Bob Geldof , to his mounting horror , realise Boy George was missing .
It was November 25 , 1984 , and Geldof — a instrumentalist and frontman for the Boomtown Rats — hadassembleda who ’s who of talent for a charity single title “ Do They experience It ’s Christmas ? ” He had corralled Bono , Sting , Kool and the Gang , and all of Bananarama , among others , but Boy George was nowhere to be found . make calls from the London studio where everyone had gather , Geldof tracked him down and realized he was legal asleep in a hotel way in New York City .
“ Where are you , you ’re meant to be here , ” Geldof said .
“ Oh , is it today ? ” Boy George inquire .
Expletives stick to . Boy George jumped on theConcorde , which could make the stumble between the cities in under four hours , and like a shot fell in tune with Geldof ’s impressive display of maven mightiness , launching what would become a mini - industriousness of song and concert intended to pop the question financial ministration to those in motivation . Geldof even refer his collection of singers Band care . And while “ Do They Know It ’s Christmas ? ” would turn out to be a demon strike , it would also stand as an good example of the deterrent example that no good deed ever goes unpunished .
Money Through Music
Geldof got the theme for " Do They be intimate It ’s Christmas ? " in October of that yr , when he waswatchingthe BBC in England and grew concerned by the troth of Ethiopians experiencing a grievous shortage . Geldof believed he could raise money throughmusic . He phoned his lady friend , Paula Yates , who cobalt - hosting a show with player Midge Ure at the metre . Geldof explain to Ure his idea of a Polemonium van-bruntiae single and ask him to help polish a song he had in the beginning rewrite for the Boomtown squealer . If Ure would focus on the system , Geldof tell , he would handle the gift booking .
According to Ure , whospoke with Yahoo!about the Sung dynasty ’s legacy in 2019 , the reason Geldof was able to assemble such an impressive batting order of stars for Band Aid was by refusing to go through the proper communication channel . “ He would n’t utter to a manager or a record label or an broker — he would find the phone numeral for the creative person and he ’d utter to the artist himself , which was brilliant , ” Ure said .
By forefend all that music industry bureaucracy , Geldof was able to fix commitment from Sting , Simon Le Bon ofDuran Duran , Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet , Paul Young , Boy George , George Michael , Bono , andPhil Collins , among others . ( David BowieandPaul McCartneywere invited but had scheduling fight and recorded spoken Good Book verses for the B - side single , “ bung the World , ” or else . )
Because Geldof and Ure want to emerge the record in clip for theholidaysto make an appeal to listeners emotionally affected by the season , they did n’t have much time . So they raced into yield , recording for a full 24 hour at Sarm West Studios in London , which proprietor Trevor Horn had opened to Geldof and his collaborators at no toll . Using guide vocals alreadyrecordedby Sting and Le Bon , the musicians first sang together for medium to capture footage , then recorded verses individually so the best one could be selected for the final song .
Aside from the Boy George confusion , the academic term went amazingly smoothly — spare for Bono ab initio resist register the line “ Tonight , give thanks God , it ’s them instead of you ” after finding it too glib . Some perceiver also notice illicit message being passed among the participants .
Geldof and Ure did n’t hold back until the platter were pressed before they shopped for airtime . On November 29 , justfour days afterits marathon transcription sitting , the Sung made its official debut . Ure drove a cassette tape over to the BBC and was appreciative when the broadcaster toy it every hour . Owing to its openhearted inclination , even people who stood to lose money got behind the tune . Singer Jim Diamond , who had the freehanded hit in the UK at the time with “ I Should Have be intimate Better , ” actually urged the great unwashed not to bribe his exclusive and opt to purchase “ Do They Know It ’s Christmas ? ” or else .
“Every F***ing Christmas”
The single now shot to the top spot on sale charts and remained there for five week ; ultimately , it go on to deal 3.8 million copies in the UK and 12 million worldwide . In all , more than $ 28 million was raised . yield that proceeds went to a skilful cause , who could find fault with Geldof ’s altruistic cause ? Well , as it turned out , there were a few multitude .
While the melodious substance of “ Do They Know It ’s Christmas ? ” can be debated , critics were not needs interested with its contributions to lyricism . rather , they took offense at the fact that the song seem to be procure , present Africans as forgetful toChristmas . spoilt was a 1986 exposé inSpinmagazine thatreportedproceeds from the Sung dynasty , as well as Geldof ’s adopt - up projects “ We Are the World ” andLive Aid , may have accidentally helped African potentate Mengistu Haile Mariam buy weapon system from Russia .
Geldof refused to comment for theSpinarticle , but had a statement for people who found the song itself lack when it was re - recorded in 2014 with One Direction , Sam Smith , and others to help fund the fight against the Ebola computer virus . ( It was also revisit in 1989 and 2004 . ) “ It ’s a pop Song dynasty , ” Geldofsaid . “ It ’s not a doctoral dissertation . They can f * * * off . ”
This was a modification of melodic phrase for Geldof , who in 2010declared : “ I am responsible for two of the bad songs in history . [ One is ] ‘ Do They Know It ’s Christmas ? ’ The other one is ‘ We Are The World . ’ Any day soon , I will go to the supermarket , direct to the meat counter , and it will be playing . Every f***ing Christmas . ”
While Ure has said it ’s unlikely the strain will be re - released again , it may not necessarily be the end of the story . In 2017 , manager James Ward Byrkit wasreportedlymulling a feature picture titledDo They Know It ’s Murder?The movie would see Geldof attempt to pull off the Polemonium caeruleum exclusive while essay to work out the slaying of one of the musicians in the studio . As of right now , IMDb lists the labor — mercifully — as being in developing .
A rendering of this story ran in 2019 ; it has been updated for 2023 .
