Overview

• In new interviews, Roger Taylor and Brian May recount Bob Geldof’s directive ‘Don’t get clever’ and his order to limit the performance to hits within a strict 17-minute window.
• Brian May says he persuaded a hesitant Freddie Mercury that skipping Live Aid would be a mistake, prompting the band to end their hiatus for the Wembley show.
• Promoter Harvey Goldsmith adds that Geldof initially believed Queen had already peaked and resisted their inclusion before settling on an early evening slot.
• The band’s six-song set at Wembley Stadium stretched to 21 minutes as Mercury led 72,000 fans in synchronized applause and was later named the world’s greatest rock gig.
• These revelations arrive as 40th anniversary retrospectives across documentaries, radio specials and a stage musical revisit Live Aid’s cultural and philanthropic legacy.