BBC to explore the creation of Live Aid in new one off drama

By Ian Cullen Nov 22, 2010, 20:06 GMT

Bob Geldof - © Solarpix / PR Photos

Often times, especially recent history, we hear the question, "Where were you when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon," or the more recent event, "Where were you in the summer of 1985 when Live Aid happened?"

Yet very few people know the inside story of how Live Aid was put together.

Sure, we know why, when and roughly the reasons behind the concert, which cleared the streets of the world and marked an iconic page in the 20th century, but what happened behind the scenes. Who were the personalities involved?

These are questions that may well get answered in the new BBC drama ‘When Harvey Met Bob’, which is to air during the Christmas break on BBC Two.

The 90 minute drama stars Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows) as Bob Geldof and Ian Hart (Backbeat, Five Daughters) as Harvey Goldsmith, the two men who together changed the politics of international aid forever.

In October 1984 Bob Geldof arrives home to find his then wife, Paula, watching the legendary BBC broadcast by Michael Buerk from the feeding camps in Eritrea province.

Bob takes his eyes from the screen only once to see Paula holding their baby and weeping. Deeply affected, Bob moves into action. First he persuades a host of rock stars to give their name and talent for free to the Band Aid record – Do They Know It's Christmas? – which sells millions of copies.

But when he goes to Ethiopia to ensure the proceeds from the record will reach the starving people, he realises that so much more needs to be done. He needs to raise even more money to fulfill his promise that every penny from the record will get there. It is at this point that he conceives the idea of a global music event to feed the world.

Enter Harvey Goldsmith, the famous and well respected music promoter. This is the start of the roller-coaster ride that is the humorous, warm, tension-filled and ultimately deeply moving story of the relationship between the odd couple, as they go from a mad-cap idea and a list of unconfirmed acts, to the biggest televised international charity event in history.

‘When Harvey Met Bob’ is being produced for the BBC by Great Meadow Productions, and producer Kate Triggs, revealed that the team behind this movie were massively inspired by the events of that summer in 1985.

“We were inspired by this story because it has, at its heart, a fantastic relationship that is funny, moving and borne out of the real drama of trying to achieve something huge and unprecedented. It's a film about two men who are prepared to think the unthinkable and achieve the seemingly impossible."

The one off drama, which was commissioned by the BBC for their Autumn/Winter programming is to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Live Aid, and Janice Hadlow, Controller BBC Two said that the drama is as much a celebration of the two men behind the event than it is of the event itself, which to this day remains the biggest ever televised music concert ever.

Great Meadow Productions' other recent credits include the award-winning Margaret for BBC Two, Margaret Thatcher – The Long Walk To Finchley for BBC Four, Bradford Riots for Channel 4 and the hugely popular series Messiah for BBC One.

When Harvey Met Bob is written by Joe Dunlop, directed by Nick Renton and produced by Catherine Magee. The executive producers are Robert Cooper and Kate Triggs for Great Meadow Productions and Stephen Wright and Bethan Jones for BBC. It was commissioned by Janice Hadlow, Controller, BBC Two and Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning. Filming is currently underway in Dublin for a transmission in autumn 2010 on BBC Two and RTE.