Un 13 de abril, pero del año 1985, se llevó a cabo el concierto de rock «Live Aid«, que dio pie a una conmemoración de manera anual: El Día Mundial del Rock.
Estos conciertos, organizados en las ciudades de Londres en Inglaterra y Filadelfia en Estados Unidos, contó con la presencia de importantes bandas e intérpretes del género procedentes de Europa y Estados Unidos con el fin de recaudar fondos a beneficio de Somalía y Etiopía, países africanos que atravesaban por una severa crisis de hambre.
Fue organizado por compositor irlandés Bob Geldof, fundador de la organización «Band Aid Trust», convocado a bandfas como Queen, U2, The Beach Boys, Dire Straits, Reo Speedwagon, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Judas Priest y The Who.
Dado el alcance que tuvo el concierto, que duró 16 horas en total y trasmitido por 72 países, motivo a que se institucionalizará el 13 de julio como como el Día Mundial del Rock, en homenaje al evento Live Aid y a la gran convocatoria de artistas que generó por motivos meramente humanitarios.
Gracias a la unión de estos artistas y el aporte de los espectadores del evento a nivel mundial, Live Aid consiguió superar la suma de los 100 millones de dólares de la época, que fueron destinados al fondo de salvación de las víctimas de la hambruna de África.
Los artistas que estuvieron presentes en el nacimiento de El Día Mundial del Rock.
Estadio de Wembley (Londres)
- Status Quo: Rockin’ All Over the World, Caroline, Don’t Waste My Time.
- The Style Council: You’re The Best Thing, The Big Boss Groove, Internationalists, Walls Come Tumbling Down.
- The Boomtown Rats: I Don’t Like Mondays, Drag Me Down, Rat Trap.
- Adam Ant: Vive Le Rock.
- Ultravox: Reap The Wild Wind, Dancing With Tears In My Eyes, One Small Day, Vienna.
- Spandau Ballet: Only When You Leave, Virgin, True.
- Elvis Costello: All You Need Is Love.
- Nik Kershaw: Wide Boy, Don Quixote, The Riddle, Wouldn’t It Be Good.
- Sade: Why Can’t We live together, Your Love Is King, Is It a Crime?.
- Sting y Phil Collins: Roxanne (Sting), Driven To Tears (Sting), Against All Odds (Phil Collins), Message in a Bottle (Sting), In the Air Tonight (Phil Collins), Long, Long Way to go (ambos), Every Breath You Take (ambos).
- Howard Jones: Hide and Seek.
- Bryan Ferry y David Gilmour: Sensation, Boys and Girls, Slave to Love, Jealous Guy.
- Paul Young: Do they know it’s christmas?,Come Back and Stay, That’s the Way Love Is (con Alison Moyet), Everytime You Go Away.
- U2: Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bad.
- Dire Straits: Money for Nothing (con Sting), Sultans of Swing.
- Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody, Radio Ga Ga, Hammer to Fall, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions.
- David Bowie: TVC 15, Rebel Rebel, Modern Love, Heroes.
- The Who: My Generation, Pinball Wizard, Love Reign O’er Me, Won’t Get Fooled Again.
- Elton John: I’m Still Standing, Bennie and the Jets, Rocket Man, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (con Kiki Dee), Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me (con George Michael), Can I Get A Witness.
- Freddie Mercury y Brian May: Is This the World We Created…?.
- Paul McCartney (con Pete Townshend, Bob Geldof, David Bowie y Alison Moyet): Let It Be.
- Band Aid: (en compañía de todos los artistas que actuaron): Do They Know It’s Christmas?.
Estadio John F. Kennedy (Filadelfia)
- Bernard Watson: All I Really Want to Do.
- Joan Baez: Amazing Grace, We Are the World.
- The Hooters: And We Danced, All You Zombies.
- The Four Tops: Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over), Bernadette, It’s The Same Old Song, Reach Out I’ll Be There, I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch).
- Billy Ocean: Caribbean Queen, Loverboy.
- Black Sabbath: Children of the Grave, Iron Man, Paranoid.
- Run DMC: Jam-Master Jay, King of Rock.
- Rick Springfield: Love Somebody, State of the Heart, Human Touch, Jessie’s Girl.
- Reo Speedwagon: Can’t Fight This Feeling, Roll with the Changes.
- Crosby, Stills & Nash: – Southern Cross, Teach Your Children, Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.
- Judas Priest: Living After Midnight, The Green Manalishi, You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’.
- Bryan Adams: Kids Wanna Rock, Summer of ’69, Tears Are Not Enoutgh, Cuts Like a Knife.
- The Beach Boys: California Girls, Help Me, Ronda, Wouldn’t It Be Nice, Good Vibrations, Surfin’USA.
- George Thorogood & The Destroyers (con Bo Diddley y Albert Collins): Who Do You Love?, The Sky s Crying, Madison Blues.
- Simple Minds: Ghost Dancing, Don’t You (Forget About Me), Promised You a Miracle.
- The Pretenders: Time The Avenger, Message of Love, Stop Your Sobbing, Back on the Chain Gang, Middle of the Road.
- Santana: Brotherhood, Primera Invasión, Open Invitation, By the Pool, Right Now (con Pat Metheny).
- Ashford & Simpson: Solid, Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand) (con Teddy Pendergrass).
- Madonna: Holiday, Into the Groove, Love Makes the World Go Round.
- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers: American Girl, The Waiting, Rebels, Refugee.
- Kenny Loggins: Footloose.
- The Cars: You Might Think, Drive, Just What I Needed, Heartbeat City.
- Neil Young: Sugar Mountain, The Needle and the Damage Done, Helpless, Nothing Is Perfect (In God’s Perfect Plan), Powderfinger.
- The Power Station: Murderess, Get It On.
- Thompson Twins: Hold Me Now, Revolution (con Steve Stevens, Nile Rodgers y Madonna).
- Eric Clapton (con Phil Collins): White Room, She’s Waiting, Layla.
- Phil Collins: Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now), In the Air Tonight.
- Led Zeppelin (con Phil Collins): Rock and Roll, Whole Lotta Love, Stairway To Heaven.
- Duran Duran: A View To a Kill, Union of the Snake, Save a Prayer, The Reflex.
- Patti LaBelle: New Attitude, Imagine, Forever Young, Stir It Up, Over the Rainbow, Why Can’t I Get It Over.
- Hall & Oates: Out of Touch, Maneater, Get Ready, Ain’t Too Proud to Beg, The Way You Do The Things You Do.
- Mick Jagger: Lonely At The Top, Just Another Night, Miss You, State of Shock (con Tina Turner).
- Bob Dylan, Keith Richards y Ron Wood: Blowin’ in the Wind, When the Ship Comes In.
- Lionel Richie y Harry Belafonte (junto a todos los artistas y agrupaciones que actuaron): We Are The World.