A performance at charity event Live Aid had Paul McCartney “scared stiff” according to organiser Bob Geldof.
The Beatles and Wings member was reportedly terrified of performing to the Wembley Stadium crowd but wanted to be there to support the cause. His performance was very nearly a disaster, though, with McCartney experiencing tech troubles during his first on-stage appearance in years. Geldof, the event organiser, confirmed McCartney had not performed in front of an audience since the death of John Lennon. With the Let It Be songwriter returning to the stage, the pressure was on not just for McCartney but the organisers too. Geldof has since shared how the performance very nearly went wrong.
Speaking with Chris Evans on Virgin Radio, Geldof said: “I had asked Paul McCartney to come [to Live Aid]. Paul hadn’t played since John [Lennon] died. He was scared stiff and on the drive up to Wembley, he was listening to the show. He comes out on stage and begins Let It Be, and then bang, microphone goes down.
“He doesn’t quite realise it at first and then I’m at the side of the stage with [David] Bowie and Pete Townshend and Alison Moyet, as you are, and suddenly the crowd starts singing. So if you listen to the actual release on the soundtrack of Live Aid and you bring up the faders on the crowd, the crowd sing it for Paul.
“Pete says, ‘We’ve got to go out and help.’ So we just go out on stage and we start singing and then the microphones come back on. That actually happened.” Fans went on to praise McCartney for his performance at Live Aid. A post to the r/PaulMcCartney subreddit featured an interview with the Live and Let Die songwriter, with fans suggesting that his performance was a fitting return to the stage.
One user wrote: “It definitely would be hard enough to go in front of 1,000 people under those circumstances. To play in front of 70,000+ people as well as millions watching on TV must’ve been a really nerve-racking experience. With him at the piano and no backing band it must’ve felt like being under the microscope.”
Another added: “Love listening to him. He’s clearly a bit jittery here which came out in the performance — wonder if it was the weight of the particular event or just that he hadn’t performed in a long time.”
It marked the first time McCartney had performed not only since the death of Lennon, but also since his drugs bust in Japan. Wings would disband just a year after the arrest, and McCartney would begin a career as a solo artist, releasing his first albums as a solo musician since 1971’s Ram.
