20 Artists Who Played Live 8 Besides Pink Floyd
Most classic rock fans remember one thing about Live 8: Pink Floyd.
When Live 8 took place on July 2 and 6, 2005, it was billed as a series of benefit concerts to help commemorate that summer's G8 conference in Scotland, which raised money to aid poor countries, particularly Africa. But it was also a sequel of sorts to Live Aid – the granddaddy of benefit concerts – which celebrated its 20th anniversary that summer.
With more than 1,000 musicians lined up to participate in the 10 concerts that were held on July 2 (in London, Philadelphia, Berlin and other nations) and the one on July 6 (in Edinburgh), Live 8 boasted many memorable moments. But one show stole the spotlight: Pink Floyd's performance at London's Hyde Park, where David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright played together onstage for the first time in 24 years (and, unfortunately, it turned out to be their last time). Their short set was loaded with classic-era songs -- "Speak to Me," "Breathe," "Money", "Wish You Were Here" and "Comfortably Numb" -- and was widely heralded at the time.
But there were plenty of other great performances at Live 8 that you may have forgotten about, including sets by Deep Purple, Elton John, Paul McCartney, U2 and Brian Wilson. Here are 20 artists who played Live 8 besides Pink Floyd.
Bryan Adams
Audioslave
Randy Bachman
Bon Jovi
Deep Purple
Def Leppard
Peter Gabriel
Bob Geldof
Green Day
Elton John
Paul McCartney
Motley Crue
R.E.M.
Roxy Music
Sting
U2
Velvet Revolver
The Who
Brian Wilson
Neil Young
The Cure
Gordon Lightfoot