It looked more like the Rose Bowl than a rock concert. A sea of red ribbons and banners worn by 72,000 fans to promote AIDS awareness turned Wembley Stadium into a crimson spectacle Monday night.
It was the first global rock concert to combat AIDS. Featuring 20 major rock acts, from Guns N` Roses to Elton John, the show doubled as a tribute to Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen, who died of AIDS last November.
Besides the 98 musicians taking part in this event, frequent AIDS fundraiser Elizabeth Taylor delivered a speech warning the audience to
”protect yourselves. In just two short weeks there will be as many new infections as there are people here tonight.”
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Taylor`s comments, and the more than four hours of music (which included appearances by David Bowie, Robert Plant, Metallica, and surprise guest Liza Minnelli) were carried via TV to over 70 countries, reaching an estimated audience of 1 billion.
What the show did best was to offer a hard-rocking tip-of-the-hat to an amazingly broad catalog of material from the 20-year career of Mercury and Queen.
Of the early sets, Metallica was the most brutally cutting, though Guns N` Roses` pair of songs (”Paradise City” and ”Knockin` on Heaven`s Door”) came close.
Metallica`s James Hetfield growled brilliantly through ”Stone Cold Crazy”; Roger Daltrey was in Who-level form with ”I Want It All”; and Robert Plant was the perfect choice for the rockabilly ”Crazy Little Thing Called Love.”
All legitimate proceeds from the event will go to AIDS charities worldwide. Concert organizers estimate the extravaganza could take in as much as $40 million, taking into account T-shirt, program and ticket sales and money derived from international television rights.