Do They Know It's Christmas? (Feed The World)
Year: 1984
Written By: Midge Ure, Bob Geldof
The Christmas song 'Do They Know It's
Christmas?' was a charity single, written by Bob Geldof and
Midge Ure. Written in 1984, it was produced in order to try and
raise money for aid relief to Ethiopia during the famine of
1984-1985 taking place there at that current time. The fist and
original version was released November 29, 1984. This original
version was released with the B-side, 'Feed the World'. The two had
previously been musicians in separate bands, with Bob Geldof being
part of the Boomtown Rats and Midge Ure of
Ultravox.
Bob Geldof was first inspired to help raise money
for Ethiopia during its famine when he watched an infamous BBC
report in Ethiopia which highlighted and expressed how significant
the famine was and its impact on the Ethiopian population. The
report was released earlier in 1984 and was reported on by Michael
Beurk. After viewing the horrors of Ethiopia, Geldof is said to
have immediately contacted Midge Ure and they quickly got to work
on writing 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'.
When creating the track, Geldof decided that
it should be sung by a group of leading UK musicians during this
period. So he gathered many of these musicians and they sung under
the name of Band Aid.
Bob Geldof went to great lengths to give
publicity to his charity single. He even went on BBC Radio 1 to
discuss his charity single and who was to be involved, instead of
talking his about his new album. The great attempts by mainly
Geldof, helped increase media interest and speculation and left the
media eager to hear to more.
The first line of the charity single has been
delivered by a separate musician on all three occasions (Paul Young
in 1984, Kylie Minogue in 1989 and Chris Martin in 2004). This line
was originally designed and planned to be sung by David Bowie. But
he was initially unavailable. In the end he finally sung the first
line at the Live Aid concert in 1985.
The 1984 original version from the original
Band Aid broke records, becoming the biggest selling single in the
UK Singles Chart history. It did this by managing sales of over one
million copies in the first week alone. The song was also the
highest selling single in the UK Singles Chart history until 1997
when Elton John broke that record with 'Candle in the Wind 1997'
which was made in memory of the late Princess Diana who passed away
a short while beforehand.
Do They Know It's Christmas? (Feed The World) Lyrics
It's Christmas time; there's no need to be afraid
At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade
And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time
But say a prayer to pray for the other ones
At Christmas time
It's hard, but when you're having fun
There's a world outside your window
And it's a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears
And the Christmas bells that ring there
Are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you
And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life
Oh, where nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow
Do they know it's Christmas time at all?
Here's to you, raise a glass for ev'ryone
Here's to them, underneath that burning sun
Do they know it's Christmas time at all?
Feed the world
Feed the world
Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmas time again
Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmas time again
Rate Different Artist Versions of Do They Know It's Christmas? (Feed The World)
| Artist Name | Current Rating | Your Rating | Preview |
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| Boys to Men | | | |
| Frosty & The Snowmen | | | |
| Slade | | | |
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