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Band Aid

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Band Aid was a one-off group of British and Irish pop stars who in November 1984 recorded the charity song Do They Know It's Christmas? in a single day. The occasion was a series of BBC reports by the journalist Michael Buerk on the famine in Ethiopia. Bob Geldof, singer of The Boomtown Rats, was deeply affected by them. He phoned Midge Ure of Ultravox, and together they decided to make a record whose proceeds would go to Ethiopia.

Music and breakthrough

Ure wrote a melody on a portable keyboard, and Geldof added lyrics from a song of his own that was half finished. Ure produced the track and made the backing at home with keyboards and drum machines; for the intro he used a sample of the drums from The Hurting by Tears for Fears. Trevor Horn made his London studio available free for a day and a night. On 25 November, among others, Paul Young, Boy George, George Michael, Bono, Sting, Simon Le Bon, Spandau Ballet, Status Quo and Kool & the Gang came there to sing. The verses are divided among individual singers, and everyone sings the chorus together.

Influence

The single was released on 7 December 1984 and spent five weeks at number 1 in England, through to Christmas. Within a year it raised eight million pounds. The success led to We Are the World in America and to the Live Aid concert of 1985. There was also criticism: according to some, the lyrics gave a one-sided and condescending picture of Africa. The song was later re-recorded three more times, in 1989, 2004 and 2014.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Do They Know It's Christmas? from 1984. Notice the echoing drums at the beginning and count how many different voices you hear in the verses. Hear how, in the ending, all the singers keep repeating the same chorus together.

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Categories: Artists