Background
The name 'Band Aid' was chosen as a pun on the name of a well known brand of sticking plaster,
since it also refers to musicians working as a band to provide 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'.
Original Band Aid
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 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, including the memorable opening
'African Drum' beat. But in reality, 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. 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 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
(with "One Year On" scrolling upwards in the credits).
