Christmas gift still giving 40 years later
- Brett Hiner: A Work in Progress
- December 23, 2024
- 149
For reasons I do not fully recall, my older brother and I, starting in 1984, would awaken every Christmas morning and put Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas” on the ol’ record player and give it a listen.
It likely had something to do with the artists as many of our favorites at the time either appeared lyrically or as a backup chorus member (or made an appearance on the extended 12-inch version). I like to think it had something to do with the aim of the song — here we were about to run downstairs to soak up Santa’s bounty while so many were in such desperate need of help. The song certainly raised an awareness in my 12-year-old mind of a part of the world dealing with indescribable famine.
Until then my only understanding of the issue centered around a little orange box with “UNICEF” on the side that we were handed in our youth group every Halloween to collect change during trick or treat.
The song became a connection — an awareness of a global crisis for the “MTV Generation.” As silly as it sounds, I remember feeling like we had done something good simply by purchasing that 45 rpm and 12-inch single version as the backs of both covers had a disclaimer: “All proceeds of this record are to assist famine relief in Ethiopia. This includes merchandise sales, publishing and performance distributions.”
If ever there was evidence of the thievery of time, it is that this song is now 40 years old with some of the artists still serving as music industry stalwarts and some long since forgotten.
The song begins with Paul Young’s crooning of “It’s Christmastime, and there’s no need to be afraid.” Young, at the time, had not really made a name for himself in the United States. He would, a year later, with his cover of the Hall and Oates tune, “Every Time You Go Away.” But the line was originally supposed to be delivered by David Bowie, who could not commit to the recording session due to a prior commitment. Young has released nine albums since Band Aid, none of which made much of a dent on the U.S. record charts.
Boy George of Culture Club fame took the mic for the second lyric. Like many lead singers in the ‘80s, Boy George left his band and achieved mild levels of success as a solo artist, most notably recording the title song to the Oscar-winning film, “The Crying Game.”
After a few successful reunion tours with Culture Club, Boy George has mostly appeared on British reality shows but recently received accolades from theatergoers and critics alike when he joined the cast of “Moulin Rouge” on Broadway, portraying the role of the impresario Harold Zidler. He will swing back into that role in March 2025.
Perhaps the most heartbreaking of the featured singers on the record comes with the third featured artist, George Michael. Initially of WHAM! fame, Michael would go on to sell 125 million records, 100 million of which were from his solo albums, making him one of the most successful solo recording artists of all time. He would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023, eight years after his death on Christmas Day at the age of 53 from cardiomyopathy.
The next three vocalists, Simon LeBon of Duran Duran, Sting of The Police and solo fame, and Bono of U2, are arguably still the biggest names of the relief project. All three, with their respective groups, went on to even greater acclaim and success than they had achieved up to that point in 1984.
Duran Duran’s latest album, “Danse Macabre,” was released in 2023 and climbed to No. 6 on the Billboard Album Chart. They were 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.
While no longer performing with The Police, Sting’s solo career is comprised of 15 studio albums, totaling over 100 million albums sold. While he has not been inducted into the RRHOF as a solo artist, The Police were inducted in 2003.
U2 has sold a staggering 175 million records worldwide, most recently releasing “Songs of Surrender,” which is comprised of re-recorded and reinterpreted versions of 40 songs from their back catalog. It would climb to No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard Album Chart. U2 was inducted into the RRHOF in 2005.
There are many more stories of the over 40 artists involved in Band Aid: Drummer Phil Collins’ 2007 spinal injury that no longer affords him the ability to play drums or even hold drumsticks; David Bowie’s passing from liver cancer in 2016; and, of course, Sir Paul McCartney, who, like Bowie, appears on the 12-inch single, still the centerpiece of a bygone musical era and the epitome of rock ‘n’ roll royalty who has given to more charities than the entirety of Santa’s “nice list.”
Yet 40 years later, there are some who now criticize the song for its “celebrity condescension” as one big “guilt trip for Western record buyers,” according to the National Review.
Perhaps they are arguing that looking at “Do They Know It’s Christmas” through the lens of 2024 is simply to perpetuate the myth of an Africa in crisis, that needs bailed out by wealthy celebrities. If that is the argument, here are some facts: Before the American equivalent of “We Are the World,” before Live Aid and Farm Aid and tribute concerts to fallen musicians, Stand Up To Cancer and a concert for NYC after 9/11, the instrument of change was Band Aid — a relief effort that, 40 years later, has raised over $178 million to aid in African relief efforts.
It is easy to forget what the world was like in 1984. Now our global connection is an immediate one, merely at the tip of our fingers. Forty years ago a group of British artists decided to get together to initiate change through music, and what better way and time to do that than through the gift, and spirit, of Christmas morning?
It proved that even 12-year-olds can, and should, care about the world outside their windows.
Brett Hiner is in his 28th year teaching English/language arts at Wooster High School, where he also serves as yearbook adviser and Drama Club adviser/director. When writing, he enjoys connecting cultural experiences, pop and otherwise to everyday life. He can be emailed at workinprogressWWN@gmail.com.