IT is a Christmas carol that raised over £80m for charity, sold almost 12m copies worldwide and featured some of the world’s biggest pop stars of the time.
But today — to mark the song’s 40th anniversary — we’re revealing the success of Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? it was fueled by day-old sandwiches, booze stolen from a nearby journalist’s house and, for some, Status Quo’s stash of cocaine.
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The biggest global pop stars of the time came together 40 years ago for a famous Christmas carol that raised more than £80m for charityCredit: PA
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Sting, who was an easy target because he was ‘very interested in all kinds of environmental issues’, waited his turnCredit: Brian Aris, Band Aid
The single’s iconic bells rang out on songwriter Midge Ure’s Casio keyboard, Concorde dragged Boy George into the studio from New York when he initially failed to appear, and Duran Duran were locked in the studio toilet.
The incredible stories behind the making of the hit charity single are told in an interview with Robin Eggar — one of only two music journalists allowed into the room for the famous studio session by organizers Ultravox frontman Midge and Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Robin said: “It was an extraordinary day, given the number of stars.
“There were funny moments and it was amazing to see all these artists together in one cramped, slightly worn-out studio.
“Bob Geldof gathered and bullied all these artists like Duran Duran, George Michael and U2, who were competing against each other in the charts and publicly insulting each other, in one place on a quiet Sunday in London in November.
good time
“Maybe it would never have been the same if it hadn’t been for Concorde. Bob called Boy George and ordered him to fly in from New York that day.
“Despite their egos, everyone got on well, but there was no catering — people were told to go out and get their sandwiches, and I had to go back to my flat to get six bottles of wine, which were gone in ten minutes.
“Status Quo kept disappearing into the toilets with others and coming back ‘refreshed’.
“Despite his day starting at 8am, Midge had to kick most people out at midnight because everyone was having such a good time.”
Monday will mark four decades since around 40 of Britain’s top pop stars gathered at Sarm Studios in west London to record the hastily created song, which became the best-selling charity record in UK history.
Bob Geldof and Midge Ure return with a new version of their charity classic, Do They Know It’s Christmas
The single was inspired by a haunting 1984 BBC News report from Ethiopia, where famine ravaged the country and led to 1.2 million deaths between 1983 and 1985 alone.
After looking at the pictures of starving children in the package, Bob Geldof called his friend Midge to say: “We have to make a record.”
Robin, a music reporter who interviewed some of the biggest stars of the day, said: “Bob went on a mission to raise money. In music he bullied and pushed everyone he could and he did it all in a matter of weeks.
“Bob’s career was a bit on the floor. His partner Paula Yates was much more famous for hosting The Tube on TV.
“But he had everyone’s phone numbers and kept pestering them to come forward.
“The person who is a little forgotten in this is Midge. He was a much bigger star than Bob.
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Boy George in his one shot after he flew from the USA by Concorde
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Bob Geldof arrives in the studio with partner Paula YatesCredit: Rex
“Once Bob had confidence that Midge was involved, he started pushing people. Sting was an easy hit, because he was very interested in all kinds of environmental problems.
“Bob bumped into Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon leaving the Picasso Club on King’s Road just after seeing Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp through the window of an art gallery.
“U2 were there because they were both Irish and it was just easier to do what Bob said because he would never let them hear the end of it.
“Bob would tell them that others were confirmed, even if they weren’t, so they felt they had to come.
“Initially they said, ‘We’re aiming to get the Christmas No.1 single and make a few hundred thousand pounds’, but the reality is that the song has made around £80m.”
Midge wrote the music while Bob wrote the lyrics before recording on November 25th. But when they arrived at 8am, no one else was there except the film crew outside.
Robin, who arrived before most of the stars, said: “I knew a lot of bands and I lived to walk lightly on.
“Paul Young arrived first, then Sting came in carrying the Sunday paper, then Bono and Adam Clayton from U2 arrived.
“Paul Weller turned up and was very nervous. Bananarama turned up in a battered taxi.
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Paul Weller, who was reportedly ‘very nervous’, stirs Credit: Rex
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Music journalist Robin Eggar on a day with Simon Le BonCredit: Supplied
“Duran, Duran and Spandau Ballet came around 10 in the morning. They were on a TV show in Germany the night before, so they all flew in together, and they had a drinking competition the night before, so they looked a little worse for wear.
“There was no insurance, no manager, no publicist.
“There was a bit of ‘I don’t want to sit in front of the class’ about who sang first. In the end, Tony Hadley from Spandau eventually volunteered.”
