on,\u201d Richards recalled the following year. \u201cHere\u2019s three guys with acoustic guitars<\/a> and they were getting ready for [sings] \u2018We Are the World\u2019 with 50 people behind us.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were tuning up and we were trying to play,\u201d Richards explained a few years later. \u201cIt was like, \u2018shut \u2019em up, Bill Graham, or we\u2019ll shoot the lot of them!\u2019 Bob and I kept looking at each other like, \u2018Where\u2019s the blindfolds and the last cigarettes?\u2019 But it was all for a good cause, so what the hell?\u201d<\/p>\n Their performance was plagued by problems. The stage curtain had fallen in front of the stage amplifiers, preventing Dylan, Richards and Wood from hearing each other and causing them to play out of sync. When, early on, a string broke on Dylan\u2019s guitar, Wood gave him his and used a cheap instrument a crew member handed him. The new guitar was out of tune. Wood wound up playing slide on only one of the strings.<\/p>\n Bob Dylan \/ Keith Richards \/ Ron Wood – Blowin’ In The Wind (Live Aid 1985) – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n Dylan, meanwhile, caused a stir when he suggested that, \u201cI hope that some of the money that\u2019s raised for the people in Africa, maybe they can just take a little bit of it, maybe one or two million, maybe, and use it…to pay the mortgages on some of the farms that the farmers here owe to banks.\u201d While Live Aid did eventually spawn the charity Farm Aid, Dylan\u2019s comment showed he had no grasp of the event\u2019s purpose. \u201cSomething so simplistic and crowd-pleasing was beyond belief,\u201d Geldof wrote. \u201c[Dylan] displayed a complete lack of understanding of the issues raised by Live Aid.\u201d<\/p>\n Seven other notable guitar moments…<\/p>\n Pink Floyd\u2019s David Gilmour, on hiatus after his sophomore solo album About Face in 1984, played with Bryan Ferry\u2019s band during the Roxy Music frontman\u2019s four-song set in London.<\/p>\n Five of B.B. King\u2019s songs from his set at the North Sea Jazz Festival in The Hague, Netherlands, including \u201cWhy I Sing the Blues\u201d and \u201cRock Me Baby,\u201d were carried as part of the global telecast.<\/p>\n Dire Straits, which was in the midst of its own 12-show run at Wembley Arena next door, was joined by Sting to recreate his guest vocal on \u201cMoney for Nothing<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n David Bowie tapped Kevin Armstrong, who had played on the Absolute Beginners soundtrack, as his guitarist for Wembley Stadium. Bowie subsequently asked Armstrong to be a fifth member in Tin Machine after he played on the group\u2019s debut album (he turned it down), while Armstrong co-wrote the title track to Bowie\u2019s Outside album in 1992.<\/p>\n Pat Metheny sat in with Santana for its five-song set in Philadelphia, which included \u201cBrotherhood,\u201d \u201cOpen Invitation\u201d and \u201cRight Now\u201d (verify song title \u2014 may need clarification).<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/flexiimages\/qpgqqgfnha1754554587.svg\")
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