On 13 July 1985, on the occasion of Live Aid, two simultaneous charity concerts were held in Philadelphia and London, involving the most important artists of the moment.
Phil Collins was on tour in the United States when he met Robert Plant, who asked him to participate in Live Aid in Philadelphia. Collins accepted without hesitation.
Sting, the former frontman of The Police, also reached out to Collins. Not wanting to sing alone, he asked him to accompany him on stage at Live Aid in London. Again, Collins accepted.
However, since the concerts were taking place at the same time, it seemed impossible for Collins to perform in both locations, separated by an ocean. But the producers didn’t give up and proposed an adjustment to the schedules, taking advantage of the time zone and a flight on the Concorde to make the undertaking feasible, at least in theory. Collins agreed to this adventure, which had to be planned down to the smallest detail.
The big day arrived on 13 July 1985. Collins performed at Wembley Stadium at 2pm with Sting, on a day which also saw Paul McCartney, The Who and Queen on stage. As soon as his show finished, he hopped on a helicopter to the airport, where he boarded the Concorde that took him to Philadelphia in 3 hours.
During the flight, Collins attempted to establish a live connection to Philadelphia, which, although it had audio problems, was a milestone in the novelty of the feat. The most significant achievement, however, was landing in New York and taking a helicopter to Philadelphia, thus realizing an idea that seemed crazy.
Arriving at Live Aid in Philadelphia, Collins didn’t stop. First he performed with Eric Clapton, then alone, and after concluding his show, he announced the long-awaited return of Led Zeppelin, with him on drums.
On that memorable day, Phil Collins played at Live Aid in London and Live Aid in Philadelphia, thanks to Concorde.
Credit Goes: Phil Collins
