Bob Geldof says David Bowie, not Queen, caused surge in Live Aid donations

Bob Geldof is setting the record straight about a moment in the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody that claimed donations to help famine relief in Ethiopia skyrocketed after the band performed at Live Aid.

Geldof, one of the founders of Live Aid, told The New York Times that it was actually David Bowie who was responsible for the surge in donations.

“The movie isn’t right. Queen were completely, utterly brilliant. But the telephone lines collapsed after David Bowie performed,” Geldof said in the article marking Sunday’s 40th anniversary of the charity concerts, which took place in Philadelphia and London.

Geldof says that ahead of Bowie’s performance, he showed him some outtakes from a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation report on the Ethiopian famine, which were cut from the final report because of the “appalling” images.

“David was crying and said he would cut a song from his set to show the CBC report instead,” Geldof explained. “It’s an extraordinary moment during the concert, because at the end of ‘Heroes,’ which the crowd were all singing, he quietly introduces the clip and asks people to send their money in. It was like a slap in the face.”

Geldof added, “Bowie brought the house down. That was the key moment.”

Live Aid, organized by Geldof and Midge Ure, raised more than $150 million for Ethiopian famine relief.

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