Hear'n'Aid
Stars


Tracks:

1. Hear'n'Aid - Stars
2. Accept - Up to the Limit
3. Motörhead - On the Road
4. Rush - Distant Early Warning
5. KISS - Heaven's on Fire
6. Jimi Hendrix - Can You See Me
7. Dio - Hungry for Heaven
8. Y&T - Go for the Throat
9. Scorpions - The Zoo

Line up:

Vocals: Ronnie James Dio, Dave Meniketti, Rob Halford, Kevin DuBrow, Eric Bloom, Paul Shortino, Geoff Tate & Don Dokken
Guitar: (solos) Craig Goldy, Eddie Ojeda, Vivian Campbell, Brad Gillis, Neal Schon, George Lynch, Yngwie Malmsteen, Carlos Cavazo & Donald Roeser
Guitar: Dave Murray & Adrian Smith
Background Vocals: Tommy Aldridge, Dave Alford, Carmine Appice, Vinny Appice, Jimmy Bain, Frankie Banali, Mick Brown, Vivian Campbell, Carlos Cavazo, Amir Derakh, Buck Dharma, Brad Gillis, Craig Goldy, Chris Hager, Chris Holmes, Blackie Lawless, George Lynch, Yngwie Malmsteen, Mick Mars, Dave Murray, Vince Neil, Ted Nugent, Eddie Ojeda, Jeff Pilson, David St. Hubbins, Rudy Sarzo, Claude Schnell, Neal Schon, Derek Smalls, Mark Stein, Matt Thorr & Adrian Vandenberg
Drums: Vinny Appice & Frankie Banali
Bass: Jimmy Bain
Keyboards: Claude Schnell

Record Label:

Polygram

Year of Release:

1986

Notes:

Hear 'n Aid was a one-off project of the hard rock/heavy metal scene of the 1980s to raise money for famine relief in Africa.

While attending a 48 hour charity Radiothon at the radio station KLOS, Dio members Jimmy Bain and Vivian Campbell noticed that representation from hard rock or heavy metal stars was low. In light of the success of Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and USA for Africa's "We Are the World", they forwarded an idea to Ronnie James Dio, also attending the Radiothon, and together decided to create a similar project exclusively built around artists from the hard rock/heavy metal scene. Together the three co-wrote the song "Stars."

The song was recorded on May 20 and 21 1985 at the A&M Records Studio in Hollywood, California. "Stars" was released in both 7" and 12" single versions. The project also released a compilation album headed by "Stars", and also including live tracks by Kiss, Motörhead, Dio, Accept, Rush and Scorpions, as well as studio recordings by Y&T and Jimi Hendrix.

Dio had originally intended the song and album to be released shortly after its recording, but contractual issues with the different artists' record labels delayed the release until January 1, 1986, somewhat diminishing the impact of its release.

There was a second planned song to benefit a charity that Dio has been involved in for years (Children of the Night), that benefited runaway children. This was to be a song called "Throw Away Children". However, due to various reasons the project never materialized, and the song ended up appearing on the 2002 Dio album, Killing the Dragon.