At 11 a.m. Culture Club arrived and Bob realized someone was missing — Boy George.
Robin said: “Bob called him in his hotel room at 6am in New York. Groggy George was telling him he was going to struggle to get there, and Bob just interrupted and said, ‘Everybody’s here but you.
‘Boy George was spicy’
There is a Concorde to London at 9.30am, get on board. He arrived in the middle of the afternoon.
“When George danced, he said, ‘Can someone get me some brandy?’ When Bob said he had to play his words first, George was very spicy. Bob jokingly said, ‘Oh, get on with it, you fucking old queen’.
“George replied: ‘Shut up, you Irish cunt’. George sang his line – one bar – and then dashed off to the studio to actually spread the chaos. He gave everyone a boost.”
To keep everyone occupied, photographer Brian Aris had the group all sing the famous refrain of “Feed the World” while he was shooting. Status Quo’s Francis Rossi had them in stitches by saying: “Why is everyone singing ‘Feed the Welsh’?”
Robin recalled that Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt also struggled with some of their signature harmonies – finally leaving Rossi to perform their songs on his own.
The two songwriters changed the song on the fly.
Robin said: “Bob was ribbing Midge Ure around the middle section, which he did on his Casio keyboard.
If anything, it’s Jingle Bells mixed with a tune from The Dam Busters.
Midge Ure
“Bob said, ‘It sounds like the Z-Cars theme done on a Stylophone.’ Midge shot back, ‘If anything, it’s Jingle Bells mixed with The Dam Busters theme.’
“They also realized that the sentence ‘There will be no snow in Ethiopia this Christmas’ would not be appropriate, so they replaced Ethiopia with Africa.
“I also remember Paul Young trying to sing his lines and Bob coming in from behind the desk and telling him what to sing, but Bob was completely out of tune.
“Paul looked confused. Midge cut in and shouted, ‘You’re not tuning Bob, let them do their job’.”
Robin said he wowed Bono with just one recording of his iconic line, “Well, tonight, thank God they’re for you,” while Phil Collins waited seven hours without moaning to record the song’s drums.
There was very little refreshment on hand, and Bob said, “If you want it, go get it yourself.”
‘We buried our ego’
Robin, who appears in the song’s video alongside Simon Le Bon after the camera crew mistook him for a pop star, added: “The studio was rustling up some curry and chips. If you wanted a sandwich or a drink, you went to the corner store to get it.
“A lot of day-old sandwiches were eaten.”
As the singers were urged towards chart success, some began to feel the need to drink.
Robin said: “I had a flat nearby. Adam Clayton and I went back and got the six bottles of wine I had lying around. That lasted ten minutes in the studio. Others went off-licence when it opened.”
Status Quo also raised the level of partying. Robin added: “There was a lot of coke in the industry back then and Status Quo were very popular, and they would keep passing out in the toilets and everyone came out looking very refreshed.
“They were the biggest party animals.
“At one point they even locked Duran Duran in the toilet. But it was a real collegial atmosphere. George Michael told me: ‘What was needed was for everyone to come together. We all buried our egos for a better cause’.
That’s still one of the things I’m most proud of — just being in the room.
Robin Eggar
“There were some great scenes at the end. Weller spoke to Culture Club’s Jon Moss and singer Marilyn about Margaret Thatcher.
In 2019, Francis Rossi said of the original recording: “I didn’t expect how much we have in common when it comes to cocaine. Soon our corner of the studio became a gathering place for several others.”
Midge and Bob stayed up until 8am producing the record. It was immediately sent to press and within a few days it was on the shelves.
It flew straight to No.1 and stayed there for five weeks over Christmas.
The success even inspired a Live Aid concert in July 1985, a remake of the song after 20 years, which this paper supported, and a further update in 2014. A new version, including voices from the 1984, 2004 and 2014 editions, is in the works on the occasion of the 40th anniversary.
Robin, who wrote biographies of Tom Jones and Shania Twain and ran his own communications company, said: “It remains one of the things I’m most proud of – just being in the room.”
This week, Bob was forced to defend Band Aid 40 after London-born Ghanaian rapper Fuse ODG said the record encouraged “pity, not partnership”.
Ed Sheeran, who sang on the 2014 release, also said he would have “respectfully” refused to use his vocals on the new song again if he had been consulted.
Robin said: “Ed’s views are perfectly reasonable. He should have been asked.”
He added: “However, the original Band Aid was a group of very successful pop stars who were appalled by what was happening in Ethiopia and wanted to help.
“British music was in such a good place and it all came together in a tiny studio on a Sunday afternoon.”
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