‘The day rock ‘n’ roll changed the world’
JUST FOR ONE DAY
THE LIVE AID MUSICAL
26 Jan–30 Mar 2024
RUNNING TIME
Approximately two hours and 30 minutes, including a 20-minute interval
SUITABLE FOR AGES
14+
TICKETS
PwC £10 Previews. Previews £13–£70, Off Peak £13–£77.50, Peak £15–£85. Premium and Old Vic Plus tickets available. A £2.50 transaction fee applies per booking (does not apply to OV TOGETHER Members).
DATES
26 Jan–30 Mar 2024
ABOUT THE SHOW
‘We can be us, just for one day’
Relive the day music brought the world together.
Featuring the songs of Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Who, U2, Queen, The Police, Elton John, Paul McCartney, The Pretenders, The Cars, Status Quo, Sade, The Boomtown Rats, Diana Ross, Ultravox and more, this is the story of Live Aid and the people united by it.
Political unrest, social revolution, boom and bust. In a decade of neon and noise, one moment made the world stand still and brought 1.5 billion people together – and they all have a story to tell about ‘the day rock ‘n’ roll changed the world’.
A cast of 26 star in the world premiere of Just For One Day, a new musical written by John O’Farrell (Mrs Doubtfire, Something Rotten) and directed by Luke Sheppard (& Juliet, The Little Big Things).
10% from the sale of all tickets will be donated directly to The Band Aid Charitable Trust.
An Old Vic Production
By permission of The Band Aid Charitable Trust
In association with Jamie Wilson Productions, Kevin McCollum, Sonia Friedman Productions, Gavin Kalin Productions, Kenny Wax Ltd, The Ambassador Theatre Group, Mirvish Productions, Nederlander Theatres, No Guarantees and Burnt Umber Productions
INFO & DISCOUNTS
OV LOCAL
Live in Lambeth or Southwark? Make the most of your visit with our FREE OV Local Membership.
Off Peak Performances: All performances 26 Jan–12 Feb 2024, and Mon–Wed performances from 14 Feb–27 Mar 2024.
Ahead of the world premiere of Just For One Day, here’s 10 facts about the history of Live Aid that you might not know already.
1. 1.5 billion people watched Live Aid in 1985 including the 72,000 people at Wembley Stadium in London and 89,000 people at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia.
The multi-act concert was largest broadcast event using 13 military satellites to transmit the concert to people tuning in from across the world, including a local fruit and vegetable seller organising their own screening on a farm in Cheshire with one of the largest mobile screens in Europe.
Freddie Mercury, performing on stage during the Live Aid concert.
2. More than 70 artists and bands performed over 16 hours of live music across the London and Philadelphia concerts.
3. Although there was a huge number of artists involved, Live Aid was organised in just a few months.
4. Many of the artists that were announced in the press conference hadn’t been booked for Live Aid.
Four weeks before Live Aid, a press conference was held where the line-up for the day was announced. However, many of the acts hadn’t been confirmed and were shocked to learn that they were performing.
5. Bob Geldof never said ‘give us the f**king money’.
Disappointed with the amount of money raised so far, Bob Geldof rushed to the BBC box to appeal for donations just after Queen’s performance. He appealed to the people watching, saying:
‘Take the money out of your pocket. Don’t go to the pub tonight please, stay in and give us the money. There are people dying now so give me the money. And here’s the numbers’
The TV Presenter then mentioned about the postal address for donations to which Bob replied. ‘F**k the address, let’s get the numbers.’
6. The Band of the Coldstream Guards, one of the best-known bands of the British army, were the first to perform on the day in Wembley.
They started Live Aid with the Royal Salute to welcome the Prince and Princess of Wales.
David Bowie performing on stage during the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium.
7. David Bowie and Mick Jagger were planning to perform a transatlantic duet, with Bowie performing in London and Jagger in Philadelphia.
Due to the delay between the broadcast signals, it wasn’t possible to have a live performance of their cover of ‘Dancing In The Street‘ by Martha and the Vandellas. Instead, the pair decided to film a video of the song overnight at Millennium Mills in London’s docks area, which was then shown in both stadiums on the day.
8. To fit all the acts into the 16-hour schedule, a special revolving stage was constructed.
While one act was performing, the next act could be setting up so at the end of each set, the stage could turn around, and the next act could start their set without having a break in-between.
Bono, Paul McCartney, Andrew Ridgeley and Freddie Mercury during the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium.
9. The last act at Wembley before the finale performance of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ was Paul McCartney.
When he took to the stage and began singing ‘Let It Be‘ no one in the stadium could hear anything. He was singing for two minutes before the technical problem was fixed and his microphone was working. Despite the technical issues the performance still remains an iconic Live Aid moment as he was joined by David Bowie, Bob Geldof, Alison Moyet and Pete Townshend.
10. Live Aid raised £40 million on the day, which is the equivalent of over £100 million today, which was then used to provide relief of hunger and poverty in Ethiopia and the neighbourhood thereof.
During that time, the famine in Ethiopia was one of the worst humanitarian events of the 20th century. The Band Aid Charitable Trust was set up in response in 1984 with the release of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’. The trust has since raised over £140 million over the last 38 years to support organisations dedicated to the prevention or relief of poverty and famine through charitable grants.
10% from the sale of every ticket for Just For One Day will be donated to the Trust to support their ongoing global relief efforts.
Photo: The Old Vic/ Manuel Harlan