Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a movement that started with the release of the successful charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in December 1984. Billed as the "global jukebox", Live Aid was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London, and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia.
ABC are an English pop band that originated in Sheffield in 1980, evolving from the earlier ensemble Vice Versa. The band's classic formation featured Martin Fry as the lead vocalist, Mark White on guitar and keyboards, Stephen Singleton playing the saxophone, and David Palmer behind the drums.
Richard Kern is an American underground filmmaker, writer and photographer. He first came to prominence as part of the cultural explosion in the East Village of New York City in the 1980s, with erotic and experimental films like The Right Side of My Brain and Fingered, which featured personalities of the time such as Lydia Lunch, David Wojnarowicz, Sonic Youth, Kembra Pfahler, Karen Finley and Henry Rollins. Like many of the musicians around him, Kern had a deep interest in the aesthetics of extreme sex, violence and perversion and was involved in the Cinema of Transgression movement, a term coined by Nick Zedd.
Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard is a Dutch photographer, film director, and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2, having handled the principal promotion and sleeve photography for both bands over three decades. His music videos include Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" (1990), U2's "One" (1991), Bryan Adams' "Do I Have to Say the Words?", Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box" (1993), Travis's "Re-Offender" (2003) and Coldplay's "Talk" (2005). He directed the films "Viva la Vida" (2008); the Ian Curtis biographical film Control (2007), The American (2010); A Most Wanted Man (2014), based on John le Carré's 2008 novel of the same name; and Life (2015), after the friendship between Life magazine photographer Dennis Stock and James Dean.
Martin David Fry is an English singer, songwriter, composer, musician, and record producer.
John David Kalodner is a retired American A&R executive.
Amanda Lepore is an American model, singer, and performance artist. A former Club Kid, she has appeared in advertising for numerous companies. Lepore is noted as a regular subject in photographer David LaChapelle's work, serving as his muse, as well as many other photographers, such as Terry Richardson and Ruben van Schalm. She participated in LaChapelle's Artists and Prostitutes 1985–2005 exhibit in New York City, where she "lived" in a voyeuristic, life-sized set.
How to Be a ... Zillionaire! is the third studio album by English pop band ABC. It was originally released in October 1985, on the labels Neutron, Mercury and Vertigo. The album peaked at No. 28 on the UK Albums Chart and at No. 30 on the Billboard 200. Four singles were released from the album, "(How to Be A) Millionaire", "Be Near Me", "Vanity Kills", and the fourth was "Ocean Blue",. It is the group's only album to feature founder members Martin Fry and Mark White flanked by new members Eden and David Yarritu, the latter two credited merely as "performers" with effectively no or limited musical contribution to the album. The four-piece was also presented in a cartoon form for the album's artwork and promotional videos, and wore outrageous costumes and played false instruments for "live" promotional performances.
Absolutely is a greatest hits album by English pop band ABC, released in 1990. It includes most of the band's singles, from 1981 until the album's release. A video package featuring their promos was also released. A new remix of "The Look of Love" was released to promote the album, but not with approval of the band.
Fiona Russell Powell is a British journalist. She is best known for her series of interviews throughout the 1980s in The Face magazine. For a brief period in the mid-1980s, she performed as a member of pop group ABC in videos and onstage to support their cartoon-synth album How to Be a ... Zillionaire! (1985). She was credited originally as "Fiona" in early recordings of material for this album, but eventually performed under the stage name "Eden".
Here is the discography of the English pop band ABC.
Stephen Tashjian is an American multimedia artist. His drag queen character Tabboo! became first known at the Pyramid Club in the East Village underground art scene of New York City in the 1980s. He is also a puppeteer, painter, and singer.
"Be Near Me" is a song by English pop band ABC. It was released in April 1985 as the second single from their third studio album, How to Be a ... Zillionaire!. It peaked at No. 26 on the UK Singles Chart in 1985, and was the only single from the album to reach the UK top 40. It was more successful in the United States where it reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song also went to number-one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart in September of that year, remaining on top for two weeks.
Mark Andrew White is an English singer, songwriter, composer, musician and record producer.
"(How to Be A) Millionaire" is a song by English pop band ABC. It was the first single taken from their third studio album, How to Be a ... Zillionaire! (1985).
Don Snow is a British vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, who plays the Hammond organ, piano, guitar, bass guitar, drums and saxophone. He is primarily known for his work with the new wave bands Squeeze, the Sinceros and the Catch, as well as Procol Harum. He has also frequently toured with Van Morrison and has played the Hammond organ and piano on three of his albums.
Keith LeBlanc was an American drummer and record producer who was a member of the bands Little Axe and Tackhead.
"Vanity Kills" is a song by English pop band ABC, released as the third single from their third studio album, How to Be a ... Zillionaire! (1985). It peaked at No. 70 on the UK Singles Chart and reached No. 91 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
"Ocean Blue" is a song by English pop band ABC, released as the fourth single from their third studio album, How to Be a ... Zillionaire!.
Paul Corkett is a British record producer, engineer and arranger.
