Craige Els and the cast of Just For One Day – The Live Aid Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London. Picture: Evan Zimmerman
Just For One Day – The Live Aid Musical continues at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London until 10 January 2026.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
There’s nothing quite like a big slice of musical nostalgia to remind some people just how old they are and while it hardly seems like yesterday, many of those arriving at the Shaftesbury Theatre to see Just For One Day – The Live Aid Musical were probably reflecting on just where the 40 years have gone since 13 July 1985, when music united the world in a very noble cause. Live Aid, of course, was an unprecedented global event that brought 1.5 billion people together and the day that music, many claimed, changed the world.
The catalyst went back to a now infamous BBC report aired in late October 1984 which contained deeply disturbing footage of the Ethiopian famine, and being before multi-channel Britain, it was screened into millions of homes, including that of Bob Geldof, lead singer of The Boomtown Rats. Mystifyingly, Geldof has always appeared slightly embarrassed about his obvious talents, but as anyone who has seen that group perform live will testify, he’s a brilliant front man and outstanding showman. A man never short of a few words or afraid of rocking the establishment’s boat, those who had him down as just another somewhat foul-mouthed rock star seriously underestimated him – and continue to do so even now. The personification of a Marmite celebrity, you either love him or hate him, but what you cannot dismiss are his achievements.
On seeing the BBC film, his partner, TV presenter Paula Yates, apparently immediately demanded a £5 charitable donation from anyone visiting their house, to be placed in an envelope pinned to the fridge. Geldof’s call to arms in late 1984 has now achieved legendary status, not just for the ‘favours’ he called in from his music industry mates but the short timescale in which two, star-studded records were written (UK and USA) and recorded and then two huge events organised.
The production at the Shaftesbury Theatre follows a record-breaking world premiere at London’s The Old Vic back in January 2024, and the show’s North American premiere at CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto earlier this year. Written by John O’Farrell and directed by Luke Sheppard, arrangements and orchestrations are by Matthew Brind, with choreography by Ebony Molina, set design by Soutra Gilmour, costumes by Fay Fullerton, lighting by Howard Hudson and sound by Gareth Owen.
It was always going to be impossible to truly re-create the spirt of 1985 and that iconic concert at Wembley Stadium, but the vibrant soundtrack is a wonderfully nostalgic reminder of great songs from the likes of David Bowie, The Who, Queen, Madonna, The Police, Elton John, Paul McCartney and Diana Ross. There’s classic tune after tune here, while it’s great to also hear the likes of Ultravox’s ‘Dancing With Tears in My Eyes’ and The Police’s ‘Message in a Bottle’, the latter containing the perfect scene setting lyric, “sending out an SOS.”
In 2025 given the plethora of charities that now exist, it’s perhaps understandable if peoplefall victim to compassion fatigue, so it’s to everyone’s credit here that this production is just as much about passing on the charitable baton to the next generation as it is about celebrating what was achieved by the class of 1984/5.
The role of Geldof is a tough gig, but continuing in the role he had at The Old Vic, Craige Els is impeccable, ranting and raving, full of angst and anger and never taking no for an answer. His musical stand-off with PM Margaret Thatcher, played joyously by Julie Atherton, to the strains of Elton John’s (and Bernie Taupin) ‘I’m Still Standing’, is pure unadulterated entertainment.
The award for best supporting role here surely goes to Tim Mahendran, truly impressive as Harvey Goldsmith, the ticket and event guru behind many a huge concert and the man without his logistical help Live Aid would probably never have happened.
In an evening boasting an astonishing array of young, diverse vocal talent and non-stop musical masterpieces, only one cover disappoints – Dylan’s ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’. Sometimes, beautiful, lyrical songs are just best kept as close to the original as possible. Mr Zimmerman, you suspect, would not be impressed.
Marking 40 years since the iconic Live Aid concerts in London and Philadelphia, 10% from the sale of all tickets for the musical will be donated directly to The Band Aid Charitable Trust. You can even boost the charity coffers by buying a T-shirt with the slogan, ‘Give Us Your F**king Money’ (copyright Sir B Geldof?).
At the time, cynics said that Live Aid was just a glorified platform that helped launch a few careers and help reboot a few fading ones, but even though that was probably partially true, it was still the day music made history and helped avoid a potentially horrendous human calamity. Sadly, the world had been there before – back in 1971, George Harrison and Ravi Shankar organised The Concert for Bangladesh, two benefit performances at Madison Square Garden, New York, to raise money for Bangladesh relief. As the 1972 documentary shows, the event was fraught with countless problems and dramas on stage and off, and Harrison, back then, really was in unchartered charitable waters on a huge scale.
If there’s a creative team out there brave enough to produce a musical about those events, I’d be the first to put £5 in an envelope pinned to my fridge to help fund it, because as laudable and impressive as The Live Aid Musical is, a scaled down, gritty musical about The Concert for Bangladesh would perhaps be an altogether more intriguing and unpredictable creative prospect.
Derek Smith
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