The series debut for NBC’s “Quantum Leap” featured a little Philadelphia flare Monday night. The episode took us back to 1985 and Live Aid, so NBC10 decided to also take a leap back in time to give you a backstage pass to that mega-event. NBC10’s Tim Furlong talked to the man who pulled off a miracle to make that concert happen.
In July 1985, a young music promoter named Larry Magid pulled together one of Philadelphia's greatest concerts: Live Aid, which featured some of the world's biggest bands and singers in an effort to raise money for famine relief.
"Somehow I convinced them to do it in Philadelphia," Magid told NBC10 in an interview last week of his efforts to convince the concert organizers to have it here. "Many of you won’t remember, but at the time, Philly had the biggest stadium in America: JFK (Stadium) was a big horseshoe that could hold over 90,000 fans. It was right in what is now the Wells Fargo Center’s Broad Street side parking lot. And frankly? It was a dump."
But, he added, "It was in just good enough shape that we could pull it off."
Magid and longtime WMMR-FM disc jockey Pierre Robert talked with NBC10 in new interviews about their memories of that crazy Saturday in the middle of the summer of 1985. Live Aid got some attention in NBC's new primetime series, "Quantum Leap," which premiered at 10 p.m., Monday, Sept. 19 on NBC10.
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They also shared some photos with NBC10 from that day 37 years ago. Here's a look:
The Hooters' Eric Bazilian also recalled being the hometown opening act for the Philly Live Aid concert.
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"I think we had a tremendous sense of Philly pride," he told NBC10's Sheila Watko. "Yes, we were the local band, we were the band that was able to say 'welcome to Philadelphia.'"
"This was our city, this was our town, this was our audience and we were able to welcome the world."
