MUSIC HISTORY LESSON
A mini lesson in music history.
Live Aid 1985 Performers: Where are they now?
by Jinjer Hundley
Research assistance: Heidi Oehlschlaeger
It was 20 years ago today...July 13, 1985. Where are they now? In
order of lineup on the Live Aid bill...
Status Quo
Celebrates their 40th anniversary this year with a new album on
Sanctuary Records and other commemorative events this fall. The band also
has reissues on Vertigo.
Style Council
Broke up in late 80s after their record company refused to release an album.
Members are all off doing solo projects (Keyboardist Mick Talbot is touring
with Dexy's Midnight Runners, and Drummer Steve White is in a band called
Players). You can check them out in the DVD, The Style Council on
Film (2003) and the book Mr. Cool's Dream, is coming in
August 2005
http://www.mrcoolsdream.co.uk .
Boomtown Rats
Disbanded in 1985. Bob Geldof went solo and is heavily involved in
various causes to support African Hunger Relief, including the recent Live 8
events. The other band members have done various projects. You can check out
their Best Of CD, and a DVD, The Story of the Boomtown Rats,
is in the works.
Adam Ant
Adam Ant's Last album was 1995's Wonderful. He has done
lots of acting on TV and film and is currently battling manic depression.
Adam & the Ants material is available on remastered CDs.
INXS
Lead singer Michael Hutchence died in 1997. Band has had various lead
singers. Now trying to find a new lead singer via the reality TV show
Rock Star: INXS on CBS.
Ultravox
Broke up in 1984.
Loudness
Continued to tour until Minoru
left the band in 1988.
Two lead singers later, Minoru came back in
1999. Last album was 2004's Racing.
Spandau Ballet
Broke up in late 80's-early 90's. Some members act, some are recording
solo albums, etc. A reunion tour is rumored, but there's no official word.
Bernard Watson
Unable to find anything on him.
Joan Baez
New CD coming this summer with a tour in the fall. Currently
starring in Teatro ZinZanni, an interactive theatrical Cirque- type dinner
show in San Francisco.
Elvis Costello
Continues to record, with and without The Attractions, dabbling in
everything from rock to orchestration for a ballet. Also has done a lot of
acting on TV and film.
The Hooters
Last album was released in 1994. Hyman & Bazilian write & arrange for other
artists and composed most of Joan Osborne's album, Relish, including
"One of Us" of Joan of Arcadia fame. Another artist they've composed
for is Jon Bon Jovi.
Opus
Continues to record. Last album was released in 2004.
Nik Kershaw
Wrote tons of songs for others, including Elton John and Cliff Richard.
Has a new album, Then & Now.
The Four Tops
Several members have become ill and/or died since Live Aid. Currently
Fakir, McNair, Payton and Peoples are continuing to perform as The Four
Tops.
B. B. King
He may be turning 80 this year but B.B. still does an average of 200
shows per year. He recorded with U2 in 1988 & Eric Clapton in 2000.
Currently working on a duets album and just opened his own memorabilia
museum in Indianola, MS. You can also check out his 1996 autobiography,
Blues All Around Me.
Billy Ocean
Billy has gone from drugs to prison to a spiritual being and continues
to tour and record in Europe.
Sade
Hasn't been seen or heard from by her fans since her 2002 Lovers Live
CD.
Black Sabbath
Ozzy and his bandmates have all had solo careers and have reunited
countless times. Ozzy had a successful reality show, The Osbournes,
on MTV with his family.
Yu Rock Mission
Unable to find anything on this artist.
Run-DMC
Officially retired from performing after Jam Master Jay was shot and
killed in 2002.
Sting (with Branford Marsalis)
Sting continues to record and tour, including a performance at Live 8
2005. He's received countless awards and dabbled in acting. 2003 saw an
autobiography, Broken Music, and his most recent album, Sacred
Love. Branford Marsalis: A successful jazz artist in his own
right, Branford has done everything from being in Sting's backup band to
being Musical Director of The Tonight Show Band. He also
created the Buckshot LeFonque project.
