Band Aid - Do They Know It's Xmas

[Avondklok]

Everyone loves to hate this now, but it's not so far off 40 years old!!!! And everyone meant well. I was a teenager back then and to see everyone join together in a way never seen before at that point was just marvellous. Ditto Bandaid that followed. I hate that it gets so slagged off these days, though I do understand the arguments.

@LindaEllen

I don't like this song for a really, really pathetic reason. And I do know it's pathetic.

"The greatest gift they'll get this year is life."

That's the greatest gift ANY of us get each year. The rest is just consumerist crap - and not something the rest of the world should aspire to!

Thats the point. They're saying don't spend your money on consumerist crap give it to the starving

@WoolieLiberal

It’s damned if do damned if don’t.

The song was for famine relief in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is majority Christian (Orthodox mainly) so referencing Christianity was not offensive as some say.

Ethiopia wasn’t colonised apart from briefly in the 30s by Italy so all its problems in the 80s can’t have been blamed on the West like most of Africa.

By today’s standards the West had two choices:

1. Do nothing and be criticised.

1. Help and be accused of being white saviours.

By today’s woke-standards there is nothing we could have done to be doing the right thing.

I love the song as it reminds us that not everywhere has our western cozy view of a white Christmas.

Black artists could do a modern version?

Not RTFT

what is awful is what was done with the money.

Thing on TV recently saying Bob G hobnobbing with dodgy dictators and be was TOLD and still bunged money which was used to buy arms.

I have the single still.

In retrospect yes the lyrics are dodgy.

The people who sang, and bought, had their hearts on the right places. It's of its time.

That the cash was so horribly misused is another scandal.

A reminder of why the song was made and yes the lyrics might not be the best because it was written so quickly but for all the right reasons.

If you want to be critical of the song then first watch the video of Michael buerk in Ethiopia and see what was going on there at the time. Then think what that song achieved.

Some of the lyrics are dubious but that's the case with many songs that do fuck all to help with poverty.

@user1470132907

It’s shit but also the only Bob Geldof song I know.

I recommend the great song of indifference

I like it and it's of its time. In the context of when it came out, the 6 o'clock news was flooded with images of people starving in Ethiopia. People wanted to take some kind of action to help.
The Live aid concert was in the same spirit. A huge deal at the time to have a live concert beamed via satellite around the world.
I was a well fed little white baby at the time, born into a working class family in the UK. When my mum saw the little starving girl with barely the strength to stand in footage played to Drive by the cars, she was moved to donate our family allowance that month. My dad wasn't impressed.

Also remember the song was written and recorded in a very short time to maximise sales during the Xmas period. Perhaps if Midge n Bob had had more time, they could have refined the lyrics somewhat.

@Itsmybirthday19

It was number one on the day I was born.

They do a new version on all my significant birthdays.

Can't wait for Band aid 40 in 2024.

Hopefully Geldof will be dead by the time I'm 50.

What a horrible thing to say.

"the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears" - not festive

"where nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow" - not festive

"and the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom" - not festive.

It's a fit for purpose song as a charity single. It is not fit for purpose as a Christmas song!

What @funkbus said. There were horrendous droughts at the time, people were starving to death, the song raised money to help them. How can that be offensive?

They don't literally mean do they know it's the 25th of December for Gods sake. They mean "do they feel the spirit of Christmas given they are starving to death and no one seems to give a shit."

Agree.

And it was meant to be consumerist crap - a reminder that if everyone reduced their Christmas spending by a few quid, we'd raise a squillions.

And we did.

So many twisted knickers. Lighten up, people, it raised a lot of money.

Hmm let me think: would I rather listen to Band Aid which raised millions for charity ? or someone singing about her fat ass and how she likes anal sex ( many thanks Cardi B )? gosh, it's a tough choice.

To be fair the lyrics raised a few eyebrows at the time... I remember discussing them in an English lesson at school c.’84/5

@Itsmybirthday19

It was number one on the day I was born.

They do a new version on all my significant birthdays.

Can't wait for Band aid 40 in 2024.

Hopefully Geldof will be dead by the time I'm 50.

Wow, the level of spite and malice in this post is breathtaking. Do you often wish death upon people, Itsmybirthday19 ?

They don't literally mean do they know it's the 25th of December for Gods sake. They mean "do they feel the spirit of Christmas given they are starving to death and no one seems to give a shit

This

The song is not without flaws but what exactly did you do to combat the issue of poverty in Africa that was so much better? Let me guess, fuck all.

Well said!

@Goodbye2020Hello2021

To be fair the lyrics raised a few eyebrows at the time... I remember discussing them in an English lesson at school c.’84/5

Well, yes, exactly. This is like threads on Love Actually where people keep opining that it has ‘dated badly’ or ‘not aged well’, which make me want to point out that in 2003 bodyshaming the Downing Street tea lady or staging ‘Nice Guy Manipulative’ demonstrations of your love to your best friend’s new wife still weren’t ok.

The 80s aren’t the era when dinosaurs walked the earth. And the lyrics to ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ were dreadful at the time, but were admittedly written in about ten minutes.

I retain an affection for the song — I like the intro, and the fact that it sounds mildly crap throughout, and the video that looks like a grainy school choir outing. I find it mildly endearing that Sting and Paul Young look spotty, that the biggest pop stars of the day all look scruffy, the way Boy George sings ‘spread a SMAL of joy’, that Tony Hadley appears to think he’s in an opera etc etc.

And compared to the US equivalent ‘We Are the World’, it’s a work of genius. (Though at least women got solos in that...)

Djouce

Yes! ‘Love actually’ is a good example.
I hate that film! 😂

I was 13 when DYKIC was released. We thought the words were rubbish (the whole song tbh) and the footage of everyone singing in the studio was very cheesy.

BUT, it was basically a fundraiser for a very very worthy cause and we bought the record.

I retain an affection for the song. I like the intro, and the fact that it sounds mildly crap throughout, and the video that looks like a grainy school choir outing. I find it mildly endearing that Sting and Paul Young look spotty, that the biggest pop stars of the day all look scruffy, the way Boy George sings ‘spread a SMAL of joy’, that Tony Hadley appears to think he’s in an opera etc etc.

DD commented that they all look a mess! 😂
I love it for George Michaels hair!

I love it! My favourite Christmas song

@laudemio

What *@funkbus* said. There were horrendous droughts at the time, people were starving to death, the song raised money to help them. How can that be offensive?

Some people want to find fault and offense

They want to prove how different they are

They probably still do things wrong themselves that they don't think about , it's easier to knock old people

Perhaps they could think about how they support modern slavery with cheap clothes or are triggering future droughts with their large cabin footprint .

Do what the song did , change the world for a better place not blame and hate others

I love the video how they are look completely off their faces