According to Stuart Maconie, the start of celebrity culture can be traced back to Live Aid.
“Imagine if it happened in the 1970s – Morecambe saying to Wise: “We need to do something about The Sudan. Let’s get Dick Emery, Tarby, and Larry Grayson.”
The writer and broadcaster took a sell-out Saltaire Festival crowd through some of the 20th Century history highlighted in his latest book, Hope and Glory, which includes a nod to Saltaire.
Comparing his “national service” stint at the NME to his father’s active service in Burma, he said: “I went to a festival in France with Napalm Death. Dad had it quite rough too.”
Maconie led us on an amusing journey through his life and career, his love of music, radio, history, fell walking and travel, from the industrial north to quirky middle England. A jewel in the festival crown.