East African Tragedy Appeal Concert

On January 27, 1985 multiple Australian musicians gathered together for the East African Tragedy Appeal Concert. This concert was the first in a series of famine aid related events that eventually led up to the Live Aid concert. Melbourne furniture retailer Bill Gordon along with Countdown producer Grant Rhule staged the event.

Seating over 30,000, the event was held at the Sydney Meyer Music Bowl in Melbourne Australia.

Performers included over forty singers and forty musicians.

Guests included Broderick Smith, Chris Wilson, Larry Groves, Mental as Anything, Mondo Rock, INXS, Midnight Oil, Divinyls, Eddie Raynor, Little River Band, Midge Ure, Pseudo Echo, Kids In The Kitchen, Real Life, I’m Talking, Goanna, Australian Crawl, DD Smash, The Models, Mi Sex Black Sorrows, Split Enz, Stephen Cummings, Joe Camilleri, Dave Dobbyn, Jon English, EuroGliders, John Farnham, Dear Enemy, Dr. Feelgood, Vanetta Fields, Rene Geyer, Hoodoo Gurus, Pink Pinks, Craig Harnath, Ghostwriters, Icehouse,  Sharon O’Neill,
John Schumann, AC/DC, Strange Tenants, and the Uncanny X-Men.

The event was broadcast on television in the form of a telethon with guest tennis players manning the phones including Pat Cash and Peter Mcnamara with guest Gavin Wood doing interviews.

The event was televised on the 9 network and stereo simulcast on radio on FM 104, SA FM, Triple MFM, and EON FM.

Midge Ure was a guest singer of a song written by Brian Canham and James Leigh of Pseudo Echo.
The song titled "Can we Get Together" was to be Australia's contribution to the famine effort. Unfortunately the song, which was sung at this event by Brian Canham and Midge Ure, was recorded in the studio but never made it to pressing. Immediately after the event, Midge Ure flew back to London. He later met up with Bob Geldof to discuss the possibility of a similar event.