Live Aid was 35 years ago today (July 13th, 1985). The show took place simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia, and was broadcast to an estimated 1.5 billion people in 150 countries around the world.
Led Zeppelin did their set at JFK, and it didn't go very well.
In an interview with Rolling Stone back in 1988, Robert Plant described their performance as "horrendous." Why? Plant said, "I was eating every word that I had uttered. And I was hoarse. I’d done three gigs on the trot before I got to Live Aid. We rehearsed in the afternoon, and by the time I got onstage, my voice was long gone.”
There were also technical issues with the monitors, Jimmy Page's guitar was reportedly out of tune, and they only had about an hour to rehearse before they took the stage.
Chic’s Tony Thompson and Phil Collins both played drums, but Collins will not take any blame for the "disaster." As Guitar World pointed about a few years ago, in his book "Not Dead Yet: The Memoir," Phil Collins said, "If I’d known it was to be a two-drummer band, I would have removed myself from proceedings long before I got anywhere near Philadelphia."
Zeppelin's setlist kicked off with "Rock and Roll," followed by "Whole Lotta Love," and they wrapped things up with "Stairway To Heaven."
Check out the video of their 20 minute performance below.
Photo: Getty Images