Phil Collins Admits He Worried Performing at Both Live Aid Shows in the U.S. and U.K. Would Look Like He Was 'Showing Off'
Phil Collins Admits He Worried Performing at Both Live Aid Shows in the U.S. and U.K. Would Look Like He Was 'Showing Off'
Meredith WilshereSat, May 30, 2026 at 3:58 PM UTC
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Phil Collins at Live Aid in the US in 1985.
Credit: Larry Busacca/Getty
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In 1985, Phil Collins flew on Concorde to perform at both Live Aid concerts in the United Kingdom and the United States in one day
He was the only artist to play both events after other planned dual performances fell through
Live Aid raised awareness for famine relief in Ethiopia and featured iconic performances by Queen, U2, and more
Phil Collins remembers playing Live Aid in both the United States and the United Kingdom on the same day, as if it were yesterday.
Sitting down with theBBC in a new interview, the 75-year-old singer said of the two 1985 charity concerts, “I remember it very well."
Recalling how it came to be, the Genesis frontman said someone suggested that he "do both" by flying on Concorde — a revolutionary supersonic passenger jet that flew from London to New York in roughly three hours.
“And I said, ‘Yeah, okay,'" he recalled. However, Collins wanted to make sure he wouldn't be the only one making the trip.
Phil Collins at Live Aid in London
Credit: Georges De Keerle/Getty
“And I did say, ‘I'm not the only person doing it, right? Cuz that’ll look like showing off,' and they said, 'No, no, no. Power Station are in America and Duran Duran, some of the same members, they're doing London.' So I said, ‘Uh, sure.’ "
However, he noted that The Power Station "broke up" before then, so he "ended up being the only person." Meanwhile, Duran Duran opted to stay and perform in the United States.
Still, Collins flew between the two concerts on Concorde, performing at London's Wembley Arena before hopping on a helicopter to Heathrow Airport, then jetting off to New York’s JFK airport. From there, he took another helicopter to Philadelphia to perform.
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“Retrospectively, you know, you can look at it and say it bonded the two events. I played the same two songs in both places,” Collins recalled of playing “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” and “In the Air Tonight.” At the UK show, he also did a duet with Sting.
While history was made, he told the BBC that “it wasn't set out like that.”
“It was just a sort of one thing led to another to another to another," he shared.
Phil Collins at Wembley in 1985
Credit: Pete Still/Redferns/Getty
In addition to his solo set in the States, Collins also played drums for both Eric Clapton and the reunion of Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones.
While Collins had listened to "Stairway To Heaven" on Concorde, he previously told Classic Rock that he and the Led Zeppelin bandmates hadn't all rehearsed together and there were some tensions between the musicians, so the performance ended up being a bit messy, leaving him feeling "like a spare part.”
"I'm over it now," he joked to the BBC about the experience.
Live Aid took place simultaneously at London’s Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia’s John F. Kennedy Stadium on July 13, 1985. An estimated 1.9 billion people, nearly 40% of the global population at the time, watched the concert, which benefitted famine relief in Ethiopia.
The Live Aid concerts included The Beach Boys, Patti LaBelle, Hall and Oates, Sade, Sting, U2, The Who, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Joan Baez, Crosby, Stills and Nash, and many more. Queen frontman Freddie Mercury also cemented his spot in history with his iconic performance at Live Aid.
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