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"Do They Know It's Christmas": A Poll (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Encyclopedia Brown
- Start date
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
Love it. I am sure a big part of it is nostalgia, but I still enjoy the heck out of it. The harmonies in the below section are so damn good.
And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life
Where nothing ever grows
No rain nor rivers flow
And as a professional air drummer
, I still air drum Phil Collins' fill after Bono's line and before the first line above every time I listen to the song. No shame. 
And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life
Where nothing ever grows
No rain nor rivers flow
And as a professional air drummer
, I still air drum Phil Collins' fill after Bono's line and before the first line above every time I listen to the song. No shame.
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massraider
Footballguy
Such a better song than We are the World.
Boy George has a great voice.
Maaan, anyone says they know every band in this group, they be lyin'.
Status Quo, Heaven 17?
Boy George has a great voice.
Maaan, anyone says they know every band in this group, they be lyin'.
Status Quo, Heaven 17?
Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
This I definitely agree with. tried to make it better by changing the lyrics to "We are the worms, we are the chitlins".
Doug B
Footballguy
Dude basically was whisked offstage after a concert in New York, driven to JFK, flew to London, taxied straight to the studio where there were recording "Do They Know It's Christmas", and THEN belted out his lines right on the money.
Eephus
Footballguy
John Maddens Lunchbox
Footballguy
I grew up in Australia where Status Quo was huge, so huge the bassist Alan Lancaster married an Aussie and moved there. The 2 leads kicked him out (Rossi and Parfitt). The band even fronted an extensive advertising campaign for a major Supermarket for years based on their song Down Down.
If ever a group resembled Spinal Tap, Status Quo is at the top of the list. Two lead vocalists, Parfitt even resembles David St.Hubbins, third wheel bassist who vaguely resembles Derek Smalls and a rotating cast of drummers (slightly exaggerated)
Heaven 17? Huge hit with Temptation, but 2 of the 3 were former members of Human League. They roped in vocalist Glenn Gregory who was a close friend of co-writer and producer of Do They Know its Christmas, Midge Ure of Ultravox. Ure said to Gregory over the phone something along the lines of “get your #### down here now”
The only ones I have a problem with identifying are the two other band members of Boomtown Rats outside Geldof and Johnny Fingers (Pete Briquette and Simon Crowe) Also the third member of Kool and the Gang after J.T Taylor and Robert Bell (Dennis Thomas)
Jody Watley, Marilyn, members of Spandau Ballet, Ultravox, Culture Club, Bananarama, Duran Duran = no issue.
I have this on picture disc, 2 different covers on 12” and 3 different covers on 7”
Encyclopedia Brown
Footballguy
That's impressive.
I couldn't name any of those guys other than Culture Club's drummer (he's the guy in blue shirt shaking maracas).
I'm sure I've heard the name of the guy with the long braid hanging down his back but it never seems to stick and I draw a blank.
I always remember that the girl from Bananarama is named Keren not Karen.
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John Maddens Lunchbox
Footballguy
Duran Duran is fairly easy. Just have to remember Simon LeBon, Nick Rhodes and then the surname Taylor - Roger, Andy and John - None related.
Culture Club - Jon Moss and Boy George are fairly easy, but Roy Hay and Mikey Craig ....helps reading tons of music mags back in the day.
Same with Bananarama, Sarah, Keren and Siobhan . When Siobhan married Dave Stewart of the Euythmics and left for Shakespears Sister, naming the replacement was tricky, She wasnt as attractive and looked out of place. Without looking it up Jackie OSullivan rings a bell.
Keren went on to marry Andrew Ridgely of Wham
80s British music is my trivia home run.
JoeSteeler
Footballguy
Is it just me or was Bananarama really not into it?
Ghost Rider
Footballguy
That one guy
Footballguy
Isn’t that line the crux of the song/purpose? It’s supposed to be uncomfortable and push the developed world into caring for the undeveloped…that’s how I always viewed it, at least
I've heard this song a million times and never thought of that. But you're absolutely right!
Tom Servo
Nittany Beavers
Tom Servo
Nittany Beavers
Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
John Maddens Lunchbox
Footballguy
They were drunk. It was late and it went for a long time. Most of the attendees, but especially Duran Duran And Spandau Ballet had chemical assistance
Deliberately. Guilt works. Midge Ure did the music, he admitted ripping off the Z Cars theme. While Geldof did the lyrics. He specifically targetted Bono to sing the “Thank God its them” line to avoid people complaining of blasphemy. Geldof tolerated some crazy people hovering around like Marilyn who was a washed up one hit wonder that nobody liked and Neil from the Young Ones, because the more publicity the better.
Ure was tasked with getting the music and vocals together on an impossible schedule, while Geldof tasked himself with badgering musicians to appear and the awful business side of it, including the Government and the taxation issue. Everytime Geldof bothered Ure with the music, the dour Scotsman told him to go away unpolitely.
HellToupee
Footballguy
massraider
Footballguy
Midge Ure? The Edge.
Heaven 17 also score points for taking their name from Clockwork Orange.
massraider
Footballguy
I heard this a long time ago, but forgot.
The answer, the true answer, to question 3 is:
Young was the fill in. The lead vocals were written for Bowie. He wasn't available for the day-of recording.
The answer, the true answer, to question 3 is:
Young was the fill in. The lead vocals were written for Bowie. He wasn't available for the day-of recording.
massraider
Footballguy
John Maddens Lunchbox
Footballguy
I’m going to stop chipping in lol.
