Cov Aid 1985 - Colourfield

 Cov Aid 1985 - Colourfield

by Pete Clemons

Just over 35 years ago, on Saturday 13 July 1985, the Live Aid project became a reality. It had been the brainchild of Bob Geldof and Midge Ure. They put together a huge benefit concert to raise funds for the Ethiopian famine. The main televised venues were Wembley and Philadelphia although many other events happened elsewhere in the world.

And later that same year Coventry played its part in providing much needed funds for the stricken country as vocalist Paul Smith and guitarist Tony Smyth, of Coventry rock band The Heat, along with Lanchester Polytechnic social secretary Dave Howarth began putting together Cov Aid.

The all day concert was set to be held at Mercia Sporting Club on Saturday September 7th. However the organisers were soon swamped with enquiries from other musicians who were wanting to take part in this bid to help the starving of Africa.

And, early on during the planning period, confirmed bands for the line up included the likes of Major 5, European Sun, Still Life, Sheer Pride, Terminal Tears, After Tonite, Intimate Obsessions and Red on Red.

The ambitious organisers of Coventry's Live Aid concert did make efforts to get Bob Geldof to come to their show – but that never materialised. Regardless, this was still the biggest musical project the city had seen in years and the hope was to sign up several major headline acts.

And then came the real scoop when The Colourfield agreed to play. And this would be the Coventry debut for the Terry Hall led trio. Getting The Colourfield was a real coup and a spokesman for the group said 'The band really want to play. And they want to make it a special one off concert by playing new numbers which will fit the event'. It kind of proved that, despite what he had said about his city, Terry Hall would support it when absolutely necessary.

This also meant that a bigger venue needed to be found. And the gig was moved to October 19th at the Lanchester Polytechnic. Local athletes David Moorcroft and Lorraine Baker agreed to take part as did former Coventry model Debee Ashby who also agreed to get a group of her fellow page 3 colleagues to grace the event.

In the end though it was Ian McCulloch who stole the show when he made a surprise appearance. Ian also defended Terry Hall from the 'fickle fans' who heckled him. The front man with Echo and the Bunnymen said 'I thought Terry and the band played very well. This was not the time or place for anyone to have a go at him. I know what it is like when you play in your hometown. There are some people in Liverpool who don't like me that much'.

But the Bunnyman proved a popular choice when he went on stage for the Colourfield's encore to sing a Door's cover with Terry Hall.

Ian had been rehearsing the number in the groups dressing room throughout the evening and it proved to be a perfect finale. The surprise spot had only been planned a few days before the poly gig. Ian said that the two groups had admired each other's music for some time and that he had been delighted to take part.

After the charity show Terry Hall, in typically belligerent fashion, simply dismissed the hecklers – who, to be fair, had got as good as they gave – by saying that he had really enjoyed their performance. The following day The Colourfield jetted off to America for a ten day promotional visit.

The real stars of the Cov aid show, however, were the backstage crew. To put on fifteen groups in under seven hours was no mean feat. With each band performing, across two stages, for around 20 minutes each. And to their absolute credit the night ran like absolute clockwork were scheduled running times never more than three minutes out. The objective was to raise £3000. And with an audience estimated to be around 800, that was more than achieved.