Clare Hirst & David Bowie | Saxophonist at Live Aid 1985
Image: David Bowie World collection / editorial use
Clare Hirst is a British saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist known for her work in pop, jazz and live performance. Within the David Bowie story, her best-documented Bowie connection is her role as saxophonist in Bowie’s band at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium on 13 July 1985.
Although she is sometimes loosely associated with Bowie’s wider 1980s live period, the historically accurate description is that Hirst performed with Bowie at Live Aid, not as a regular member of the 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour band.
- Name: Clare Hirst
- Role with Bowie: Saxophone
- Bowie event: Live Aid, Wembley Stadium, London
- Date: 13 July 1985
- Known Bowie performance: TVC 15, Rebel Rebel, Modern Love, “Heroes”
- Also known for: The Belle Stars, The Communards, Bronski Beat, Hazel O’Connor
- Important correction: Clare Hirst was a Bowie Live Aid musician, not a confirmed regular Serious Moonlight Tour member
Who is Clare Hirst?
Clare Hirst is a British saxophonist whose career spans pop, jazz, soul and live session work. She first became widely known through her work with the all-female band The Belle Stars, a group that emerged from the post-2 Tone and new wave period of British pop.
With The Belle Stars, Hirst played saxophone and keyboards, contributing to the group’s distinctive sound on songs such as The Clapping Song, Sign of the Times and Iko Iko. Her playing helped give the band its bright, brass-driven energy.
Before Bowie: The Belle Stars and British pop
The Belle Stars were one of the most visible British all-female groups of the early 1980s. Their music combined pop, ska, rhythm and blues, new wave and dance influences, and their visual identity made them stand out in the British pop landscape.
Hirst’s role in the band was important because saxophone was not treated as decoration. It was part of the group’s rhythmic and melodic identity. This experience helped make her a strong choice for later high-profile live and session work.
Clare Hirst and David Bowie
Clare Hirst’s Bowie connection centres on Live Aid, held at Wembley Stadium in London on 13 July 1985. Bowie performed one of the most memorable sets of the event, appearing with a compact band assembled for the occasion.
The Live Aid band included David Bowie on vocals, Kevin Armstrong on guitar, Thomas Dolby on keyboards and synthesisers, Matthew Seligman on bass, Neil Conti on drums, Pedro Ortiz on percussion, Tessa Niles and Helena Springs on vocals, and Clare Hirst on saxophone.
Not a regular Serious Moonlight Tour member
It is important to separate Clare Hirst’s confirmed Bowie role from the 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour. The regular Serious Moonlight horn and woodwind section included musicians such as Steve Elson, Stan Harrison and Lenny Pickett.
Hirst’s best-documented Bowie appearance is instead the 1985 Live Aid performance. For a historically accurate Bowie page, she should therefore be presented as David Bowie’s Live Aid saxophonist, rather than as a confirmed Serious Moonlight touring musician.
Live Aid, Wembley Stadium, 13 July 1985
Bowie’s Live Aid performance came at a major international charity event broadcast to a global audience. By 1985 Bowie was already one of the biggest names in popular music, and his appearance at Wembley placed him at the centre of one of the most watched musical events of the decade.
The set consisted of TVC 15, Rebel Rebel, Modern Love and “Heroes”. Hirst’s saxophone formed part of the expanded live sound, helping connect Bowie’s mid-1980s performance style with the punch and colour of his broader live arrangements.
The importance of the saxophone in Bowie’s 1980s sound
Saxophone had long been part of Bowie’s musical identity. Bowie himself played saxophone from his teenage years, and the instrument appeared across many phases of his career, from early R&B influences to art rock, soul, funk and 1980s pop.
At Live Aid, Clare Hirst’s saxophone helped bring that familiar Bowie texture into a short, high-pressure performance. The set had to work immediately for a huge audience, and every instrument needed to add clear energy and colour.
Working in Bowie’s Live Aid band
Bowie’s Live Aid group was not a long-running tour band. It was a specially assembled performance band for a major one-off event. That required musicians who could learn quickly, perform with precision and support Bowie in front of one of the largest audiences of his career.
Hirst’s background in pop performance made her well suited to that context. She was already used to strong arrangements, television exposure and direct stage presentation through her work with The Belle Stars.
Video
David Bowie – Live Aid, Wembley Stadium, 1985
This Live Aid performance is the key Bowie document for Clare Hirst. It shows Bowie in front of a global audience, supported by a compact but powerful band that included Hirst on saxophone.
The performance is historically important because it captures Bowie between the Let’s Dance era and his later 1980s work, at a moment when he was one of the most visible performers in the world.
After Bowie
Clare Hirst continued to work across British pop, jazz and live performance after her Bowie appearance. She has been associated with artists and groups including The Communards, Bronski Beat, Hazel O’Connor and others.
Her career shows the versatility of a musician able to move between mainstream pop, live session work and more jazz-based performance settings. That versatility is also what made her a strong fit for Bowie’s Live Aid band.
Place within Bowie’s universe
Within David Bowie’s wider creative universe, Clare Hirst represents a precise but important live connection. She was not a long-term Bowie collaborator, and she should not be presented as a confirmed regular member of the Serious Moonlight Tour band.
Her importance lies in one of Bowie’s most visible live appearances of the 1980s: Live Aid at Wembley Stadium. As the saxophonist in that band, Hirst contributed to a performance seen and remembered around the world.
For that reason, Clare Hirst deserves a place in the Bowie collaborations story, with the correct historical framing: saxophonist with David Bowie at Live Aid, 1985.