Midge Ure is one of the more versatile british performers of all time in my biased opinion
He started as the singer in the Bay City Roller ripoff band “Slik”. They hit number one in the UK and were huge in Germany with a song called Forever and Ever.
This was during punk and new wave. His next step was to join Ex Sex Pistol and their primary songwriter Glen Matlock in a group called Rich Kids.
After this he replaced Gary Moore as the guitarist in Thin Lizzy (Boys are back in Town).
After getting interested in electronic music he wrote most of the music for the Visage project, whose big hit was “Fade to Grey”. Through this project he met Billy Currie of the band Ultravox! who had just lost their singer John Foxx to a solo career. Midge agreed to be co-songwriter and vocalist. Their biggest hit was “Vienna”, but they had many UK top 20 hits over 5 years. Band Aid happened as he was doing the greatest hits for Ultravox.
After Band Aid and Live Aid which he was the quiet guy compared to Geldofs loudmouth, he had a solo album which was huge. Number one in the UK single “If I Was”. Then his star faded. He became more interested in the folk side of music.
massraider
Footballguy
That question mark was just guessing as to the ponytail someone couldn't recognize.
Good sir, I do not question Midge's qualifications. I mean, this thing was HIS.
The documentary on Live Aid was awesome, and is on YouTube in two parts. The nearly simultaneous actions of Freddie Mercury taking over the world briefly, and Bob Geldof storming on worldwide television to yell at everyone for not donating enough, is kinda an amazing historical moment for pop music.
Good sir, I do not question Midge's qualifications. I mean, this thing was HIS.
The documentary on Live Aid was awesome, and is on YouTube in two parts. The nearly simultaneous actions of Freddie Mercury taking over the world briefly, and Bob Geldof storming on worldwide television to yell at everyone for not donating enough, is kinda an amazing historical moment for pop music.
Eephus
Footballguy
There were a number of classic performances at Wembley but the Philadelphia concert was kind of a mess, a star-studded mess but a mess nonetheless.
Don't Toews Me
Footballguy
Encyclopedia Brown
Footballguy
That's interesting to know.
Paul Young was huge in England, and he was at his apex right at the moment of the recording. It makes good commercial sense to have put him front and center.
Bowie's name is odd to hear. One of the things that has always struck me about this song was the absence of anyone from the "legacy" era of English music. No Beatles, Stones, the Who, Moody Blues, etc, and no Elton John or Rod Stewart or Clapton. I don't know if that was deliberate or not.
Phil Collins and Sting were the two oldest performers at the advanced age of 33. Bowie was 37. If he sung, he would have been the only one born in the 1940's.
Doug B
Footballguy
Nitpick: Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt from Status Quo sang on the record -- both are older than Collins.
massraider
Footballguy
It was the year. 1984.
82, it's probably Le Bon. Definitely neither Young nor Bowie.
But Let's Dance was a year old, and Bowie was crushing it. 83 to 84, that's his most massive pop success, and it's not close.
The only stars bigger than Bowie that one year were American, and not too many of them.
Truebluey
Footballguy
God awful song, and the lyrics are beyond condescending.
Plus there is something wrong with the tracking speed in the middle of the song when they blend some of the different takes, it annoys the heck out of me every time I hear it.
There were 20+ better Xmas songs in the '80s.
Though Little Drummer Boy with Bing and Bowie is even worse.
Plus there is something wrong with the tracking speed in the middle of the song when they blend some of the different takes, it annoys the heck out of me every time I hear it.
There were 20+ better Xmas songs in the '80s.
Though Little Drummer Boy with Bing and Bowie is even worse.
John Maddens Lunchbox
Footballguy
DocHolliday
Footballguy
Most Xmas songs are not very good songs but they are the sound of the season that I enjoy. Do They Know It’s Xmas is lumped into the songs that I want to hear in December and then not again for 11 months. I much prefer Stars.
JoeSteeler
Footballguy
Lol same hereOops. I answered the poll thinking I had to remember everyone from off the top of my head without seeing the video
zamboni
Footballguy
That’s Kool.Oops. I answered the poll thinking I had to remember everyone from off the top of my head without seeing the video
Sullie
Footballguy
Wow that's a blast from the past. I have to be 100% honest here, I was 16 when this came out, HUGE into the music scene (in that I was glued to MTV, dropped tons of money on cassette tapes, dubbing tapes, radio was always on, etc. back in the day) and this is the first time I've heard this in decades, I completely forgot about this, wow. In fact, I've heard a bunch of the other singles from supergroups or combination of popular artists like We Are The World, Dancing in the Street, Sun City, Hands Across America, Let it Be, that horrible Dionne Warwick song, etc. way more often but for the life of me, I am completely drawing a blank on the last time I heard this one and I knew and recognized most of those acts. . . God Sting looked like a #### there. . . 
It's not a bad song but, like I said, I never hear this song and I have not heard this song since the early 90's maybe. Man, when I played that video, I thought "holy crap most of them looked stoned as hell and did I just hear them say Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you??" I mean, while I appreciate the honesty, it's incredibly condescending and mean. . . Sting must have written that line!
It's not a bad song but, like I said, I never hear this song and I have not heard this song since the early 90's maybe. Man, when I played that video, I thought "holy crap most of them looked stoned as hell and did I just hear them say Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you??" I mean, while I appreciate the honesty, it's incredibly condescending and mean. . . Sting must have written that line!
