BAND AID II : Do They Know It’s Christmas
When Sir Bob Geldof put together the first ‘Band Aid’ cast back in 1984, probably the furthest thing from his mind would be that just five years later, the Stock Aitken Waterman team would bring together the day’s brightest pop acts to re-record the charity piece.
It was out with Sting, Bono, George Michael, Boy George, Phil Collins, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Simple Minds etc and in with Kylie Minogue, Bananarama, Jason Donovan, Sonia, Big Fun and Bros. Also lending a hand on the 1989 version were Lisa Stansfield, Marti Pellow from Wet Wet Wet, Jimmy Somerville, Cliff Richard, Chris Rea and Cathy Dennis, among others.
Of course, the 1989 version would never stand up to the original’s status as a modern day classic, but five years on from the first Band Aid, it served as a reminder that the famine in Africa was still an enormous threat to the lives of millions.
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Ian says
I’m sure it reflects my pop tastes, but I honestly believe that this is the best the three versions of Do They Know It Christmas. It obviously has SAW’s production stamped all over it, but while sending out a very serious message, it is still uplifting – something the original and subsequent Band Aid 20 versions aren’t.
BTW, Bananarama (Keren & Sara) featured on the original version as well.