Description
Available exclusively here at Music Video Resource before it even airs in America! Air dates in America span from July 13 into August on your full three hour documentary now!
Series Background: PLEASE NOTE: This documentary series originally produced by the BBC is a three episodes documentary series. Each episode totals one hour each with a complete running time of three hours for three episodes. However, the CNN airing of the SAME documentary series is divided into FOUR parts.
Keep in mind there are commercials on CNN programming. After commercials each episode is only 45 minutes. Four episodes airing over the month of July into August totals THREE hours. So please don’t be confused with the BBC’s version of the documentary and CNN, it’s the same three hour documentary except CNN splitting it over four episodes and BBC original programming featured it as a three episode documentary series.
Series Description: In 1985, music’s superstars united the world to fight famine. Major players including Bob Geldof and Bono share the complex, sometimes controversial stories behind the concert. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Live Aid, this four-part series tells the definitive story of how two rockstars inspired the largest global music events in history. Their inspiration sparked a remarkable social movement, raising tens of billions of dollars. Featuring interviews with iconic figures including Bob Geldof, Bono, Sting, Patti LaBelle, Phil Collins and Lionel Richie along with global leaders including George W. Bush, Condoleezza Rice, President Obasanjo and Tony Blair, the series also includes rare archival footage of performances and backstage with Paula Yates, Boy George, Status Quo and George Michael. Directed by Tom Pollard.
Episode 1 of 3 “The Price of Life is The Price of Vinyl” Air Date: July 6,, 2025: In late October 1984, a BBC news report about a ‘biblical famine’ in Ethiopia inspired rock star Bob Geldof to collaborate with Midge Ure on a pop song that would mobilise not only Britain but also the United States, raising millions for the cause. The single, Do They Know It’s Christmas? by Band Aid, catapulted Geldof into the complex worlds of aid, charity and African politics.
Featuring archival footage and specially filmed interviews, including
Geldof and Ure themselves, Bono, and Sting, as well as key figures such as the Ethiopian ministers responsible for aid, the head of USAID and two survivors of the famine.
Running Time: 58 Minutes
Episode 2 of 3 “The Greatest Show On Earth” Air Date: July 06, 2025: The success of the single and Geldof’s subsequent trip to Africa sparks the largest global fundraising concert, held simultaneously in London and Philadelphia, broadcast to more than 80 per cent of the world’s TV sets. With millions of pounds raised, Geldof now faces the challenge of deciding how to allocate the funds. Treated as a global celebrity, he embarks on a trip across sub-Saharan Africa, engaging with governments and aid agencies. In Ethiopia, he finds himself at the heart of a controversy over the Marxist government’s resettlement policy and how aid is being used. Featuring archival footage from both concerts, including BBC, ABC, and MTV coverage, with performances by U2, Madonna, Phil Collins and Patti LaBelle, as well as interviews with well-known figures, including Sting, Bono, Nile Rodgers, Mike Mitchell and Birhan Woldu, the starving Ethiopian girl whose image was immortalised by David Bowie during the concert.
Running Time: 58 Minutes
Episode 3 of 3 “It’s Happening Again”Air Date: July 06, 2025: In July 2005, Bob Geldof makes the reluctant decision to restage a global concert, this time spanning eight cities on the same day. It marked the culmination of years of political activism, but with a shift in focus: not to raise money, but to challenge the leaders of the world’s richest countries to tackle the root causes of poverty in Africa. UK prime minister Tony Blair works closely with Geldof to persuade the public that development and aid were a worthy use of taxpayer money. Meanwhile, in the US, Geldof’s friend Bono leads an extraordinary campaign to engage President Bush and his government in addressing Africa’s systemic issues. Together, the two raise over £100 billion in debt relief and aid over the ensuing years.
The episode features interviews with Bob Geldof, Bono, Blair, Bush, former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, and Richard Curtis, as well as Birhan Woldu, a famine survivor from 1985 who joined Madonna on stage at the concert. This is the untold story of when two rock stars navigated the corridors of power.
Running Time: 58 Minutes
All THREE PARTS Total Running Time: 3 HOURS Approximately
To see the original 2010 25th Anniversary of LIVE AID Documentary entitled “LIVE AID Against All Odds 2 DVD Set 2010 Documentary Series Episodes 1 and 2 (3 HOURS LONG)” Click HERE
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