QiFeng/Wen
On July 13, 1985, more than 100 rock stars, who were and are now the most famous rock stars, held a charity show called Live Aid in London, England and Philadelphia, USA.
They came together to raise money for Ethiopians who had suffered from war and drought. In order to let Chinese readers know about this grand event, "8 Character Junction" wrote "The Greatest Performance on Earth".
Pictured: The cover of the book
The so-called "8-character intersection" is a well-known news self-media, focusing on big people and big events, and appropriately combining hot spots. Its founder, Feng Xiang, who worked at Southern Weekend, was a friendmaker, a fitness enthusiast, a reader, and especially rock 'n' roll. In the afterword, Feng Xiang said, "A little disappointed that there was no Chinese to participate in this great performance that year." Not to mention the participants, even an insider is difficult to find. For decades, China hasn't had a single book or an article detailing it."
Feng Xiang's words aroused my curiosity, and I wanted to see how Domestic China used to introduce Live Aid.
Pictured: The poster of that year
In 1989, Horsid edited the second volume of "Appreciation of 365 Foreign Ancient and Modern Songs" (People's Music Publishing House), recommending Michael Jackson's "We Are the World", during which the introduction of Live Aid was:
"These two concerts, broadcast live by satellite to more than 140 countries around the world, lasted for sixteen hours and were watched by up to two billion people, which is truly unprecedented. Soon after the show began, the organizing committee continued to receive pledging telegrams and telephone calls, and at this concert, they raised seventy million us dollars in relief funds, which spread the word all over the world, and the actions of Bob, Jackson, Ritchie and others, as well as the singers who participated in the charity performance, were respected by the people. ”
Pictured: Philadelphia scene
In 1991, the Shanghai Music Publishing House compiled a book, "The Romance of Love: A Collection of Foreign Love Songs", and when they finally recommended "We Are the World", they introduced Live Aid in two pages. The book reads,
"On July 13, a joint cross-Atlantic 'Survival Rescue' rock concert was held at The Wembley Stadium in London, England, and Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, USA, with more than 60 rock stars and 51 rock bands from Western Europe and North America performing on stage. The two individual markets were packed with more than 160,000 spectators. "One In the World" became the theme song of this concert.
The two 17-hour concerts, broadcast live on 14 satellites to more than 140 countries around the world, connecting the hearts of peoples. Soviet, Yugoslav, Austrian and German rock bands in Australia also joined the show via satellite television broadcasting networks. The concert alone raised a staggering $85 million. ”
Since then, the books that talk about Live Aid in China have basically copied and processed the above content (the new term is called "washing the manuscript").
Pictured: London scene
To sum up, China's early introduction to Live Aid has two characteristics, one is associated with Jackson's famous song We Are the World, and the other is not stingy praise, and even praise.
In fact, Live Aid is not so perfect in terms of organization, performance, fundraising, and even influence. In "One of the Greatest Shows on Earth," 8 Tells Us that not every singer is willing to participate in this charity show, and Billy Joel, Paul Simon, and others are absent. Someone donated £3,000 at once and soon regretted it, hoping to return a portion of it to him. When relief supplies were delivered to Ethiopia, the junta refused to divert vehicles, causing a large amount of food to rot on the docks; later, in order to win the civil war, the junta changed its strategy and used the aid of Live Aid to buy people's hearts and minds.
The book differs in that it not only celebrates Live Aid, but also writes about its planning, organizational difficulties, and unsatisfactory results. In my opinion, this is not a book intended to be lyrical, but an excellent news report, friends who like music to watch, friends who like stories to watch, friends who want to learn to write, should not miss.