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Band Aid (band)

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Cover art for the original release of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" – artist Peter Blake
Cover art for the original release of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" – artist Peter Blake

Band Aid was a British and Irish charity supergroup, founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the record "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for the Christmas market. The single surpassed the hopes of the producers to become the Christmas number one on that release, and on two subsequent releases. It was produced by Trevor Horn.

Contents

Background

The name 'Band Aid' was chosen because it means 'a band of musicians getting together to offer aid'.

The group has reformed 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. Co-writer Midge Ure once commented: 'Every generation should have its own version'.

Releases

The original Band Aid single, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (Geldof/Ure) ('Mercury FEED 1') was released in the UK on 3 December, 1984, and entered the charts at No. 1 the following week (w/e 15.12.84). It was recorded in one day on 25 November. The song was written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, produced by Ure and Trevor Horn, and became the biggest-selling single of the year. It was released as a 7" (3'55") and 12" version (6'18").

In 1985, following the success of the original Band Aid single, Geldof organised the charity concert Live Aid. The record was then re-issued and reached No. 3 on 7 December 1985. In all, it raised in excess of £8 million ($USD 13,727,991).

In 1989, a new line-up, reflecting the musical climate at the time, formed after a second famine had struck Ethiopia. Band Aid II featured a different line-up, re-recorded "Do They Know It's Christmas?" ('PWL/Polydor FEED 2'), and the song was again the Christmas No. 1 in the UK charts.

A cassette single, designated as FEED 3, was released in 1991; it contained the main 7" mixes of both previous versions, but it did not reach the UK charts.

In 2004, a third line-up, known as Band Aid 20, re-recorded the single for the 20th anniversary of the project. The style-change between Band Aid 20 and previous incarnations of the song was greater than the change between the first two Band Aid projects. This was partly due to the length of time between the releases, and because it was thought that releasing a third version too similar to the original would be less powerful than creating a new interpretation. The 2004 version entered the charts at No. 1 on 5 December, 2004, and went on to become the year's Christmas No. 1.

Original Band Aid

Chronology (1984)

Bob Geldof, after watching a BBC television news report by Michael Buerk from famine-stricken Ethiopia, was so moved by the plight of starving children that he decided to try and raise money using his contacts in pop music. The news report itself has become famous, being voted among the greatest television moments of the century, and it remains Buerk's definitive work, even though most of his career was spent as an anchorman.

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 performers of the time, persuading them to give their time for 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 between 11am and 7pm, and was filmed to be released as the pop video. The first track to be put down was the drums by Phil Collins, including the memorable opening 'African Drum' beat. 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. 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. 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.

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 3 December, 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. 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, modeled 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 that 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 (with "One Year On" scrolling upwards in the credits).

Participants

The original Band Aid ensemble consisted of (in sleeve order): The sleeve artist, Peter Blake, was also credited on the sleeve.

Band Aid II

Participants

The line up for the Band Aid II project consisted of (in alphabetical order):

Band Aid 20

Cover art for the Band Aid 20 version "Do They Know It's Christmas?" release
Cover art for the Band Aid 20 version "Do They Know It's Christmas?" release

The Band Aid 20 single was first played simultaneously on the The Chris Moyles Show (on BBC Radio One) and the breakfast shows on Virgin and Capital radio, at 8am on 16 November, 2004. The video was first broadcast in the UK simultaneously over multiple channels, including the five UK terrestrial channels, at 5.55pm on 18 November, 2004, with an introduction by Madonna.

British artist Damien Hirst designed an intimidating cover for the Band Aid 20 single, featuring the grim reaper and a starving African child. However, this was later dropped after fears that it might scare children. The single was released on 29 November, 2004, with all money raised going toward famine relief in the Darfur region of Sudan.

One of the new ways to buy the song, by downloading it from the Internet, hit a problem when Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store initially refused to supply it, due to their fixed-pricing policy. A partial solution was reached after a few days, enabling UK users to download the song at the standard iTunes price, with Apple donating an extra amount (equivalent to the price difference) to the Band Aid Trust.

