1. LIVE AID: U2, “Bad” (1985)
It’s one of the Massive Charity Concert’s unwritten rules: The bigger the event, the tighter the scripting. It’s also the reason Massive Charity Concerts have become increasingly predictable over the years. (As pleasant as The Concert for Diana was last week, it was also remarkably bland from start to finish. Aside from Kanye West’s whining about only having seven minutes to perform – kind of predictable in itself – the only interesting thing to happen was Ricky Gervais unscripted vamping while Elton John got ready.)
That’s what made U2's “Bad” at Live Aid so incredible. It’s 12 minutes long. There’s a two-minute span where Bono doesn’t sing at all, as he stands at the edge of the stage and points at a girl in the audience to get on the stage to hug. When that doesn’t work, he leaps off the stage into the photographers pit so he can get to hug someone.
It’s one of the Massive Charity Concert’s unwritten rules: The bigger the event, the tighter the scripting. It’s also the reason Massive Charity Concerts have become increasingly predictable over the years. (As pleasant as The Concert for Diana was last week, it was also remarkably bland from start to finish. Aside from Kanye West’s whining about only having seven minutes to perform – kind of predictable in itself – the only interesting thing to happen was Ricky Gervais unscripted vamping while Elton John got ready.)
That’s what made U2's “Bad” at Live Aid so incredible. It’s 12 minutes long. There’s a two-minute span where Bono doesn’t sing at all, as he stands at the edge of the stage and points at a girl in the audience to get on the stage to hug. When that doesn’t work, he leaps off the stage into the photographers pit so he can get to hug someone.
In an ordinary song, the hug wouldn’t be so important, but in “Bad” it’s essential to the theme, as well as to the band’s of-the-people persona. Bono really did need the hug, but as he was walking off the stage, he thought he had sunk the band’s performance. “Bad” went on so long that they wouldn’t have had enough time to play the hit “Pride (In the Name of Love),” but wasn’t long enough to cover the rest of the set, so they had to stretch “Bad” with bits of “Walk on the Wild Side.”
What he couldn’t have known at the time was that “Bad” was beyond good. It was genuine and earnest. Not only did the hug serve as a connection between the audience and all the mega-stars performing, it became the most memorable moment of a concert filled with memorable moments. “Bad” was always a good song – and a great one in concert. But the performance pushed U2 into a whole new level of super-stardom that they have never lost.
What he couldn’t have known at the time was that “Bad” was beyond good. It was genuine and earnest. Not only did the hug serve as a connection between the audience and all the mega-stars performing, it became the most memorable moment of a concert filled with memorable moments. “Bad” was always a good song – and a great one in concert. But the performance pushed U2 into a whole new level of super-stardom that they have never lost.