Self Aid

Self Aid

Self-Aid poster with logo
Genre Pop music
Rock music
Traditional Irish music
Dates 17 May 1986
Location(s) RDS Arena in Ballsbridge, Dublin, Ireland
Years active 1986
Founded by Tony Bolland
Niall Matthews

Self Aid was a benefit concert for unemployment held in Dublin, Ireland on 17 May 1986.[1][2] The concert performances were primarily by Irish musicians, although Elvis Costello and Chris Rea were designated "honorary Irishmen" for the day; the event was promoted by Jim Aiken.[3] The concert included the last performance by The Boomtown Rats.[4]

The purpose of the concert was to highlight the chronic unemployment problem in Ireland at the time, with nearly 250,000 people unemployed. The 14-hour concert was the largest that had ever been staged in Ireland.[3] All musicians that took part donated their time free of charge.[2] All profits from the concert and subsequent album, Live for Ireland, went to the Self Aid Trust. The telethon raised millions of pounds for a job creation trust fund as well as over 1000 job pledges.[1] The song chosen for the finale was "Let's Make it Work", written by Christy Moore and Dublin songwriter Paul Doran.[2] Tributes were paid to Phil Lynott who had died just 4 months earlier, including a performance by a reformed Thin Lizzy with Gary Moore on lead vocals.[5]

Concert performers

The line-up included:

Live For Ireland songs

Alternate Tracks on US Release

Alternate Tracks on Double Vinyl/Double cassette Release

(Note: There have been multiple versions of this album, with varying tracks, in different formats and across different territories.)

References

  1. 1 2 Carroll, Jim. "Self Aid 22 Years On". Irish Times. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Lynch, Mick. "Self-Aid: Looking Back Twenty Years On". Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Self-Aid to Help Irish Unemployed". Billboard. 98 (19): 90. May 10, 1986. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  4. ↑ "History of the Boomtown Rats". Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  5. ↑ Putterford, Mark (2002). Phil Lynott: The Rocker. Omnibus Press. pp. 271–272. ISBN 0-7119-9104-9.
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