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Band Aid 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BBC Four and BBC Radio 2 will be marking the 40th anniversary since the recording of the first ever Band Aid single, Do They Know It’s Christmas?, which took place on Sunday 25 November 1984. The programming includes footage from that day which has never previously been broadcast. 

On the BBC 10 O’Clock News on 23 October, 1984, Michael Buerk delivered a report on the Ethiopian famine and the heart-breaking human tragedy that was unfolding there. It was the catalyst for Sir Bob Geldof to take action, creating Band Aid which brought together some of the biggest names in pop for the ground-breaking charity single, Do They Know It’s Christmas? - produced by Midge Ure and released on 10 December, 1984 - and the Live Aid concert in 1985. 

Sir Bob Geldof from the Band Aid Trust says of BBC Four’s documentary, The Making of Do They Know It’s Christmas?: “That Sunday morning when a bunch of young spotty English pop stars who were (more or less) just out of school and had taken over the pop culture of the world, ambled up a Ladbroke Grove street in London to make a song their friends had written for the starving people of Ethiopia, they could never have understood the enormous consequences of that day. It was, if not exactly the ‘shot that rang around the world’, it certainly became, however unwittingly, ‘the shout that rang around the world’, culminating 20 years later in all its unlikely majesty in ultimately forcing the global political process to bend to its focused will at the Gleneagles G8 summit of 2005 and after the Live8 concerts. This then is the ‘fly on the wall’ story of that day from found footage that no-one had thought to look for before, but is now an integral part of British pop history. I love it because it is so… English. So guileless, so charming and yes so innocent.” 

On BBC Radio 2, Zoe Ball presents Do They Know It’s Christmas?: The Song That Changed The World, (Sunday 1 December, and on BBC Sounds from Monday 25 November) - a one hour documentary which tells the story of the world’s most successful charity record across the years. It was an era-defining call to action that proved the power of pop music as a force for change. The programme tells the story of Band Aid’s potent legacy, with contributions from producers Midge Ure, Trevor Horn, Nigel Godrich, Paul Epworth and Pete Waterman, along with Bob Geldof and those who have participated in the versions recorded in the last forty years, including Bono, Fran Healy, Sting, Phil Collins, Keren Woodward, Sara Dallin, Cathy Dennis, Rita Ora, Seal, Jason Donovan, Marti Pellow, Will Young, Tom Chaplin, Ellie Goulding, Lisa Stansfield, Justin Hawkins and Olly Murs. A Zinc Media production. 

On Monday 25th November, in honour of today being the 40th anniversary of the recording of the song, The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show will be switching on Christmas on Radio 2, playing the first festive songs of the season. The show will also feature a selection of guests who have been associated with Band Aid across the years, as well as hearing from listeners sharing their memories of that iconic day.

6 November 2024                                            

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