Self Aid was a benefit concert

Benefit concert

A benefit concert or charity concert is a concert, show or gala featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. Such events raise both funds and public awareness to address the cause at...

 held in Dublin, Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 on 17 May 1986. The concert performances were primarily by Irish musicians, although Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello

Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...

 and Chris Rea

Chris Rea

Chris Rea is an English singer-songwriter, recognisable for his distinctive, husky voice and slide guitar playing. The British Hit Singles & Albums stated that Rea was "one of the most popular UK singer-songwriters of the late 1980s. He was already a major European star by the time he finally...

 were designated "honorary Irishmen" for the day; the event was promoted by Jim Aiken

Jim Aiken (Concert promoter)

Jim Aiken was a concert promoter responsible for bring many international acts to perform concerts in Ireland through his company Aiken Promotions, he was responsible for many big gigs in Ireland such as U2 at Croke Park, and concerts at Slane Castle such as Bruce Springsteen and Queen.Aiken was...

. The concert included the last performance by The Boomtown Rats

The Boomtown Rats

The Boomtown Rats were an Irish punk rock band that had a series of Irish and UK hits between 1977 and 1985. They were led by vocalist Bob Geldof.-Biography:All six members were originally from Dún Laoghaire, Ireland...

.

The purpose of the concert was to highlight the chronic unemployment

Unemployment

Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...

 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. All musicians that took part donated their time free of charge. 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. The song chosen for the finale was "Let's Make it Work", written by Christy Moore

Christy Moore

Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore is a popular Irish folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is well known as one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts...

 and Dublin songwriter Paul Doran

Paul Doran

Paul Doran is a former Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the VFL.Originally from St. Bernard's College, Doran joined Essendon in 1959 and was a fullback in their 1962 premiership side. He retired in 1965 after 82 games for Essendon.-External links:...

. Tributes were paid to Phil Lynott

Phil Lynott

Philip Parris "Phil" Lynott was an Irish musician who first came to prominence as a founding member, principal songwriter, and frontman of the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy....

 who had died just 4 months earlier, including a performance by a reformed Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...

 with Gary Moore

Gary Moore

Robert William Gary Moore , better known simply as Gary Moore, was a Northern Irish musician from Belfast, best recognised as a blues rock guitarist and singer....

 on lead vocals.

Concert performers

The line-up included:

• Auto Da Fe
  Auto Da Fe
  Auto Da Fe were an Irish new wave musical group formed in Holland in 1980 by former Steeleye Span singer Gay Woods and Trevor Knight. The band's sound incorporated keyboards and electronics. Woods stated "It was the happiest musical time I ever had so far. I learned so much. I was ridding myself...
  
  
• Bagatelle
  Bagatelle (band)
  Bagatelle are an Irish rock band who first formed in August 1978. They are well known for their popular pop hits such as 'Second Violin' and other traditional Irish songs such as "Summer in Dublin"....
  
  
• Blue in Heaven
  Blue in Heaven
  Blue in Heaven was a 1982–1989 Irish rock quartet from Churchtown, Dublin, Ireland led by singer Shane O'Neill. They reformed in 1990 as The Blue Angels...
  
  
• The Boomtown Rats
  The Boomtown Rats
  The Boomtown Rats were an Irish punk rock band that had a series of Irish and UK hits between 1977 and 1985. They were led by vocalist Bob Geldof.-Biography:All six members were originally from Dún Laoghaire, Ireland...
  
  
• Paul Brady
  Paul Brady
  Paul Joseph Brady is an Irish singer-songwriter, whose work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age...
  
  
• Chris de Burgh
  Chris de Burgh
  Chris de Burgh is a British/Irish singer-songwriter. He is most famous for his 1986 love song "The Lady in Red".-Early life:...
  
  
• Cactus World News
  Cactus World News
  Cactus World News were an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1984. Founded by Frank Kearns and Eoin McEvoy the original members were: Kearns, McEvoy, Wayne Sheehy, and Fergal MacAindris. The new line up consists of Kearns, Wayne Sheehy, Fergal MacAindris, Eoin Scott and Eoin Watkins...
  
  
• The Chieftains
  The Chieftains
  The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
  
  
• Clannad
  Clannad
  Clannad are an Irish musical group, from Gaoth Dobhair, County Donegal. Their music has been variously described as bordering on folk and folk rock, Irish, Celtic and New Age, often incorporating elements of an even broader spectrum of smooth jazz and Gregorian chant...
  
  
• De Danann
• Rory Gallagher
  Rory Gallagher
  William Rory Gallagher, ; 2 March 1948  – 14 June 1995, was an Irish blues-rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland, and raised in Cork, Gallagher recorded solo albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, after forming the band Taste...
  
