Band Aid was a charity supergroup featuring leading British and Irish musicians and recording artists.[1][2][3] It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for anti-poverty efforts in Ethiopia by releasing the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market that year. On 25 November 1984, the song was recorded at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill, London, and was released in the UK four days later.[4][5] The single surpassed the hopes of the producers to become the Christmas number one on that release. Two subsequent re-recordings of the song to raise further money for charity also topped the charts. The original was produced by Midge Ure. The 12" version was mixed by Trevor Horn.
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The name 'Band Aid' was chosen as a pun on the name of a well known brand of adhesive bandage, also referring to musicians working as a band to provide aid and alluding to the fact that any help stemming from their efforts is likened to a band-aid on a very serious wound.
The group has formed on three occasions, each time from the most successful British and Irish pop music performers of the time, to record the same song at the same time of year.
The group was inspired by the earlier supergroup-powered Concert for Bangladesh raising money for refugees in that country.[6]
The original 1984 Feed The World logo was based on a pencil sketch by Bob Geldof after watching a BBC television news report by Michael Buerk from famine-stricken Ethiopia. Geldof was so moved by the plight of starving children that he decided to try to raise money using his contacts in pop music. Geldof enlisted the help of Midge Ure, from the group Ultravox, to help produce a charity record. Ure took Geldof's lyrics, and created the melody and backing track for the record. Geldof called many of the most popular British and Irish performers of the time (Kool & The Gang and Jody Watley were the only Americans present at the original recording), persuading them to give their time free. His one criterion for selection was how famous they were, in order to maximise sales of the record. He then kept an appointment to appear on a show on BBC Radio 1, with Richard Skinner, but instead of promoting the new Boomtown Rats material as planned, he announced the plan for Band Aid. The recording studio gave Band Aid no more than 24 free hours to record and mix the record, on 25 November 1984. The recording took place at SARM Studios in Notting Hill between 11am and 7pm, and was filmed by director Nigel Dick to be released as the pop video though some basic tracks had been recorded the day before at Midge Ure's home studio. The first tracks to be recorded were the group / choir choruses which were filmed by the international press. The footage was rushed to newsrooms where it aired while the remainder of the recording process continued. Later, drums by Phil Collins were recorded. The introduction of the song features a slowed down sample from a Tears for Fears' track called "The Hurting", released in 1983. Tony Hadley, of Spandau Ballet, was the first to record his vocal, while a section sung by Status Quo was deemed unusable, and replaced with section comprising Paul Weller, Sting, and Glenn Gregory. Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran sang between contributions from George Michael and Sting. Paul Young has since admitted, in a documentary, that he knew his opening lines were written for David Bowie, who was not able to make the recording but made a contribution to the B-side (Bowie performed his lines at the Live Aid concert the following year). Boy George arrived last at 6pm, after Geldof woke him up by 'phone to have him flown over from New York on Concorde to record his solo part. (At the time, Culture Club was in the middle of a US tour.)
The following morning, Geldof appeared on the Radio 1 breakfast show with Mike Read, to promote the record further and promise that every penny would go to the cause. This led to a stand-off with the British Government, who refused to waive the VAT on the sales of the single. Geldof made the headlines by publicly standing up to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and, sensing the strength of public feeling, the government backed down and donated the tax back to the charity.
The record was released on November 29, 1984, and went straight to No. 1 in the UK singles chart, outselling all the other records in the chart put together. It became the fastest- selling single of all time in the UK, selling a million copies in the first week alone. It stayed at No. 1 for five weeks, selling over three million copies and becoming easily the biggest-selling single of all time in the UK, thus beating the seven-year record held by Mull of Kintyre. It has since been surpassed by Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997" (his tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales) but it is likely to keep selling in different versions for many years to come.
After Live Aid, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was re-released in late 1985 in a set that included a special-edition 'picture disc' version, modelled after the Live Aid logo with 'Band' in place of 'Live'. An added bonus, "One Year On" (a statement from Geldof and Ure on the telephone) was available as a b-side. "One Year On" can also be found in transcript form in a booklet which was included in the DVD set of Live Aid, the first disc of which features the BBC news report, as well as the Band Aid video.
The original Band Aid ensemble consisted of (in sleeve order):
The sleeve artist, Peter Blake, was also credited on the sleeve.
This version, released in 1989 was produced by British songwriting and production team formed of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman known as Stock Aitken Waterman. The only artists from the original Band Aid to be featured again on this version were Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward of Bananarama. This version topped the UK Singles Chart for three weeks, but ultimately achieved far less historical significance and status than its predecessor.
On Friday 1 December 1989, Bob Geldof called Pete Waterman to ask if he would consider producing a new version of the song featuring the big stars from that time. Waterman immediately cancelled his wedding (planned for that very day) and began calling up the artists. With just two days' notice, on Sunday 3 December, recording took place at PWL Studios in South London. Present in the studio was Bob Geldof, wife Paula Yates and six-year-old daughter, Fifi Trixiebelle, who was eager to meet Jason Donovan.
Production continued through the Monday, and by Tuesday 5 December the song was aired for the first time on London's Capital Radio. Advance sales of the record reached 500,000 and a number-one was inevitable. The song was released the following week on 11 December and spent three weeks at number one, becoming the 9th biggest selling song of the year, outselling Madonna's "Like a Prayer".
