In some ways it’s hard to believe that the song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” has existed for four decades. Boomtown Rats’ frontman Bob Geldof KBE (Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) created the Band Aid project, which aimed to help provide relief in Ethiopia after a monumental famine and drought. They managed to combine the forces of many of the biggest names in 1984 pop music including Sting, George Michael, Duran Duran, Phil Collins, Spandau Ballet, U2’s Bono, and more. (And yes, Geldof is also who created Live Aid, which took place the following year in 1985.)
And if you’re curious to find out how they managed to all work together, you can do so courtesy of a brand new official documentary which was just released.
The documentary’s release, comprised entirely of footage shot during the song’s recording, celebrates the 40th anniversary of the song’s release. It also comes after a new version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” released earlier this year. The new version blends previous versions, with a different group of singers.
It’s a fascinating watch, and one that is even more engrossing if you love ’80s music. And, pretty amazing to see the process of recording such a song. There’s no pitch correction technology, just a bunch of real-time performances that had to be mixed together on the fly, in effectively one day.
There’s a part where Bono is asked to sing a doubling track for another vocalist. “I’ve never been able to double-track myself let alone another person,” he says. “You’re talking to Trevor Horn‘s nightmare.”
Special credit also has to go to Ure, a Scottish musician who worked in groups like Ultravox and Mirage. He created and sang the demo that was used as the base and guide for everyone to follow. And part of what makes it so much fun to hear this is that he’s not just Scottish, he’s AGGRESSIVELY Scottish. It’s not the thickest Scottish accent, but it’s enough to make you wonder what would’ve happened if he was leading the American equivalent charity song, “We Are the World.” But seriously, what he and engineer Stuart Bruce were able to achieve that day was nothing short of astonishing.
There are other little gems in the documentary like watching Phil Collins play the hell out of the drums, only to drop his sticks mid take. You also get to hear repeated jabs at the band Frankie Goes to Hollywood for not showing up to the sessions and Paul Weller from The Jam and The Style Council banging out an acoustic version of the song.
[Editor’s Note: Be warned- if you observe and play Whamageddon, you WILL lose if you watch this documentary. Namely because George Michael sings the first line of “Last Christmas,” which he says WHAM had just finished recording.]
This whole thing is an absolute must watch if you have any interest in music production or the music of that time period. They also include the final version of the original music video at the very end. So if you haven’t seen it or its been a while, here’s your chance.
So, check it out now on YouTube:
