FYI - that guy from the crew who came up on state to help is Greg Carol. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on Bono’s motorcycle in 1986. Then Bono and U2 wrote a song called One Tree Hill that was on the Joshua Tree album in honor of Greg Carol.

Best live performers ever. Nobody connected with their audience like they did

This is what you got from them every single concert. That’s why they’re the greatest live band of all time.

It's crazy the stage presence and his instincts as a performer were quite early in their careers. The band had no idea he was going to do the end of that with the crowd and were so pissed they got left hanging with no notice, they almost fired him, but then didn't when that moment became the talk of the day's performance and they figured out that his getting into it made for a powerful moment. Saw them 3 times live, twice on the ZooTV tour and once in the Pop tour. They were all memorable shows.

The girl Bono danced with was 15-year-old audience member Kal Khalique, who was being crushed against the security barrier. All that frantic pointing he was doing was to the security staff, trying to get their attention to this going on, because he saw it happening. As the security people got to the girl, Bono came off the stage, and took the girl in his arms and danced with her until she could calm down. Ms Khalique has related this story herself in a couple of publications in the UK.

This concert was Live Aid at Wembley Stadium in London 1985. 38 Years later this performance by U2 is what is remembered from that show more than any other performance by the dozens and dozens of other bands that made up that event

I was 25 and it was phenomenal!!!!! U2 were already on their way, but this performance through them right to the top! And for good reason! U2 is always full of surprises!!!!! Best band on earth hands down!!!!!🥰👏

Watching From the Sky Down yesterday, I realized that Bono was always good improvising melodies that came to his head, and that was the reason he’s só good melting tags from other songs, like ruby tuesday, simpathy for the devil and walking on the wild side. It’s a skill which I admire from Mike Patton and Eddie Vedder too

The gig became a legend, but at the time the band had an argument afterwards. The performance wasn't planned that way and that meant they couldn't play their full set. Adam, Larry and Edge were really mad at Bono. Still, it shows how well the band is working together, the three of them just kept playing during Bono's unplanned interaction with the women. Thanks for Reaction @david

One of my favorite songs of all time. My “when trapped on a desert island” song. Great review. Cool fact from this live performance: Bono didn’t merely “do antics with the ladies” & get his bandmates pissed at him afterwards. Actually, when Bono went down to the roadies/technicians platform, he saw some people in the front row were getting crushed by the surging crowd-a teenage girl in particular-and he kept motioning to Security to pull them out. But, Security either didn’t understand and/or kept missing the worst case. So Bono jumped down there himself. Of course, yes, he also danced with the teenaged girl to make it into a “TV moment.” But you can see that girl is dazed & can barely stand when she 1st gets hauled out and nearly collapses onto Bono. A UK newspaper tracked her down later for an interview, where she said she was being crushed & suffocating-and credited Bono for saving her life. (She was actually at Live Aid to see Wham! Not a U2 fan until then. LoL) The beautiful thing about this unplanned event was that the rest of band-who couldn’t see into the pit & had no clue where Bono had gone…if he’d fallen off the stage or what-had to just keep playing & riffing. You can heard Adam on bass putting in a serious shift to keep it varied…interesting. Throwing in some lovely, creative stuff. At one pt the band even wondered if they should just stop playing & consider the set a washout. But it’s like you said: U2’s RHYTHM SECTION IS SO TIGHT that even when things go wrong…it’s right. (Days later, when the rest of band realized just how incredibly well the whole thing played out on global telly and how much new fans & press across the world dug what Bono did, they forgave him and didn’t kick him out of the band. LOLZ. U2 shot to superstardom & the rest is history. .)

For me this is one of the best live performances ever, I'm old enough to remember watching this live (on TV) 16 years old with my whole life ahead of me

I was in my early 20's when I watched this live broadcast from Wembley Stadium. You have to have been that age at that time to realize the impact that U2 had on the music scene. I haven't been a big fan of U2 since the '90s but back in the 80's, they were incredible. One of the first bands ( that I know of ) that used a backing track ( as well as guitar delays ) to get that sound in a live setting.

This performance made U2 to Rock‘s hottest ticket in the 80s.

The guy handling Bono's mic was Greg Carrol, U2 met him in New Zealand I where he was working for another band, and U2 offered him a job to basically be Bono's right-hand man (I hope I got that right). Greg died in a motorcycle accident in Dublin in 1986.

One Tree Hill is about that stage hand.

These guys are my favorite band for nearly 30 years now, I love them for the great music and lyrics as much as their engagement in politics and charity projects. And for holding on for so long to each other 😍👍👍 and this song is... just spectakular

The rythym section is amazing. The bass parts are simple at times but really powerful and later on their were more complex bass lines. Bonos voice in that era was at its zenith. He is still great but this was the height of his power

By this time, U2 had been touring since the early 80's, and Bono was known for reaching out to the audience. Check out The Electric Co from Dortmund Germany 1984. High energy performance.

I love U2 especially back in the 80's. The 1983 Red Rocks Concert is my favorite. Actually I think most bands from those days sounded better back then. Everybody. The sound was much more edgy and raw. Everybody today live sounds overprocessed. Smooth. I remember watching this whole Live Aid all day with a bunch of people at a party. Everybody got revved up when U2 came on.

u2 is a monster band. Larry and Adam are one person, Bono is a natural showman and Edge makes melody growns and get bigger with 2 chords.

It was the point of U2 became one of the biggest band in the world

Hats off to Larry Mullen Jr for keeping the beat for so long while Bono jumped in to rescue the woman. It went on for so long, that they did not have time play their single “Pride” (in the name of love)

Thanks for reacting to and evaluating this performance. U2 is a big part of the musical tapestry of my youth. Bono defined showmanship for me and will always be my favorite. And, Bono also has the best hair in rock 'n roll, IMO. XD

thank you david for u2 with almost 50 years i am still fans of the band ,the best

I like your reactions because you know a lot about what's really going on (behind the scenes in a way).........You get it!!! Most people don't really know how to "dissect" a song.

when time stood still- amazing

That young lady was being crushed up against the fencing and Bono had security pull her out, she was at the experience tour just a few years ago, Full circle!!!!!❤👌

Still me favourite U2 song since i saw this very performance live on TV here in Ireland many years ago.

I was 15 years old and I watched the whole day. I was all into U2 (still am) and deeply in love with Larry Mullen jr (the drummer) ☺ I knew he was way smaller than I am but pffff was he handsome 😘💋

Awesome review! I knew I was on shaky ground with an 11 minute song but I'm really glad you were able to appreciate the showmanship. Plus he did parts of satellite of love by Lou Reed and goodbye ruby Tuesday and sympathy for the devil from the stones so it was like a 4 for 1. Lol. Fyi the second venue was Philadelphia you were right. Veterans stadium. Thanks again for your take on the song. Stay awesome!

I've always thought U2's rhythm section was underrated... I could never really explain why tho (hah), but you kinda hit the nail on its head: they're just very *tight*

Been a fan of U2 since 1979,when I got hold of a copy of their debut EP "Three",and they continued to release some outstanding stuff,and "Bad" here was no exception,still one of my favourite U2 songs,but by the late 80s,even though their product was still strong,mediocre material was starting to creep in as they fully embraced their stadium status (a thing that befalls many acts),and Bonos political and social profile were turning him into a Sting - type of character (I'm no fan of Sting),but that's my personal opinion,and the one thing that differentiates Bono is those amazing vocals of his,and they are superbly put on display here. There are many live performances of "Bad" around,but this to me is still the most poignant. The whole band deserves special credit as they just sat in the groove the whole way through,from those chiming guitar histrionics,to looping bass lines to that military like precision drumming - they were on fire. Great reaction Dave,and yes,a big shout out to their stage hands.

He noticed she was getting crushed from the crowd behind her so made sure security got her out. His and her words on the day.

Loved how you missed out the on classic "Satellite of love" "Ruby Tuesday" "Walk on the wild side" and "Sympathy for the Devil" vignettes

You should find and react to them playing Sunday Bloody Sunday at this same concert. An Irish band playing a song about British brutality against the Irish, In Britain.

I'm Irish and many reasons to be proud that day, starting with the man who put the gig together. I rem saying everyone is going to rem this. And then just after 6 O'Clock Mercury took to the stage. Thankfully I was a massive Queen fan and had already seen them twice live. Bono thought he had fuc**d it up and walked off the stage thinking he was going to get an earful from the rest of the band.

Always has been one of my favorite U2 songs!

Good reaction, love the details like the recognition for road crew and the interaction with public

Dude, you have sucked me in. Another great reaction video of a U2 performance. These keep popping up on my suggestion feed and I ignore most of them. You do a really great job and your sincerity comes through. Great shout out to the road crew and rhythm section. As others have noted in the comments, this performance was an iconic one for U2 and when you get a chance, watch the full performance. I am not ashamed to say I had tears watching this and it still gets me emotionally. Cheers!!!

Check out their full performance from the Conspiracy Of Hope Tour from the following year, 1986, at Giants Stadium. At the time, they were in the midst of recording The Joshua Tree. Bono was on a whole other level that night. Bad is my all time favorite U2 song. I've seen them live three times, and they haven't played it at any of those shows. When it plays, it's like a high that no drug can ever replicate.

Bono always pulls someone from the crowd, it's beautiful!!!!!

Bono always likes to cross that line and feels its important to connect with an audience member but in this case it almost destroyed the band. Because Live Aid had so many performers and such a tight turn around for getting people on/off stage (they had a turntable system so while one band was performing, behind the scenes another band was cleared away/setting up and then they turn the stage around) every band had between 17-20 minutes max. When it got to 17 a traffic light on the side would switch to yellow and the instructions were "You won't see it turn red because we'll cut the power". U2 originally had planned a 3 song set for that 20 minutes... Sunday Bloody Sunday/Bad/Pride (in the name of love) which was important because that was their latest single at the time. But this being their first ever stadium gig Bono didn't realise how much trouble trying to get audience members on stage was or jumping down would be, the band was essentially left playing an instrumental for 5 minutes and had no time left. So when they wrapped and got back stage there was a blow out fight where they accused Bono of ruining their biggest chance by grandstanding. They actually considered breaking up.

This is in the old Wembley Stadium in London, it was epic!

21:20 spot on observation - and it wasn't planned that way. The story goes this was the 2nd song of U2s 3 song set - and they blew the time limit and had to leave after it. The band was mad at at Bono at first, but later reccognized it as the great live moment it was.

Bono of course! I'm the same age as him and I had a mullet the same time he did and we were both trying to get them to grow out!😂 YIKES!😂

I heard that they were supposed to play Pride in the name of love after this but didn't have time.

Was never a big U2 fan, but I really enjoyed this performance. Maybe I have to revisit them

ok David this for die hard U2 fans this the best song U2 have ever written this was at wembley stadium london also the roadie guy who was quick to spot Bono dropping the mike was sadly killed in Dublin in a motorcycle accident his name was Greg carroll he was from New Zealand and they wrote a song about him called one tree hill which they dedicated to him every night on the Joshua tree tour in 2017 -2018

for your next U2 review......October/Bullet the Blue Sky live from Paris on the Innocence & Experience Tour

It was a good day !.... But I really like this track from Rattle and hum ✌️🇬🇧

The funny thing about this performance is that this is what to the media points to as the band's real breakout moment. But this is one of their worst recorded performances of this song. Edge's timing is off quite a bit. And when you use delay like he does, every mistake is amplified that much more lol. Now, in their defense, this song would not be easy to play live. It's basically just Asus4 - A - Dsus2 - D, so it has a very droning sound. Any mis-timed pluck of a string takes you out of that drone. The album version is just about perfection though. Especially the way that the guitar and drums kind of drone, but the base uses that as a kind of tapestry to paint all over. Listen to the album version (The Unforgettable Fire) with earphones on if you want to hear what I'm trying to describe. The stage hand's name is Greg Carroll. He died sometime between this show and the recording of The Joshua Tree. Check out "One Tree Hill" from that album. It is a beautiful elegy for Greg. Certainly worth your time.

When U2 were still a great band. This pushed Queen for the greatest set at Live Aid. I watched it live. This is from Wembley Stadium. London. One of the great live performances. They were supposed to do New Year's Day too, but they extended Bad, so only did 2 songs. The other being Sunday Bloody Sunday. U2 had released The Unforgettable Fire the previous year to some success, but this performance pushed them into the stratosphere. They followed it up with The Joshua Tree album in 1987 and the rest is history The Edge is Dave Evans Bono is Paul Hewson Best Mullet? Take a look at Chris Waddle (an England Footballer)

Really good commentary, well done. Just wanted to point out that the reason for his rich vowel formations is that he's from Dublin. U2 are an Irish band.

Loved that you gave the shout out to the road crew guy :) Always love U2! Probably my second favorite Live Aid performance after Queen.

Locked in 🔒

Live in Boston 2001 was there best concert and there version of bad was brilliant then.

To clear it up they were supposed to play Pride after the first song which was Bad but unfortunately bono got carried away and started pulling girls out the crowd. By the time he got back on stage it was to late to play the other song so he filled in which was a credit to the other bad members when he went into a lou Reid song and they had to ad-lib to it.

