Where were you on July 13, 1985? Like me, probably camped out in front of the TV.

The Live Aid concerts, organized to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia, were held simultaneously in London and Philadelphia 25 years ago this week. The story behind the mammoth undertaking, spearheaded by Bob Geldof, Midge Ure, and music promoter Harvey Goldsmith, is the subject of a TV movie set to air on the BBC this fall.

Live Aid was the concert of a generation, the MTV generation, my generation. It wasn’t the first music-led charity effort — that credit goes to 1971’s Concert for Bangladesh, led by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar for UNICEF — but Live Aid sported a much broader superstar roster, with performances that spanned two continents (and one performer who did as well). Among the big names coming together for a good cause that day were Queen, U2, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Sting, The Who, David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, The Cars, Bryan Adams, Madonna, Duran Duran, and Phil Collins (the singer-drummer famously jetted across the Atlantic via the Concorde for double duty that day).

An estimated 1.5 billion people, across 60 countries, tuned in for the Live Aid telecast. We didn’t subscribe to cable in my house, but one of the independent stations in Chicago carried the MTV feed during the day, with ABC airing its own coverage of the 3-hour finale, hosted by Dick Clark. Though I watched as much of Live Aid that hot and humid day in June as I could (in air-conditioned comfort, of course), I tuned in to see one performer in particular.

Coming off the success of Like A Virgin and its string of four Top 10 singles (a run of six straight to date), Madonna was really hitting her stride that summer. Starring in Desperately Seeking Susan to good notices, her song from the film, “Into The Groove,” was being played everywhere (though only available as the B-side to the “Angel” 12-inch single). Madonna’s three-song set at Live Aid that afternoon wasn’t aired in its entirety because of commercial interruptions (at least on the syndicated feed), so I missed out on the “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” closer (no great loss, really), but was able to witness the still-Material Girl shaking her tambourine to both “Holiday” and “Into The Groove.”

It’s amazing now to watch those clips and realize just how simple the stage setup was. Not just for Madonna’s performance, but for all the artists who participated that day. Live Aid couldn’t escape being a spectacle because of its very uniqueness (dubbing itself “The Day Music Changed History”), but the focus was mostly kept to the cause that had brought everyone together.

The Live Aid 4-disc DVD set is available via Amazon.