1985 was a momentous year when it came to Philadelphia history. Two events from opposite ends of the spectrum helped define the year. On the one hand, they held an all-star concert called Live Aid to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia, and on the other hand, there was a bombing incident against the MOVE group.
“You can’t heal what you don’t reveal,” Charlamange tha God explains the importance of a documentary series entitled “Summer of ’85.”
An Audible Original will be released to commemorate both events. Produced by Kevin Hart and Charlamange tha God’s SBH Productions, with Chris Morrow serving as both writer and creator. Hart also provides narration.
This is Morrow’s sequel to the hugely successful Audible original Finding Tamika.
“Summer of 85” features interviews with Bob Geldof (founder of Band Aid, Live Aid and Live 8), Patti LaBelle, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels and Mike Africa Jr.
Morrow (co-founder and author of Loud Speaker Network) and Charlamagne tha God shared how they came to be involved in the project.
“I’ve been trying to tell the MOVE story for a long time. I didn’t feel like there was a lot of interest, but a lot of credit goes to Charlamagne and Kevin Hart, SBH production,” Morrow said. explained. He continues: It was the first concert I had somehow persuaded his parents to let me attend. “There has been a resurgence of interest in Queen’s performances at London’s Live Aid in recent years in the wake of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ but no one has spoken about Philadelphia,” Morrow said.
Charlamagne explained: I had heard about the MOVE incident and Live Aid, but I didn’t know the connection. I didn’t know Live Aid was in the same summer. I’m also one for conspiracy theories, believe it or not. “
In the series description, MOVE members were referred to as a cult.
“This was a reference to a part of the series that I felt when I spoke with Mike Africa Jr. He technically said MOVE was a cult by definition,” he said. rice field.
MOVE bombing affected survivors and nearby residents. The city is still reeling from the events of that summer, with Penn University’s recent admission that it used the remains of MOVE children without authorization for anthropological research.
There is a lot of misinformation floating around about the MOVE bombing. The creators have said they did their best to preserve the integrity of the events when telling this story.
“It was very important to talk to as many people as possible so that there was no question that this event was actually going on. That included Mike Africa, Jr., who grew up.We also spoke to Bubba Renfro, who was 13 at the time and grew up on Osage Avenue.
The producers want listeners to understand that hearing stories from the descendants, survivors and eyewitnesses of the MOVE bombing will become real to them. This happened 37 years before him, so it’s not old history. Many of the participants are still alive today.
In contrast to the MOVE bombing, Live Aid was a musical extravaganza. It was during his MTV days that it was a music channel.
The British were once again dominating the American charts and Madonna was becoming the “Material Girl”. The concert was watched by approximately 2 billion people from all over the world.
Morrow shares some of the more iconic performances in the Philadelphia part.
“Madonna’s performance was fantastic. The Led Zeppelin reunion turned out not to be the climax as they hadn’t played since John Bonham died. But the highlight was Teddy Pendergrass’ performance.” It was his first gig since the car accident, and he performed “Reach Out and Touch” with Ashford and Simpson. And Patti LaBelle’s performance was incredibly iconic,” said Morrow.
Morrow and Charlamagne want to remind the audience listening that what happened to the MOVE members wasn’t just a show, it was actually involved.
On the music front, it’s worth noting that Philadelphia has long attracted historic musical events, long before Roots Picnic and Made in America.
For more information on “Summer of 85,” visit audible.com.
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