CLASSIC POP MOMENTS

7 MARCH 1985

© Alamy

Bob Geldof and Midge Ure had pulled off something extraordinary with the hastily organised Band Aid and the Do They Know It’s Christmas? single in 1984. Now it was the turn of the cream of America’s great and good to step up and do their bit for the famine in Ethiopia, via USA For Africa. It was musician and activist Harry Belafonte that first set the ball rolling, with the late Quincy Jones as its curator and producer, together with Michael Omartian, and with a track penned by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. Written in a week at the Jackson family home, the final all-important recording session took place on the night of 28 January 1985. USA For Africa’s mighty cast included Kenny Rogers, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Cyndi Lauper, Tina Turner, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Dionne Warwick, Willie Nelson, Kenny Loggins, Daryl Hall, Huey Lewis, Sheila E., Smokey Robinson and more – Dan Aykroyd even joined the chorus, as did Jackson’s siblings Jackie, La Toya, Marlon, Randy and Tito. Beating Tears For Fears’ epic anthem Everybody Wants To Rule The World to the summit in the UK, We Are The World hit No.1 across the globe, sold 10 million copies and picked up four Grammys. Not only was it the fastest-selling US pop single in history, it’s also the eighth best-selling single of all time – and the first ever single to be certified multi-platinum.