Live Aid at 30: Thomas Dolby feared he'd ruin concert - CNN.com
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
David Bowie – Seen performing in 2004, Bowie sang four solo songs at Live Aid. In 2015, he reportedly is co-creating an off-Broadway musical based on his 1976 film, "The Man Who Fell to Earth." Also, a new Bowie album of retrospective material is expected this year. It's set to include a new song marking the performer's 50-year recording career.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Thomas Dolby – The musician who put together Bowie's backup band at Live Aid was already famous for his 1982 hit "She Blinded Me With Science." Today, Thomas Dolby is a professor at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University, where he teaches classical musicians, composers and filmmakers. He's also writing a memoir due out next year.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
U2 – This iconic band's Live Aid show led to a memorable moment when frontman Bono jumped offstage to help a fan who was being crushed by the crowd at London's Wembley Stadium. In 2015, U2 launched a concert tour of North America and Europe, including this stop in Inglewood, California, in May.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Queen – Queen's performance was hailed as a highlight of Live Aid. With a doctorate in astrophysics, lead guitarist Brian May, here in 2015, recently joined experts at the London Science Museum to discuss asteroids. An AIDS fund-raiser honoring Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991 at age 45, is set for September. That same month the band is scheduled to tour South America with current lead singer Adam Lambert.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – This band chose "American Girl" as the first song to be played at Live Aid's U.S. venue, JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. Tom Petty, right, here playing with longtime band mate Mike Campbell in 2014, is still going strong. The band's album "Hypnotic Eye" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts and was nominated for a Grammy.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Run-D.M.C. – Run-D.M.C.'s Darryl McDaniels, left, aka D.M.C., and Joseph Simmons, aka Run, rocked Tennessee's Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival this year, reprising hits such "It's Tricky," and "Walk This Way." Here they perform in Miami Gardens, Florida, in March. Simmons is reportedly set to co-host a TV talk show on the OWN network in 2016.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Midge Ure – Scottish Live Aid co-founder and performer Midge Ure still tours internationally. Seen here in 2014, Ure recently told The Mirror about his battles with substance abuse before making a new life with his yoga-teacher wife and four daughters.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Spandau Ballet – Steve Norman, Martin Kemp and Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet -- performing in 2014 -- are booked for music festival performances this summer ahead of a new album release next year. A feud over music rights sparked a rift that lasted many years before they reunited in 2009.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Elvis Costello – In the decades after Live Aid, Elvis Costello joined the ranks of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , and in 2003, married jazz singer Diana Krall . This summer he's touring with another Hall of Fame act that gained fame in the 1970s -- Steely Dan.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Nik Kershaw – Kershaw -- seen here in 2014 -- returned to performing in 1999 after years of focusing on writing and producing music. The singer, whose biggest hits included "Wouldn't It Be Good," told The Telegraph he wishes he'd enjoyed performing at Live Aid more, but he was too green and terrified at the time.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Billy Ocean – Billy Ocean performed hits "Caribbean Queen" and "Loverboy" at Live Aid. These days, he's still taking the stage, including here in London in May.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
The Hooters – Remember the Hooters? Maybe not. During Live Aid, the group played its hits "And We Danced" and "All You Zombies." The Hooters, including Eric Bazilian, left and Rob Hyman, seen here in 2003, reunited more than 10 years ago and continue to tour.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Dire Straits – Frontman Mark Knopfler, left, sang to the Live Aid audience about how to get "money for nothing and chicks for free." Nowadays, he's touring in support of his new album, "Tracker ." Here, he performs in Paris in 2013.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Sade – It's hard to follow Sade, seen here in 2011. The singer who performed "Your Love Is King" and other songs at Live Aid openly admits she "avoids celebrity." She told Reuters in 2012, "I don't consider myself a celebrity, I consider myself a songwriter and a singer -- a person who makes music."
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Howard Jones – Celebrating his 60th birthday with a North American tour , Howard Jones now includes interactive multimedia elements as part of his performance. When he's not touring, Jones lives in Somerset, England. Here he performs in London in 2013.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Paul Young – "Everytime You Go Away" and "Come Back and Stay" were part of Paul Young's Live Aid set.
Simple Minds – Simple Minds is best known for the hit "Don't You (Forget About Me") from the 1985 film "The Breakfast Club." Now, the band peforms with just two original members, including lead singer Jim Kerr, here in 2015, and guitarist Charlie Burchill . The group is still "Alive and Kicking," touring this year and preparing to release its first new album in five years .
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Madonna – Madonna was still relatively new to fame at Live Aid. She quipped onstage about nude photos of herself that had surfaced in Playboy. Now 56, the singer still commands attention. This year, she released a new album and performed at the Grammys. Her revealing outfit didn't disappoint the paparazzi.