Phil Collins
Continued recording, touring, and writing songs. After releasing his
2003 album Testify, he announced the tour that followed would be his
last, as he is battling hearing loss.
Rick Springfield
In addition to recording & touring, Rick had a popular stage show in Las
Vegas from 2001-2002 called EFX Alive! His new album The Day After
Yesterday was released yesterday. (Sorry, couldn't resist). Check out
his live interactive performance via Sirius Satellite Radio today!
REO Speedwagon
The band's line-up changed in the late 1980's with the departure of
guitarist Gary Richrath and the retirement of original drummer Alan Gratzer,
but REO Speedwagon continues to tour every year (often in a co-headline
show with Styx). They haven't released a new album since 1996 but have
released several compilations and live CDs.
Howard Jones
In addition to producing & songwriting for others, Howard opened his own
vegetarian restaurant. Look for his new album, Revolution of the Heart,
and a 20th anniversary DVD in 2005.
Autograph
Broke up in 1987; some members recorded as other entities and solo
artists.
Bryan Ferry (with Pink Floyd's David Gilmour on guitar)
Bryan Ferry continued to record and tour and dabbled in acting.
He is working on a new album. David Gilmour: Has been everything from
a session musician to producer to concert sound engineer. Participated
in Pink Floyd reunion set at Live 8.
Crosby, Stills and Nash
Currently on tour.
Udo Lindenberg
Continues to tour and record. Last studio album was 2003's Free Orbit.
Judas Priest
Rob Halford left in 1991 and was replaced by a singer from a Judas
Priest tribute band (as loosely depicted in the Jennifer Aniston movie
Rock Star). The band reunited in 2003, and the new album is Angel of
Retribution.
Paul Young
Continues to record & tour. Has a recipe in the Food That Rocks
cookbook.
Alison Moyet
Continues to record and tour. Had to wait 10 years to release her 2004
album, Voice, after fighting with Sony about the album and finally
being released from her contract.
Bryan Adams
Last album was 2004's Room Service. Currently touring and working
on an acoustic album.
U2
Currently touring in support of their 2004 album, How to Dismantle an
Atomic Bomb. Performed at Live 8.
Beach Boys
Continue to tour & record with remaining line-up of the band. Some
members have embarked on solo projects.
Dire Straits
Last album was 1991's On Every Street. Band members have solo
projects, including writing for films. Mark Knopfler is releasing an album
Shangri-La on Sep 27, and he's currently on tour.
George Thorogood and the Destroyers / Bo Diddley / Albert Collins
George Thorogood's last album was 2003's Ride Til I Die. Released
greatest hits album 30 Years of Rock in 2004. Bo Diddley: 50th
anniversary commemorative release of his debut singles is coming soon on CD
and 7" vinyl. Continues to tour. Albert Collins continued to
play & record until his death of heart failure in 1993.
Queen
Queen's final tour together with Freddie Mercury as lead singer was the 1986 Magic Tour, but they
recorded a couple albums after that. Freddie Mercury died of AIDS in 1991.
Paul Rodgers is currently touring with the band's new line-up as their lead
singer.
Simple Minds
New album, Black & White, coming out in 2005.
David Bowie (with Thomas Dolby on keyboards)
David Bowie has continued making records in all kinds of different musical
styles, as well as dabbling in acting. He had emergency angioplasty in 2004.
His fans await his next project. Thomas Dolby: Continued recording
for a while, then got into the cell phone ringtone business in a big way.
"Science!!!"
The Pretenders
Chrissie Hynde recorded and toured with session musicians and got involved
in political activism.
The Who
John Entwistle died in 2002. Zak Starkey, the band's most recent drummer,
left to join Oasis, which has put the 2005 Who album & tour on hold.
Santana
Carlos Santana continued to tour, then had a huge comeback CD and hit
single "Smooth" with Matchbox 20's Rob Thomas. Santana is currently on their
Embrace the Light tour and have a new album All That I Am,
coming in September.
Pat Metheny
July 11 being the 20th anniversary of his Song X album, it was
re-released that day in 2005. Seven Grammys after Live Aid, his new album
The Way Up will be released later this year.
