Live Aid at 40 – When Rock ‘n’ Roll Took On The World – Premieres at Sheffield DocFest 2025
Editors Matt Ashton and Paul Bernays worked on this series of films, taking us behind the scenes of the iconic concert. Packed with rare footage, backstage moments and unforgettable performances.
On 23 October 1984, BBC News broadcast Michael Buerk’s reported on the famine in Ethiopia, shocking British audiences. Among them was Bob Geldof, who, moved by the devastation, teamed up with Ultravox’s Midge Ure to act. Their response led to the 1984 Christmas single Do They Know It’s Christmas? and, six months later, to Live Aid.
“Live Aid at 40 – When Rock ‘n’ Roll Took On The World” is a three-part film that charts these remarkable events. Part one premieres at Sheffield DocFest on Sunday 22 June, focusing on the broadcast that sparked a global response.
In July, BBC Two and Radio 2 will mark Live Aid’s 40th anniversary with the full series — a behind-the-scenes look at the 1985 concert that redefined charity for a generation. Co-produced by the BBC and CNN Originals, and produced by Brook Lapping, a Zinc Media label, in association with Ronachan Films, the series comprises 3×60’ for BBC Two/iPlayer and 4×44’ for CNN.
Blending the stories of UK and US musicians with the politics that shaped their mission, the series features exclusive interviews with Bob Geldof, Bono, Sting and Midge Ure. It explores how music united billions to fight famine and inspired global leaders like George Bush and Tony Blair to address the deeper causes of poverty.
And in addition we’ll also see “Live Aid: The Concert”, a 6.5 hr cut down of the original 16 hour concert. The Concert marks the first full televised rebroadcast of Live Aid since the original 1985 broadcast—making this a rare chance to relive a landmark moment in music history, showcasing key performances and candid backstage stories that shaped the concert’s legacy.
Matt Ashton editor of Ep 1 for BBC and CNN Originals, touched on what it mean to him…
“Editing a documentary about such a hugely significant event as Live Aid was always going to be a compelling experience. From the strong characters involved (and their strong opinions), to the sheer quantity of amazing 16mm archive material, really made this project a documentary editor’s dream.
Being in my early teens at the time also meant it had a significant influence on my own appreciation of music, and it was a pleasure to be able to tell this updated story, and potentially introduce these characters and artists to a brand new audience.”
Paul Bernays reversioned Ep 4 for CNN Originals.
“As the story moves to 2005’s Live8 concerts, we featured an interview with Birhan – the young girl near death in the original famine reports that inspired Bob Geldof. The footage of Madonna welcoming this now extraordinary young woman on stage for Like A Prayer brings a tear to the eye on every viewing. It’s symbolic of the power of Live Aid’s 40 year story from charity to justice which we were privileged to help document. “
Jonny Halifax edited Live Aid The Concert – 6½ hours of highlights from the original 16 hour concert featuring some of the worlds greatest artists, including; David Bowie, Madonna, Sting, Tina Turner and U2, as well as backstage footage, and exclusive interviews with Bono, Bowie, Brian May, Sting, Phil Collins and other legendary performers.
“On 13 July 1985 I was 13 and I’d been for a Saturday morning haircut and remember being quite upset that I missed the start of the concert and my fave band at the time; The Style Council. No VHS recorder at the time either. First world issues indeed!
At the end of last year I worked on the Band Aid at 40 short doc where I properly became aware of the wealth of magical behind the scenes archive that captured both of these important occasions.
For the Live Aid edit it was so exciting to introduce some of these never seen before moments from the day all captured beautifully on 16mm film.
Because of the time difference between the London and Philadelphia shows a lot of the US concert performances were not seen, or as late night highlights by the UK audience. So with this edit we took the opportunity to stretch time a bit and show some great lesser seen performances such as Neil Young, Black Sabbath and Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin playing with Hall & Oates.
So this really was a most enjoyable project to work on. A truly remarkable and important moment in pop music history.”
Live Aid at 40 – When Rock ‘n’ Roll Took on the World, premiering at Sheffield DocFest;
1:30pm Sunday 22nd June at The Crucible Theatre, followed by a conversation with series producer Angus Macqueen
The Guardian gave a 4 star review upon release of the first 2 episodes in early July
“Among the many startling, blackly comic archive clips in Live Aid at 40: When Rock ’n’ Roll Took on the World is footage of Geldof at that glitzy party, reeling from what he had seen on TV and remarking to a fellow guest that it was “gross” for them to be enjoying champagne and canapes. That tension between glamour and guilt is at the heart of this three-part retrospective that doesn’t ignore the flaws in Geldof’s grand plan to use music to feed the world. It’s a fascinating portrait of a complex man’s imperfect attempt to solve an impossible problem.”