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Ashford & Simpson – For a while there was no stopping this husband-and-wife, singing-songwriting team, whose hits were often "Solid (as a Rock)." Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson performed that mega-hit at Live Aid. Twenty-four years later, they sang it at inauguration festivities for U.S. President Barack Obama -- changing the lyrics to "Solid (as Barack)." In 2011, Ashford died at age 70 after battling throat cancer. Simpson continues to perform and recorded an album in 2012.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Bob Dylan – It was at Live Aid where Bob Dylan -- shown here in 2012 -- sparked the notion of Farm Aid, suggesting that performers raise money to save failing family farms in the United States. That same year, Dylan appeared at the first Farm Aid. In 1988, he co-founded the hit-making Traveling Wilburys with some of the biggest names in music. The prolific singer-songwriter continues to record and perform.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
The Cars – The Cars' "Drive" provided the music for a heartbreaking video showing famine victims that was played during the Live Aid concert. Three years later, the band broke up. Vocalist and guitarist Ric Ocasek -- shown here in 2011 -- continues to produce recordings for other bands. In 2000, Cars singer/bassist Benjamin Orr lost a fight with cancer at age 53. The remaining members reunited and released an album in 2011.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Thompson Twins – Lead singer Tom Bailey, shown here in 2014, was one-third of the Thompson Twins, a band named after the characters in the comic strip "The Adventures of Tintin." Bailey and his band mates Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway performed their hit "Hold Me Now" at Live Aid. A year later, Leeway left the band. He has since become a hypnotherapist in California. Currie and Bailey had a child together in 1988 and continued to record music. They split in 2003 . Bailey still tours, performing tunes from his Thompson Twins days.
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Bryan Adams – During Live Aid, Bryan Adams' music was in heavy rotation on U.S. radio stations following release of his 1984 hit album, "Reckless." He played some of those songs at Live Aid, and a few years later went on to win a Grammy and an MTV Video Music Award. This year, Adams is touring to celebrate the 30th anniversary of  "Reckless." Here he performs in Germany in 2014.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Rick Springfield – Rick Springfield did not perform his big hit "Jessie's Girl" at Live Aid. Instead, the actor/rock star chose to play more current hits, including "Human Touch." Springfield, now 65, continues to write, record and perform. In the mid-2000s, he returned briefly to the daytime TV drama that first made him famous, "General Hospital." More recently, Springfield appeared in the 2015 HBO series "True Detective ."
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Mick Jagger – The Rolling Stones frontman had just released his first solo album, "She's the Boss," at the time of Live Aid. He sang a song from that album and also performed a sexy duet with Tina Turner. Jagger, now 71, continues to record and tour, including here in Pittsburgh in June. He co-produced a 2014 Hollywood film about the life of singer James Brown called "Get on Up."
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Tina Turner – Jagger's Live Aid duets with Tina Turner -- "State of Shock" and "It's Only Rock 'n'  Roll" -- raised some eyebrows when he went shirtless and then pulled her leather skirt away to reveal a sexy leotard underneath. Turner's career was on a roll -- she had released her comeback album, "Private Dancer," a year earlier and she was starring in the film "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome." Now 75, Turner is a Kennedy Center honoree and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
REO Speedwagon – Most members of REO Speedwagon who played at Live Aid are still with the band 30 years later: singer Kevin Cronin, at the mic; keyboardist Neal Doughty, hidden; bassist Bruce Hall, second from left; and drummer Alan Gratzer. The band appeared recently on TV's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" with Imagine Dragons.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Phil Collins – Genesis singer Phil Collins generated buzz by performing at Live Aid in the UK and U.S. on the same day -- thanks to a trans-Atlantic flight on a supersonic Concorde airliner. Collins' hits have tapered off since the 1990s. This year, the singer reportedly bought a $33 million Miami mansion that once belonged to Jennifer Lopez. Here he performs at the Prince's Trust Rock Gala in London in 2010.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Hall & Oates – Not only did singer/guitarist Daryl Hall, left, and singer/guitarist John Oates perform at Live Aid, they also backed up R&B legends Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin. Hall & Oates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014. Hall currently hosts a popular online show, "Live From Daryl's House," that features him jamming with guest musicians. Here the duo performs last year at Henham Park in Southwold, England.
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Photos: Live Aid at 30: Where are they now?
Duran Duran – In the years after Live Aid, Duran Duran scored major hits, including 1986's "Notorious," 1993's "Ordinary World" and 2004's "Sunrise." The band has toured for years, including this June appearance at the Sonar Music Festival in Barcelona, Spain. A new album is expected in September.
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Adam Ant – Adam Ant's success cooled somewhat in the wake of Live Aid. During the 1980s and '90s, he scored various roles in TV and films. In 2012, the singer, born Stuart Goddard, told The Mirror he was launching a comeback after battling bipolar disorder. Lately he's been performing, while amusing the press with his opinions on digital technology and the recording industry .
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Bob Geldof – The success of Live Aid led to co-founder Bob Geldof receiving an honorary knighthood in 1986. He has continued his activism while investing time and money in TV production businesses. Geldof, now 63, is shown here in 2014 urging Scots not to break away from the British government.
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