First Band Aid, then Live Aid... now it’s Cov-Aid
100 megastars in 100 homes pull off the musical gig of the decade
IT WAS the most star-studded line up in rock ’n’ roll history, the Live Aid of the coronavirus era. But this was a global charity concert with a difference: none of the artists left their homes.
Sir Mick Jagger and the rest of the Rolling Stones recorded their performances with iPhones before the clips were edited together; Sir Paul McCartney did the same, along with Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Stevie Wonder, Annie Lennox and just about every A-list name in the business.
With 100 musicians, the concert like no other raised millions for healthcare workers when it aired on American TV last night. Now the gig, One World: Together At Home, will be on BBC1 from 7.15pm tonight.
One Direction star Niall Horan was among the first to perform, playing an acoustic guitar from his living room. Former bandmate Liam Payne said: ‘It’s a pretty dark time for us all... and I feel we’re all being brought a lot closer together by this solidarity.’
Members of The Killers performed their hit Mr Brightside while US singer Adam Lambert covered the Tears For Fears song Mad World. Rita Ora sang I Will Never Let You Down and performed a duet with Payne.
The idea for the concert followed an impromptu online gig given by Coldplay’s Chris Martin from his lounge. Producers told The Mail on Sunday that Lady Gaga was inspired by that video and immediately picked up the phone to McCartney, whose contact book brought a string of star names.
Hugh Evans, chief executive of Global Citizen, the charity behind the show, said: ‘It all started when Chris Martin went viral. Three days later we got a call from the head of the World Health Organisation who had spoken to Lady Gaga’s mother – who is an ambassador – and said Lady Gaga wanted to curate a benefit gig.
‘Chris Martin called John Legend. Lady Gaga called Paul McCartney who called Elton John. The momentum started to build after that and artists were calling every day wanting to be a part of it. Many were grappling with what they could do from home – some instruments had to be sent to them.’
Audrey Morrissey, the show’s producer, told how plans to stream every performance live proved a logistical nightmare. Instead, performers recorded themselves on iPhones and webcams and sent the footage to producers, who spliced it together.
Additional stars including Little Mix and Tom Jones will also give exclusive performances for the BBC version tonight.
Ms Morrissey added: ‘This is the same as Live Aid in terms of hitting the entire globe at the same time. It’s pretty extraordinary.’
‘Gaga called Paul McCartney who called Elton John...’