Elton John (with Kiki Dee)
Along with recording, touring, and writing for films, etc., Elton wrote
a musical and is currently headlining at the Coliseum in Las Vegas. Kiki
Dee still records and performs with Carmelo Luggeri. She battled ovarian
cancer, and her new album, Walk of Faith, is due out this fall
Wham!
George Michael: After his infamous arrest following an embarrassing
incident in the restroom of a Beverly Hills park in the 1990's, George
Michael's most recent album was in 2004. He plans to release all future
music via download, with money going to charity. Andrew Ridgely: Now
in the surfing supplies business.
Ashford and Simpson
Ashford and Simpson continue to write and record. Valerie is working on a
solo album.
Teddy Pendergrass
Continues to record & tour and is an advocate for people with spinal cord
injuries. Check out his biography, Truly Blessed.
Madonna
Madonna became a superstar after Live Aid. She is currently
working on a new album, owns a record label, and writes children's books.
She also performed at Live 8.
Freddie Mercury & Brian May
Freddie Mercury died of AIDS in 1991. Brian May has scored films
and composed for musical theater and dabbles in astronomy &
photography. He is participating in Queen's 2005 tour.
Paul McCartney
What hasn't this guy done? Continues recording, touring, publishing his
poetry, painting...Has a new album coming out in September 2005 called Chaos
and Creation in the Backyard, and is writing children's books.
Tom Petty
In addition to recording and touring, Tom Petty currently hosts his own show
Buried Treasure on XM radio. He's also working on a new solo album,
Highway Companion.
Kenny Loggins
Kenny Loggins' Last album was 2004's Its about time. In 2005 he was a
guest judge on American Idol. He has reunited with his former Loggins
and Messina partner, Jim Messina, for the 2005 Loggins & Messina Sittin'
In Again Reunion Tour.
The Cars
Broke up in 1988. Ben Orr died of pancreatic cancer in 2000. Ric Ocasek has
released solo albums, including the brand new one Nexterday. He's
also published a book of poetry.
Neil Young
Continues recording & touring. In spite of having a brain aneurysm this
past March, he closed the Toronto portion of Live 8 four months later. Owns
Vapor Records.
Power Station
The band broke up in late 1984. In 2003, Robert Palmer died of a heart
attack and Tony Thompson died of kidney cancer.
John & Andy Taylor reunited with Duran Duran, who released the Astronaut
album in 2004. Power Station tried unsuccessfully to reunite.
Thompson Twins
Joe Leeway left in 1986. Tom Bailey & Alannah Currie went on,
occasionally performing as Babble.
Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton has continued to record and tour, having a hugely successful
album and tour in the 90's. His new album Back Home comes out in Aug
2005.
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin reunion attempts didn't last. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page
continue to record and tour separately and occasionally tour together as
Page and Plant.
Duran Duran
Although Duran Duran recorded and toured with different band members,
Live Aid was the last time the original five members performed together
until 2003, when the original lineup reunited and released the Astronaut
album in 2004. A subsequent tour followed.
Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard has continued to tour. Check out his new album,
Something's Goin' On / For Life.
Patti LaBelle
Patti LaBelle has continued to record and tour. Her last album was
2004's Timeless Journey. She also authored some cookbooks.
Hall & Oates
Hall and Oates has continued to record and tour, together and separately.
Recently they released a CD, Our Kind of Soul but the tour is on hold
while Daryl Hall battles Lyme disease.
Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger continues touring and recording, both solo and with the
Rolling Stones. His song on the Alfie soundtrack won a Golden Globe
award, and, following the success of his A&A documentary Being Mick,
Mick is developing a cinema verite' show for A&E which follows various
celebrities around in their daily lives. The Rolling Stones are currently on
tour,
Tina Turner
Tina Turner has continued to record and tour successfully and is now
semi-retired.
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan continues to record, tour, and write for films. He also penned his
autobiography.
USA for Africa (led by Lionel Richie)
Lionel Richie took a break from writing and recording for several years
following a very public divorce and subsequent remarriage. In 2004,
following the breakup of that marriage, he released an album, Just for
You.
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