Why where Journey not asked do to Live Aid ?

Bryan Adams was, and still is, far more popular in the UK than Journey.

 

I did not know that. I didn't think the Brits really cared about Jimmy quitting and Jody getting married when they had My Ever Changing Moods and The Queen Is Dead to dig...

 

As long as Bon Jovi weren't there .................

 

Well The Pretenders I'm going have to defend but I do agree about the other two acts as well as the likes of Adam Ant and Nik Kershaw and some people are saying REO were a lesser band compared to these.

 

This whole premise by some here that there were "rules" about who could perform at Live Aid based on your sound or chart statistics is ridiculous. I see a diverse group of artists on that list wanting to support a cause. I'm sure if Journey really wanted to be there they would been given a spot by the organizers in two seconds and been wholly cheered by the fans upon taking the stage.

 

Shame they didn't. Would have been a good time for me to go stand in the bathroom line.

 

Why Madonna some asked;
Madonna had quite an impact in the UK following this TV debut at The Hacienda (FAC 51) in 1984



She scored a number one single with “Get into the Groove” after her Live Aid performance.

 

Not sure everyone there were playing to support 'a cause'. I am sure many agreed knowing it would be a huge event and a chance to be seen by millions. I'm sure some cared about Ethiopia but I doubt that number would even be 50%.

 

How about Bruce Springsteen? He was a bigger star at that point than he'd ever been--and ever would be again. He was involved with USA for Africa, but if I remember correctly Bob Geldof didn't even ask him to play LiveAid. He was quoted at the time as saying that he didn't ask him because "he knew what the answer would be....and didn't want to embarrass either one of us..." That's not a complete quote but it's close.

 

From Bill Graham Presents: My Life Inside Rock And Out:

"As it grew, a lot of acts that could not be bothered now wanted to be bothered. Heavy metal acts and certain rock and roll bands suddenly wanted to be on the show. I mean, like ten days out. Groups like Yes and Foreigner and Ozzie Osbourne. It was hard for me to say no to them because of the power structure."

 

Does it really matter what they were ingesting at Live Aid?

I'm sure most of the performers were high that day.

Jeez.

 

That's not what that link I posted above says:
"26. Iconic musician Bruce Springsteen was approached to perform at Wembley, but refused. Later on Springsteen admitted he regretted turning it down."

 

Leaving Journey off Live Aid was understandable. The band was on hiatus, on bad terms, it had been a couple of years since their last hit, and a look at the performer list on Page 2 shows the organizers were trying to get a balance of different musical types. There were a lot of rock acts on the bill already.

If Journey was active, and maintaining the success of the early 1980s, they would have made a natural fit, even with the plethora of rock acts there already. But as they weren't active, it left room on the bill for others.

 

That was me. And I'm one of Madonna's top fans, so trust me, there was no shade in my comment. I meant if Madonna, who wasn't at the peak of her career, was invited, then there was no reason for Journey-- who WAS at the top of their game-- not be.

 

I had never seen this clip on REO Speedwagon going to Live Aid.

 

Perhaps you're right, but I distinctly remember seeing an interview with Geldof where he says --pretty much word for word--what I quoted. It was from a few years after the event, but I don't remember where I saw it. It was before the internet



* I just found it. It was an article in Rolling Stone, by Marc Coleman 8/15/86
I simply googled " Why Geldof didn't ask Springsteen."
My memory is better than I thought

 

Looking back ZZ Top, Toto, Iron Maiden, Whitesnake, Bananarama, Sheena Easton, Human League, Don Henley, Glenn Frey and The Alan Parsons Project were all missing from the list of performers even though they were all very/fairly popular the time.

 

Journey wasn't really together in 1985.

 

I don't care if they were there or not. I love Journey. Great band, and Schon can rip the guitar like a mother.

 

I also pointed out that they were a major live attraction, headlining arenas and stadiums. People have trashed Journey for decades and even when they were one of the biggest bands in the world during the first half of the 80's, the mainstream, elite music press and factions of music snobs loved trashing the band, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Journey was huge at the time. What would the reason have been to bypass an invitation to Journey? Not every act on the Live Aid bill was a "legendary live performer," some were also contemporary pop and rock stars of the period, and Journey was that and more. And for the record, Journey had a great reputation as a live act during the late-70's and early-80's.

 

I hadn't heard of Journey until that Sopranos episode.

 

The US is not the world, they barely registered in Europe!

 

Yet, it is the largest single verifiable music market, usually accounting for 40-60% any given band's world wide sales,
so if you're gonna be big and get paid it's a place that matters.

 

I don't know what to tell you. Some of you guys don't like Journey, and cannot look at it from an objective 3rd party perspective when discussing whether or not a Journey appearance would have been a viable inclusion at Live Aid. If you don't think Journey would have been a viable inclusion at the Philadelphia show along with "legendary live performers" such as Billy Ocean, Patti LaBelle, Kenny Loggins, Thompson Twins, Rick Springfield, and The Hooters, well, you get the point.

 

I believe Yes have said they wanted to play but were turned down.