As a teenager in 1985, I did'nt know much about U2. Liked 'New Years Day' & 'Pride' but that was it. However the first thing I remember about Live Aid was seeing a lot of U2 flags. 'They must have loyal fans' I thought. A few hours later me, my dad and sister sat mesmorised as Bono blew everyone away. My sister was a 'Spandau Ballet' fan and was upset as she knew U2 had stolen the show.
A few weeks later and all of U2's album's had re entered the charts. There was a buzz about them they had got a whole lot of new people interested. Bono even managed to get 'Clannad' into the charts. I bought their four albums and loved them. Live Aid had given U2 breathing space to spend as long as they wanted on their next album. Three years after UF, JT came out, record shops opened at midnight around the country. They broke America and became the biggest band in the world.
However would all this have happened if Live Aid did'nt happen ? The millions of fans that saw Live Aid and became instant fans (like me) would'nt have happened. Their record company may have given them deadlines of one or two years, so JT may not have been a classic. There certainly would'nt have been record shops opening at midnight. Clannad getting into the charts, forget it. Thank god for 'Saint Bob'.