  
• The Fountainhead
  The Fountainhead (band)
  The Fountainhead is the name Irish rock band from the 1980s. The band name refers to the novel of the same name by Ayn Rand. Their album titled Voice of Reason is named after the publication with works of Rand, which appeared posthumously....
  
  
• In Tua Nua
  In Tua Nua
  In Tua Nua was an Irish rock group who achieved a modicum of fame and success in both Ireland and Europe throughout the late 1980s.- Biography :...
  
  
• Christy Moore
  Christy Moore
  Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore is a popular Irish folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is well known as one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts...
  
  
• Van Morrison
  Van Morrison
  Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
  
  
• Moving Hearts
  Moving Hearts
  Moving Hearts is an Irish folk-rock band formed in 1981. They followed in the footsteps of Horslips in combining Irish traditional music with rock and roll, and also added elements of jazz to their sound.-Career:...
  
  
• The Pogues
  The Pogues
  The Pogues are a Celtic punk band, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. The band reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to drinking problems but the band continued first with Joe Strummer and then with Spider Stacy on vocals before...
  
  
• Chris Rea
  Chris Rea
  Chris Rea is an English singer-songwriter, recognisable for his distinctive, husky voice and slide guitar playing. The British Hit Singles & Albums stated that Rea was "one of the most popular UK singer-songwriters of the late 1980s. He was already a major European star by the time he finally...
  
  
• Scullion
  Scullion (group)
  Scullion is an Irish folk rock band that came into being in the mid 1970s. They were quite popular in Ireland, and released several LPs, but only two CDs have been released to date - the compilation Ghosts And Heroes on the Kitten label in 1992 and another compilation Eyelids into Snow - A...
  
  
• Brush Shiels
  Brush Shiels
  Brendan "Brush" Shiels is an Irish musician from County Dublin, best known for being the frontman of Gary Moore's first band, Skid Row. Brush Shiels had a TV show on RTÉ called Off yer Brush and was at one point managed by Louis Walsh...
  
  
• Stockton's Wing
  Stockton's Wing
  Stockton's Wing is an Irish band formed in 1977 by four All-Ireland champion musicians - Paul Roche flute/whistle, Maurice Lennon fiddle, Tommy Hayes bodhran, and Kieran Hanrahan banjo/mandolin, along with Tony Callinan on guitar and vocals.-Name:...
  
  
• Thin Lizzy
  Thin Lizzy
  Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
  
  
• Those Nervous Animals
  Those Nervous Animals
  Those Nervous Animals are an Irish rock band from Sligo, Ireland, Formed in 1981, the original membership consisted of lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Barry Brennan, guitarist Padraig Meehan, bassist Eddie Lee and percussionist Cathal Hayden....
  
  
• U2
  U2
  U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
  
  
• Elvis Costello
  Elvis Costello
  Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
  
  

Live For Ireland songs

CD (MCA MCD06027):

• Maggie's Farm – U2
• Seven Into The Sea – In Tua Nua
• Many Rivers To Cross – Elvis Costello & The Attractions
• Dirty Old Town – The Pogues
• Don't Pay The Ferryman – Chris de Burgh
• Harry's Game – Clannad
• The Bridge – Cactus World News
• Looking After No. 1 – The Boomtown Rats
• Here Comes The Knight – Van Morrison
• Don't Believe A Word – Thin Lizzy
• Steel River – Chris Rea
• Make It Work – Christy Moore and Paul Doran
• The Lark – Moving Hearts
• The Island – Paul Brady
• Feel It Now – The Fountainhead
• Exiles – Auto Da Fe
• Tell Me - Blue in Heaven

LP (MCA MCGD 6027):

• Don't Believe A Word – Thin Lizzy
• The Lark – Moving Hearts
• My Friend John – Those Nervous Animals
• A Sense Of Freedom – Les Enfants
• The Arrival Of The Queen Of Sheeba In Galway – De Dannan
• Old Pal – Brush Shiels
• Don't Pay The Ferryman – Chris de Burgh
• Harry's Game – Clannad
• Rock'N'Roll Fantasy – Bagatelle
• Keep On Climbin – Freddie White
• Boil The Breakfast Early – The Chieftains
• Steel River – Chris Rea
• Tell Me - Blue in Heaven
• Maggie's Farm – U2
• Dirty Old Town – The Pogues
• Seven Into The Sea – In Tua Nua
• Follow Me – Rory Gallagher
• Exiles – Auto Da Fe
• Carol – Scullion
• Leave My Kitten Alone – Elvis Costello & The Attractions
• Here Comes The Knight – Van Morrison
• Skidoo – Stocktons Wing
• Independence – Big Self
• The Island – Paul Brady
• Feel It Now – The Fountainhead
• The Bridge – Cactus World News
• Looking After No. 1 – The Boomtown Rats
• Make It Work – Christy Moore and Paul Doran

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