Remembering Live Aid 27 Years Later (Video)

It was 27 years ago that a whole lot of bands came to play. Live Aid, the legendary two-venue charity concert broadcast across the globe to a viewing audience of 1.9 billion in 150 countries, was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia on July 13, 1985. Its purpose: to raise money and awareness for the famine in Ethiopia, which would end up killing hundreds of thousands in the impoverished African country.

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The concerts lasted some 16 hours and featured a star-studded musical lineup that included Britain’s own Queen, Elton John, Sting, David Bowie and Paul McCartney at Wembley while Madonna, Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin took the stage in Philly along with Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Run-DMC, the Beach Boys and Mick Jagger with Tina Turner, among many others.

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The global concert exceeded its visionary organizer Bob Geldof's expectations, raising an astonishing £150 million (roughly $283.6 million) for Ethiopian aid, and several of Live Aid's performances are also remembered as history-making events nearly three decades later.

Case in point: Queen’s 20-minute set for 72,000 at Wembley Stadium featuring charismatic frontman Freddie Mercury delivering some of the band's greatest hits, among them: "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "We Are the Champions," which bookended the performance.

Watch a clip of Queen's time on stage below: 

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