The CD version sold over 200,000 copies in the first week, and became the fastest-selling single of the year.

Participants

Organisers and producers
Instruments
Vocals
Bono, Paul McCartney and George Michael were the only artists from the original Band Aid who had been asked back to lend their voices to Band Aid 20. There was a reported dispute over the line 'Tonight thank God it's them, instead of you', which Bono sang on the original version. Justin Hawkins, of The Darkness, laid down a version of the line, but Bono insisted on re-recording his version, which was eventually used on the record.

Strangely, although he wasn't invited, Blur's frontman and songwriter Damon Albarn appeared at the sessions, wanting to somehow assist the recording process of the charity single. He wasn't allowed to sing, but Bono advised him as to how to be most useful for the singers. 'I asked him to make the tea,' the U2 frontman explained to Xfm, 'I saw him on Thursday night. He said "I don't know what to do." I said, "Make tea." He said "You really think so?" I said, "Yeah, make tea!"' Albarn quite happily responded, and thus served biscuits and tea for the participants, as well as appearing briefly in the video, at which Bono 'fatherly' commented: 'Good on him. I always knew that boy would turn out good in the end.'

The single sold 72,000 copies in the first 24 hours when it was released on 29 November, 2004, and went straight in at No. 1 in the UK charts on 5 December 2004. It stayed at No. 1 for Christmas and the week after, all in all holding onto the top spot for four weeks, just one week shorter than the original had done in 1984.

Who sings what on each version

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 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 timem 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/Tony Hadley Marti Pellow/Jason Donovan Sugababes
'Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears' Simon Le Bon/Sting/Bono 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/Matt Goss Bono
'And there won't be snow in Africa, this Christmas time' Boy George/Paul Weller/Paul Young Marti Pellow Will Young & Jamelia
'The greatest gift they'll get this year is life' Bono/George Michael/Boy George Sonia Will Young & Jamelia
'Where nothing ever grows' Paul Young Lisa Stansfield Ms Dynamite & Beverley Knight
'No rain nor rivers flow' Glenn Gregory 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?' 		2004 lines, not in the original 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' 		2004 lines, not in the original 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) All All Tom Chaplin
'Feed the World, Let them know it's Christmas time again' (repeat) All All All

The Lyrics

The first line of the recording is sung by Paul Young on the 1984 version, Kylie Minogue on the 1989 version, and Chris Martin on the 2004 version. The line was originally written for David Bowie, who finally sang it at the Live Aid concert.

Another lyric, which appears to have been tailored to the singers performing in 1984, is 'The bitter sting of tears', performed by Sting.

The most controversial line in the song is: 'Tonight, thank God it's them, instead of you.' Bono was unhappy with this line, and tried to change it at first, due to the possible interpretation that the singer is thanking God for inflicting misery on other people, rather than on them. Bob Geldof had deliberately put that line in, however, and the two friends fought over it - Bob obviously winning. Later, Bono admitted that it is a painful truth that, while we can feel sympathy and guilt about the plight of others, we're still not prepared to take their place.

1984 Musicians

1989 Musicians

2004 Musicians

Related Projects

The Band Aid project inspired other charity records around the world, including "We are the World" by USA for Africa (in the USA), "Nackt im Wind" by Band für Afrika (in Germany), "Ethiopie" by Chanteurs Sans Frontiere (composed by Renaud Séchan) in France, "Tears Are Not Enough" by Northern Lights in Canada), "Sammen for Livet" by Forenede Artister in Norway, "Stars" by Hear 'n Aid (international heavy metal artists), and many others. Danish single 'Afrika' written by Nanna with various danish artists, and released in 1985.

Parodies

References

A Critical Perspective

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.

However, it can be argued, with hindsight, that Geldof and Bono have actually had a wider influence on both the powerful and the public than their critics could have envisaged. Live Aid is now widely recognised as the event which prepared a generation for the Jubilee 2000 and Make Poverty History/Live 8 movements.

Trivia

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External links

 

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