Do They Know It's Christmas?
| Do They Know It's Christmas? | |
|---|---|
| Recorded by Sting | |
| Released: | 1984-12-03 |
| Recorded: | 1984-11-25 |
| Length: | 3:55 (remix 6:16) |
| Album(s): | ALBUM(S) |
| Label(s): | Mercury |
| Writer(s): | Bob Geldof, Midge Ure |
| Producer(s): | Midge Ure, Trevor Horn (12" version) |
| Studio(s): | Sarm West Studios |
| Released as single? | YES |
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a song written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure and recorded by Band Aid (including Sting) mostly on 1984-11-25.
Contents
About the song
The demo for this song was recorded by Midge Ure. John Taylor played his bass part on 1984-11-21. Sting recorded his vocals on 1984-11-24. Then - on 1984-11-25 - a lot of celebrities came to Sarm West Studios to do their part.
On that day the studio was blocked off with the Police (the guys in uniform!) being present. Seven camera crews were setting up their gear inside the studio, five from the UK and two from the USA. At 9:15AM Bob Geldof arrived. He had seen a TV report about Ethiopia and then contacted everybody he knew to suggest today's special charity project. Everybody involved worked for free: musicians, technicians, press factory people...
The next one to arrive was Midge Ure, who produced the 7" version of the song (the 12" version would be done by Trevor Horn). Midge brought his 24 track master tape with him. Another early bird in the studio was Culture Club's Jon Moss, who confirmed that Boy George would appear later in the day. Sting arrived in his black Range Rover. Paul Weller turned up on foot and mostly kept to himself. Spandau Ballet arrived in two limousines. They had flown over from Germany with Duran Duran at 6:30AM.
Trevor Horn showed up and his offer to mix a 12" version of the song was accepted. Around noon everybody except for Boy George was in the studio where they did a photo session with Brian Aris upstairs. They started to record after the photo session - the first singer to be recorded would be Spandau Ballet's Tony Hadley. After choir vocals for about two hours they recorded solo bits from George Michael, Simon LeBon and Bono. They also sang a choir part together with Midge Ure. Francis Rossi did his small part, followed by Paul Young, Marilyn and Glenn Gregory and the female singers, then some more choir parts.
Trudie Styler arrived with her baby daughter and two small dogs. Phil Collins would record his drum parts with additional percussion done by Jon Moss. Paul Weller, Bob Geldof and Spandau Ballet's Gary Kemp recorded their acoustic guitars in two takes. The latest recording would be done by Boy George who needed some brandy before doing half a dozen takes. The last overdub would be finished at 10:00PM.
Bob Geldof and Midge Ure started to mix the song at 11:00PM - that lasted until 6:00AM. AFter a half hour break they did the b-side until 9:00AM. Studio engineer Stuart Bruce picked up the master and brought it to Utopia Studios, where the mastering took place. Singles would be pressed the next Wednesday to be sold on the following Saturday.
The song would be the last one to be played at the 1985-07-13 Live Aid concert in London - with Sting among the huge crowd of musicians completely blocking Stewart Copeland on drums from the cameras.
Personnel
- Phil Collins - drums
- Jon Moss - percussion
- John Taylor - bass
- Sting - vocals
- Midge Ure - keyboards
- Paul Weller, Bob Geldof, Gary Kemp - acoustic guitars
- Bono, George Michael, Boy George, lots of others ... - vocals
Release History
Albums
Do They Know It's Christmas? appears on the following album releases:
| Cover art | Album title | Release date | Release country |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Album date | YYYY-MM-DD | Country |
Singles
CD Singles
| Cover art | Catalog no. | Songs | Release date | Release country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Catalog no. | "Song"(s) | YYYY-MM-DD | Country |
7" Singles
| Cover art | Catalog no. | A-side song/B-side song | Release date | Release country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Catalog no. | "A-side song"/"B-side song" | YYYY-MM-DD | Country |
12" Singles
| Cover art | Catalog no. | A-side song(s)/B-side song(s) | Release date | Release country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40px | FEED 112 | "Do They Know It's Christmas? (remix)"/"Do They Know It's Christmas? (standard mix)"/"Feed The World" | 1984-12-03 | Germany |
|
880 502-1 | "Do They Know It's Christmas? (remix)"/"Do They Know It's Christmas? (standard mix)"/"Feed The World" | 1984-12-DD | Germany |
Video
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" appears on the following video and dvd releases:
| Cover art | Video title | Release date | Release country |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Do They Know It's Christmas? - The Story Of The Official Band Aid Video | 1984-MM-DD | England, UK |
Awards, nominations, and certifications
Awards
This section needs more information.
| Year | Winner | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| YYYY | WINNER (album, song, producer, etc.) | AWARD (Grammy, People's Choice, etc.) | CATEGORY |
Nominations
This section needs more information.
| Year | Nominee | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| YYYY | NOMINEE (album, song, producer, etc.) | AWARD (Grammy, People's Choice, etc.) | CATEGORY |
Certifications
This section needs more information.
| Country | Certifier | Classification | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| COUNTRY | CERTIFIER (RIAA, IFPI...) | CLASSIFICATION (Album, singles, foreign artist...) | CERTIFICATION (Gold, Platinum, Diamond...) |
Lyrics
It's Christmas time, and 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 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 everyone 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 And feed the world Let them know it's Christmas time And feed the world Let them know it's Christmas time And feed the world Let them know it's Christmas time...
Quotations and trivia
ad in 1985-02 Freeze Frame:
Alternative and cover versions
This section needs more information.
See also
This section needs more information.
External links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_They_Know_It%27s_Christmas%3F
References
sources: various UK magazines
