It was the morning of July 13, 1985. The streets were unusually quiet as guitarist Kevin Armstrong made his way to the helipad at Battersea Power Station.

His final goal: Live Aid.

Just a few weeks earlier, Kevin, a guitarist already established in the British music scene, had been in a recording studio in South London with David Bowie to record the soundtrack to the film “Absolute Beginners”.

An achievement in itself, but These sessions would prove to be the most important in Kevin’s career.

“David said to me, ‘Look, Bob Geldof asked me to play in a benefit concert. Would you like to play with me?’

“I suspected it was a big performance, but the full impact of that day only gradually dawned on me.

“To be honest, I don’t remember much about the trip,” said Kevin, who now lives in St Leonards in East Sussex. “But I do remember David being very nervous, he hated flying.”

“We were flying over the stadium. That’s when everything became clear to me.”

Kevin was armed with a cheap point-and-shoot camera.

“I have an image in my mind of David and Freddy Mercury both lighting cigarettes, and others of Paula Yates, Bob Geldof and Brian May with a guitar around their necks.

“The drummer Neil and I went to the top of the steps leading up to the stage and looked between the PA stacks to soak up some of the atmosphere and see what it would be like.

“That’s the special thing about playing in a stadium. You have a huge sea of ​​people. That’s something very special.”

Kevin recalled that he and the band were “very conscious” that they were playing directly after Queen.

“They had the place turned upside down, but when the crowd saw David they went crazy. I feel pretty embarrassed because I just started jumping around like Tigger.

“Totally unexpectedly, David introduced us all by name. It was a defining moment in my career as a musician.

“When someone asks me, ‘What have you done in your life?’ I say, ‘Well, I played at Live Aid with David Bowie.’ There are very few people who can really top that. It was like living a dream.”

After this show, Kevin’s life changed forever.

He joined Bowie’s band Tin Machine, spent time with him in the Bahamas, Switzerland and New York, played a world tour with Sinead O’Connor, recorded an album with Iggy Pop and still tours with Iggy today.

But eight years ago the party collapsed.

“When I heard about David’s death on the radio, it was a real surprise. Later that day, I felt worse and worse.

“I felt I knew him quite well from the time we worked together, so the impact of his death was a real shock to me.

“I’ve since come out the other side and realized that the way he dealt with the end of his life and his mortality was so impressive compared to almost any other person I can think of in the public eye.”

Bowie released Black Star on January 8, 2016 – his 69th birthday. He died two days later.

Listen to Kevin Armstrong’s interview with BBC Sussex below as part of our Secret Sussex series.

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