The line up for the Band Aid II project consisted of (in alphabetical order):
Most of the people involved in the original Band Aid single appeared on the 1984 Christmas edition of Top of the Pops to mime to the record. However Bono could not attend, which led to the spectacle of Paul Weller miming to Bono's line.
| Lyrics | 1984 version | 1989 version | 2004 version |
|---|---|---|---|
| 'It's Christmas time, there's no need to be afraid' | Paul Young | Kylie Minogue | Chris Martin |
| 'At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade' | Paul Young | Chris Rea | Chris Martin |
| 'And in our world of plenty, we can spread a smile of joy' | Boy George | Jimmy Somerville/Big Fun | Dido |
| 'Throw your arms around the world, at Christmas time' | Boy George | Matt Goss | Dido |
| 'But say a prayer; Pray for the other ones' | George Michael | Cliff Richard | Robbie Williams |
| 'At Christmas time it's hard, but when you're having fun' | George Michael/Simon Le Bon | Jimmy Somerville/Matt Goss | Robbie Williams |
| 'There's a world outside your window, and it's a world of dread and fear' | Simon Le Bon/Sting | Jason Donovan | Sugababes |
| 'Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears' | Tony Hadley/Sting | Jason/Kylie | Fran Healy & Sugababes |
| 'And the Christmas bells that ring there, are the clanging chimes of doom' | Sting/Bono | Cliff Richard/Marti Pellow | Fran Healy & Justin Hawkins |
| 'Well, tonight, thank God it's them, instead of you' | Bono | Jason Donovan/Kylie/Matt Goss | Bono |
| 'And there won't be snow in Africa, this Christmas time' | Boy George/Paul Weller/Sting | Marti Pellow | Will Young & Jamelia |
| 'The greatest gift they'll get this year is life' | Bono/George Michael/Boy George | Sonia | Will Young & Jamelia |
| 'Ooooooooohhhhh' | Boy George | Lisa Stansfield | Will Young & Jamelia Or Ms Dynamite & Beverley Knight |
| 'Where nothing ever grows' | Paul Young | Lisa Stansfield | Ms Dynamite & Beverley Knight |
| 'No rain nor rivers flow' | Paul Weller | Lisa Stansfield | Ms Dynamite & Beverley Knight |
| 'Do they know it's Christmas time at all?' | All | Sonia/Lisa Stansfield | All |
| 'Here's to you' | Marilyn/Glenn Gregory/Rick Parfitt/Francis Rossi | Kylie | Tom Chaplin |
| 'Raise a glass for everyone' | Paul Young | Kylie | Justin Hawkins |
| 'Spare a thought this yuletide for the deprived' 'If the table was turned would you survive?' |
Not featured on this version | Dizzee Rascal | |
| 'Here's to them' | Marilyn/Glenn/Rick/Francis | Matt Goss | Busted |
| 'Underneath that burning sun' | Paul Young | Matt Goss | Justin Hawkins |
| 'You ain't gotta feel guilt, just selfless' 'Give a little help, to the helpless' |
Not featured on this version | Dizzee Rascal | |
| 'Do they know it's Christmas time at all?' | Paul Young | Cliff Richard | Joss Stone and Justin Hawkins |
| 'Feed the World' (repeat X4) | All | All | Tom Chaplin |
| 'Feed the World, Let them know it's Christmas time again' (repeat) | All | All | All |
The Band Aid project inspired other charity records around the world, including We Are the World by USA for Africa (in the United States), Cantaré Cantarás by Project Hermanos (in Latin America), Nackt im Wind by Band für Afrika (in Germany), Ethiopie by Chanteurs Sans Frontiere'(in France), Tears Are Not Enough by Northern Lights (in Canada), Show some Concern by The Concerned in Ireland, Sammen for Livet by Forente Artister (in Norway), Maksamme Velkaa by Apua-Orkesteri (in Finland), Chega de Mágoa by Nordeste Já (in Brazil), Za milion godina by YU Rock Misija (in Yugoslavia), Stars by Hear 'n Aid (international heavy metal artists), Afrika written by Nanna with various Danish artists, and many others.
A compilation of video games for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum was published under the name Soft Aid. It also featured a recording of the Do They Know It's Christmas? single.[1]
In 1986, the anarchist band Chumbawamba released the album Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records, as well as an EP entitled "We Are the World", jointly recorded with US band A State of Mind, both of which were intended as anti-capitalist critiques of the Band Aid/Live Aid phenomenon. They argued that the record was primarily a cosmetic spectacle, designed to draw attention away from the real political causes of world hunger.
In a 1985 Time Out interview, Morrissey gave his views about the song:
'I'm not afraid to say that I think Band Aid was diabolical. Or to say that I think Bob Geldof is a nauseating character. Many people find that very unsettling, but I'll say it as loud as anyone wants me to. In the first instance the record itself was absolutely tuneless. One can have great concern for the people of Ethiopia, but it's another thing to inflict daily torture on the people of Great Britain. It was an awful record considering the mass of talent involved. And it wasn't done shyly it was the most self-righteous platform ever in the history of popular music.' [7]
The song presents a very bleak view of Africa, which the lyrics appear to refer to as a whole. Some of these, such as the suggestions (if read literally) that the continent has no rainfall or successful crops, have been seen as absurd by critics.[8][9] It also insinuates that there are no rivers in Africa. There are many, such as the Nile, the Niger, and the Zaire. At the time of the 2004 release, the World Development Movement spoke out on this issue, describing the lyrics as "patronising, false and out of date", although there was no attempt to discourage purchase of the song.[10]
| Preceded by Flying Pickets — Only You |
UK Christmas Number One single 1984 |
Succeeded by Shakin' Stevens — Merry Christmas Everyone |
| Preceded by Cliff Richard — Mistletoe and Wine |
UK Christmas Number One single 1989 |
Succeeded by Cliff Richard — Saviour's Day |
| Preceded by Michael Andrews featuring Gary Jules — Mad World |
UK Christmas Number One single 2004 |
Succeeded by Shayne Ward — That's My Goal |
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