What if you were 16 years old in the summer of 1985, armed with little more than a Sony Walkman, a few cassette tapes and the belief that somehow — some way — you had to make it to Live Aid?
That’s the idea at the heart of Live Aid Runaways, the new novel by Shane Robitaille.
Shane joins the podcast along with researcher Livi Stanford to take us behind the scenes of a story that mixes fictional characters with one of the most unforgettable real-life events of the decade.
The novel follows teenagers Nick Stark and Stacy Rivera as they make their way toward Philadelphia and JFK Stadium, where Live Aid would bring together some of the biggest names in music on July 13, 1985.
But getting the details right required more than simply firing up an old Live Aid video.
Shane and Livi talk with us about the extensive research behind the book, including conversations with fans, broadcasters, performers and others who helped recreate not only what happened onstage, but what it actually felt like to experience that remarkable day.
We also talk about why Live Aid still holds such a powerful place in Gen X memory, the challenge of weaving real history into fiction, the music that helped shape the characters and the strange joy of returning to 1985 — at least for a few hundred pages.
Frankly, if someone could turn Live Aid Runaways into an actual time machine, we’d happily pack a Walkman and climb aboard.
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