Live Aid: Where are they now?
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Live Aid: Where are they now?

By Thom Patterson, CNN

Updated 1258 GMT (2058 HKT) June 7, 2017
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Live Aid rocked the world via satellite on July 13, 1985. At least 70 acts performed for about 162,000 fans at stadiums in London and Philadelphia. The worldwide TV audience was estimated at around 1.5 billion. The event reportedly raised $245 million in response to widespread famine in Ethiopia. Click through the photos to see what some of the performers have been up to more than 30 years later: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Seen performing in 2004, Bowie sang four solo songs at Live Aid. He died in 2016 at age 69 after losing a battle with cancer. Jo Hale/Getty Images/File
The musician who put together Bowie's backup band at Live Aid was already famous for his 1982 hit "She Blinded Me With Science." Today, Thomas Dolby is a professor at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University, where he teaches classical musicians, composers and filmmakers. Scott Legato/Getty Images/File
This iconic band's Live Aid show led to a memorable moment when frontman Bono jumped offstage to help a fan who was being crushed by the crowd at London's Wembley Stadium. In 2015, U2 launched a concert tour of North America and Europe, including this stop in Inglewood, California. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images/File
Queen's performance was hailed as a highlight of Live Aid. Lead guitarist Brian May -- who now holds a doctorate in astrophysics -- is shown here in 2015. The band's current lead singer, Adam Lambert, stands in for the late Freddie Mercury who died in 1991. Thomas Samson / AFP / Getty Images
This band chose "American Girl" as the first song to be played at Live Aid's U.S. venue, JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Tom Petty, right, here playing with longtime band mate Mike Campbell in 2014, launched a 40th anniversary tour in 2017. Jerod Harris/Getty Images/File
Run-D.M.C.'s Darryl McDaniels, left, aka D.M.C., and Joseph Simmons, aka Run, rocked Tennessee's Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival this year, reprising hits such "It's Tricky," and "Walk This Way." Here they perform in Miami Gardens, Florida, in 2015. Aaron Davidson / Getty Images
Scottish Live Aid co-founder and performer Midge Ure still tours internationally. Seen here in 2014, Ure recently told The Mirror about his battles with substance abuse before making a new life with his yoga-teacher wife and four daughters. Ross Gilmore/Getty Images
Steve Norman, Martin Kemp and Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet -- performing in 2014 -- have recently played at music festivals. A feud over music rights sparked a rift that lasted many years before they reunited in 2009. Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images
In the decades after Live Aid, Elvis Costello joined the ranks of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2003, married jazz singer Diana Krall. Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for SiriusXM/File
Kershaw -- seen here in 2014 -- returned to performing in 1999 after years of focusing on writing and producing music. The singer, whose biggest hits included "Wouldn't It Be Good," told The Telegraph he wishes he'd enjoyed performing at Live Aid more, but he was too green and terrified at the time. Clemens Bilan/Getty Images
Billy Ocean performed hits "Caribbean Queen" and "Loverboy" at Live Aid. These days, he's still taking the stage. C Brandon/Redferns via Getty Images/File
Remember the Hooters? Maybe not. During Live Aid, the group played its hits "And We Danced" and "All You Zombies." The Hooters, including Eric Bazilian, left and Rob Hyman, seen here in 2003, reunited more than 10 years ago and continue to tour. Brill/ullstein bild / Getty Images
Frontman Mark Knopfler, left, sang to the Live Aid audience about how to get "money for nothing and chicks for free." Seen here, he performs in Paris in 2013. David Wolff-Patrick/Redferns via Getty Images/File
It's hard to follow Sade, seen here in 2011. The singer who performed "Your Love Is King" and other songs at Live Aid openly admits she "avoids celebrity." She told Reuters in 2012, "I don't consider myself a celebrity, I consider myself a songwriter and a singer -- a person who makes music."
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Howard Jones still tours and includes interactive multimedia elements in his performances. When he's not touring, Jones lives in Somerset, England. Here he performs in London in 2013. C Brandon/Redferns via Getty Images/File
"Everytime You Go Away" and "Come Back and Stay" were part of Paul Young's Live Aid set.
His career has produced an eclectic mix of soul songs, Tex-Mex and swing band music. Here he performs in London in 2013.
