The Live Aid benefit concert to be turned into a London stage musical
The hugely famous Live Aid concert is set to be turned into a stage musical at London’s Old Vic Theatre next year.
The musical, called Just For One Day, will be based on the original event which took place on July 13th, 1985 at Wembley Stadium, featuring acts including Queen, David Bowie, and Paul McCartney.
Singer and political activist Bob Geldof, who organised the original concert, has now given the nod of approval to the stage musical version, which will feature songs played that day by acts like Queen, Sir Elton John, and Sting.
Geldof shared some details in a new interview with BBC News, clarifying that the show will not include actors pretending to be the acts.
He said: “This isn’t a tribute thing. I wouldn’t have anything to do with that. So, there isn’t a person dressed up as Freddie wearing a crap moustache. The songs drive the drama along.”
Just For One Day, a title inspired by David Bowie’s ‘Heroes’, will follow a plot about how Band Aid and Live Aid came together, with an additional love story inspired by real events.
“The story is based on actual testimony from the day,” Geldof explained. “It’s real people telling their story throughout this. So it’s complex theatre.”
The original Live Aid was organised by Geldof alongside Midge Ure as a way to raise awareness of the worsening famine in Ethiopia. The charity still provides help for those affected by poverty in the third world and continues to be a bastion of the good the power of music can achieve.
Just For One Day will be arriving at London’s Old Vic Theatre from January 26th to March 30th 2024.
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