Dont know if swayze’s or Bono’s mullet was the most impressive, but both ofthem qualify to go to a supertruck show in Wyoming

Great song not a hit but one of my favs....as always great review...keep up the good job...

Ye the old wembley in London absolutely beautiful

What a great song is this one. All about drugs abuse and cut with that. Great, great music (and lyrics)

Yes Dave

Every Springsteen concert I've ever attended has aspects of this. Regardless, great moment in front of 90, 000

A lot of people don’t know this but the guy running around after Bono, wasn’t actually one of the band roadies, Bono so impressed with what he was doing, he actually employed him as his own personal Rodie. Unfortunately he was killed in a motorcycle crash in 1986

DAVID! You have to react to Seru Giran - La Grasa de las Capitales. It was an argentinian prog rock band from the 70’s, considered the greatest rock band of spanish-speakers countries. The band was conformed by keyboardist/singer Charly Garcia (a virtuoso who wrote the song when he was 17), guitarist/singer David Lebon, bassist/singer Pedro Aznar and drummer Oscar Moro. They often are compared with The Beatles, not only because the music, also because the impact the band had on society, at that (mid 70’s) Argentina was suffering a dictatorship, and this band was something like the voice of the people, they literally risked their lives doing what they did, they even had to exile to Brazil in 1978, they evntually came back to Argentina one year later and released this album, that is their sophomore album. I hope you react to this because really, is MIND-BLOWING, even Queen and Jaco Pastorius saw them live in 1981 and they were shocked with their amazing performance. I will put the link of this song, that has the same name of the album, and for me it’s their best song: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/fLxdirmKyM22Z3k.html

I saw therm live at Notre Dame ,U. in Indiana. Great show in a small indoor arena.All big hit songs. Loud group! Great gig!! Tickets were won on a radio call in .$45.00 each in 2000. The Elevation Tour. The whole place was on cloud 9 !!

saw them in PHX in 02 - best concert i've ever seen - small arena for them 20,000 and tickets sold out in 3 minutes - needless to say everyone there was a huge fan

Was Philly. Phil Collins played at London and Philly the same day thanks the earth’s rotation and the Concorde

Regards from Chile.

I know is about U2, but David you should see Bruce Springsteen singing "Save the Last Dance for Me" Live Albany 2014

U2 ARE the GREATEST band EVER! Yes I WILL take getting jumped on! lol

"It's magical when the performer crosses the barrier..." The image of Mike Patton's stage dive on Rock in Rio suddenly came to mind....

It's Wembley Stadium UK

A really interesting song for a reaction is "I'll Be Your Domino", a b-side from the Chili Peppers that has a lot of nice ideas going on, especially from Flea and John. Here's the link: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/p8uhq92m2Lu2moU.html

Nice song

That stadium was the best

Great name sir.

U2 sempre magnifico

Bono!

It's Wembley Stadium.

Probably someone already said it here, but the bad got really mad at Bono after this performance, as their time ran out and they didn't get to perform their biggest hit that was airing back then "Pride (In the name of Love)". History proved the other 3 wrong :)

Early U2 is literally impossible to "overrate". They wrote relatively simple songs from chord structure, but Bono was a fantastic front man, the edge was effortlessly inventive within their structures and the rhythm section was tight AF. Yes, Bono became ego driven and They tamed the rhythms later. But, until the nineties they were a solid unit.

It is cut 1-2 min of the performance at the end which is a shame, love it when the band continues playing. One of my U2 favourite songs, especially live.

Espero el dia que veas last de nine inch nails

1978-1980 Is my predicted when you were born

I think he noticed that the woman was being crushed against the fence. The story i heard anyway.

Good old wembley stadium london

Wembley Stadium UK

Ye JFK stadium Philadelphia. Salford UK. Eh we had a few decent bands as well.

I believe thay song was about a heroin epidemic in Ireland (?). Anyway, I think they did their best work when they had something they needed to write about.

I wanna get GOLD!!

This is Wembley

Old Wembley stadium London m8.

You asķ any rock star it's Wembley

Back then - and many times since - Bono would call up a girl in the crowd to come dance with him. He went to do it this time and saw this girl being trampled by the crowd, so he motioned security to help her out. It took so much time that the band just kept looping and they didn't get to perform their big hit "Pride (In the Name of Love)".

Bono...Swayze's was too wavy all over.

Hold on a second. If we are talking Mount Rushmore of Mullets then Brian Bosworth has to be one of them.

If you ever see flags in the crowd it's definitely in Europe.

Bono equaled better mullet Imo. 😁

This is one of those songs where you get in line to take a piss.