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Simple Minds is best known for the hit "Don't You (Forget About Me") from the 1985 film "The Breakfast Club." Original members are still performing, including lead singer Jim Kerr, seen here in 2015. Ethan Miller/Getty Images/File
Madonna was still relatively new to fame at Live Aid. She quipped onstage about nude photos of herself that had surfaced in Playboy. Now in her late 50s, the singer still commands attention. Kevin Winter / Getty Images
For a while there was no stopping this husband-and-wife, singing-songwriting team, whose hits were often "Solid (as a Rock)." Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson performed that mega-hit at Live Aid. Twenty-four years later, they sang it at inauguration festivities for U.S. President Barack Obama -- changing the lyrics to "Solid (as Barack)." In 2011, Ashford died at age 70 after battling throat cancer. Simpson continues to perform and recorded an album in 2012. Shahar Azran/Getty Images
It was at Live Aid where Bob Dylan -- shown here in 2012 -- sparked the notion of Farm Aid, suggesting that performers raise money to save failing family farms in the United States. That same year, Dylan appeared at the first Farm Aid. In 1988, he co-founded the hit-making Traveling Wilburys with some of the biggest names in music. The prolific singer-songwriter continues to record and perform. In 2016, Dylan won the Nobel Prize for literature. FRED TANNEAU/AFP/GettyImages
The Cars' "Drive" provided the music for a heartbreaking video showing famine victims that was played during the Live Aid concert. Three years later, the band broke up. Vocalist and guitarist Ric Ocasek -- shown here in 2011 -- continues to produce recordings for other bands. In 2000, Cars singer/bassist Benjamin Orr lost a fight with cancer at age 53. The remaining members reunited and released an album in 2011. Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
Lead singer Tom Bailey, shown here in 2014, was one-third of the Thompson Twins, a band named after the characters in the comic strip "The Adventures of Tintin." Bailey and his band mates Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway performed their hit "Hold Me Now" at Live Aid. A year later, Leeway left the band. He has since become a hypnotherapist in California. Currie and Bailey had a child together in 1988 and continued to record music. They split in 2003. Bailey still tours, performing tunes from his Thompson Twins days. Rob Ball/Redferns via Getty Images/File
During Live Aid, Bryan Adams' music was in heavy rotation on U.S. radio stations following release of his 1984 hit album, "Reckless." He played some of those songs at Live Aid, and a few years later went on to win a Grammy and an MTV Video Music Award. Adams toured to celebrate "Reckless'" 30th anniversary. Here he performs in Germany in 2014. Franziska Krug/Getty Images
Rick Springfield did not perform his big hit "Jessie's Girl" at Live Aid. Instead, the actor/rock star chose to play more current hits, including "Human Touch." Springfield, now in his late 60s, continues to write, record and perform. In the mid-2000s, he returned briefly to the daytime TV drama that first made him famous, "General Hospital." More recently, Springfield appeared in the 2015 HBO series "True Detective." Mat Hayward/Getty Images/File
The Rolling Stones frontman had just released his first solo album, "She's the Boss," at the time of Live Aid. He sang a song from that album and also performed a sexy duet with Tina Turner. Jagger, now in his 70s, continues to record and tour, including here in Pittsburgh in 2015. He co-produced a 2014 Hollywood film about the life of singer James Brown called "Get on Up." Jason Merritt/Getty Images/File
Jagger's Live Aid duets with Tina Turner -- "State of Shock" and "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" -- raised some eyebrows when he went shirtless and then pulled her leather skirt away to reveal a sexy leotard underneath. Turner's career was on a roll -- she had released her comeback album, "Private Dancer," a year earlier and she was starring in the film "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome." Now in her late 70s, Turner is a Kennedy Center honoree and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee. TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP/Getty Images
Most members of REO Speedwagon who played at Live Aid are still with the band more than 30 years later: singer Kevin Cronin, at the mic; keyboardist Neal Doughty, hidden; bassist Bruce Hall, second from left; and drummer Alan Gratzer. Not shown here is Gary Richrath -- the REO Speedwagon guitarist who wrote some of the band's biggest hits, including "Take It on the Run" and "In Your Letter." Richrath died in 2016 at age 65. Randy Holmes/ABC/Getty Images
Genesis singer Phil Collins generated buzz by performing at Live Aid in the UK and U.S. on the same day -- thanks to a trans-Atlantic flight on a supersonic Concorde airliner. Collins' hits have tapered off since the 1990s. In 2015, the singer reportedly bought a $33 million Miami mansion that once belonged to Jennifer Lopez. Here he performs at the Prince's Trust Rock Gala in London in 2010. Ian Gavan/Getty Images
Not only did singer/guitarist Daryl Hall, left, and singer/guitarist John Oates perform at Live Aid, they also backed up R&B legends Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin. Hall & Oates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. Recently Hall hosted a popular cable TV series, "Live From Daryl's House," that featured him jamming with guest musicians. Hall & Oates are seen here performing in 2014 at Henham Park in Southwold, England. Andy Sheppard/Redferns/Getty Images
In the years after Live Aid, Duran Duran scored major hits, including 1986's "Notorious," 1993's "Ordinary World" and 2004's "Sunrise." The band has toured for years, including this 2015 appearance at the Sonar Music Festival in Barcelona, Spain. Xavi Torrent/WireImage/Getty Images
Adam Ant's success cooled somewhat in the wake of Live Aid. During the 1980s and '90s, he scored various roles in TV and films. In 2012, the singer, born Stuart Goddard, told The Mirror he was launching a comeback after battling bipolar disorder. Lately he's been performing, while amusing the press with his opinions on digital technology and the recording industry.
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The success of Live Aid led to co-founder Bob Geldof receiving an honorary knighthood in 1986. He has continued his activism while investing time and money in TV production businesses. Geldof, now in his 60s, is shown here in 2014 urging Scots not to break away from the British government. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images/File