Live Aid Lives Again: Just For One Day Hits the Right Notes

Just For One Day – the Live Aid Musical | booking until 10th January 2026

It’s 12 noon in London. It’s 7 am in Philadelphia. And on stage at the Shaftesbury Theatre, the music’s already started. Just For One Day is the Live Aid musical, and yes, just in case you’re wondering, it really does feature “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” It’s loud, energetic, and packed with music from the original day. But it’s also doing something else, trying to tell the story behind that extraordinary event.

How? With a framing device involving a mum explaining to her daughter what Live Aid was all about. That’s your way in. Then in come Bob Geldof, played by Craige Els, and Midge Ure, and we get the behind-the-scenes of how it all came together. The show mixes that story with full-throttle musical performances from an insanely talented cast.

Now, here’s the thing. The book or script, written by John O’Farrell, is clunky. It just is. There’s a lot of exposition, and sometimes it feels a bit too “on the nose”. I remember thinking, wouldn’t a documentary do the job better? However, then the singing kicks in – and that’s where the whole thing lifts off.

The cast are phenomenal. Every number is belted out with power and precision. These are proper performances, sung with conviction and skill, not impersonations. Songs from Queen, Elton John, Bowie, U2, they’re all there, and they’re all fantastic. You get that same sense of electricity the original concert had. For the music alone, it’s worth going.

Craige Els is very good as Bob Geldof, rough around the edges, charismatic, and utterly convincing. And the night I went, we even got the real Bob at the end, turning up and giving us a 20-minute unscripted rant. He seemed impressed with Craige’s performance. And if you’ve got Geldof’s seal of approval, you’re probably on the right track.

The show doesn’t shy away from criticism either. There are nods to the complexities of Live Aid, the politics, the white saviour question, and they’re handled with more care than you might expect. The rap battle involving Margaret Thatcher was slightly cringemaking and reduces a serious issue to a joke, which I thought was tonally off, although the audience seemed to lap it up.

And if you are worried that you will be asked by Bob to “give us your money” – don’t be – by buying a ticket you will already have contributed, as 10% from the sale of all tickets is being directly donated to the Band Aid Charitable Trust. So far, the show has raised over £850,000, which is an amazing achievement.

Just For One Day is trying to do two things at once: tell a story and bring the music to life. It doesn’t always get the first bit right but the second is worth the price of admission alone. If you remember Live Aid, it’s a blast from the past. If you weren’t there, this is the next best thing.

For more theatre reviews, previews, and original cultural coverage across the capital, visit EyeOnLondon. We’d love to hear your thoughts on Just For One Day – share your views in the comments.

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