BBC to mark 40th anniversary of Band Aid single Do They Know It’s Christmas?

The BBC has announced plans to mark 40 years since the recording of Band Aid’s first single, Do They Know It’s Christmas?.

On November 25 1984, a number of British pop and rock stars gathered to record the hit single in aid of the Ethiopian famine appeal, brought together by Sir Bob Geldof and Midge Ure.

A new documentary, The Making Of Do They Know It’s Christmas?, unearths 75 minutes of original footage, shot on 16mm film, showing how the song was recorded over the course of one day at a studio in London.

In the footage, stars including Bananarama, Bono, Boy George, Duran Duran, George Michael, Spandau Ballet and Sting rehearse and record their parts and interact with each other during the 24 hours which would make musical history.

The film includes interviews with Gary Kemp, George Michael, John Taylor, Simon Le Bon and Trevor Horn, plus an appearance from Nigel Planer, who played Neil in the BBC TV series, The Young Ones.

Sir Bob, 73, said: “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.”

He continued: “These rock stars piling into the control room, babies under arm – it was a Sunday, family day, chipping in, laughing, shouting suggestions, taking the piss, funny, having fun making history, on top of the world.

“And boy can they sing. Compare and contrast with the American follow up and it’s hyper-sophisticated, hyper super-talent, hyper-organised and professional and our lot, basically a bunch of bouffanted oiks giving it large and being quite brilliant.

“What wonderful people they were. And largely still are. Great film.”

Elsewhere, Zoe Ball will present the programme Do They Know It’s Christmas?: The Song That Changed The World in celebration of the single, which will become available on BBC Sounds from November 25.

Included are contributions from Sir Bob and those who have participated in the versions of the song recorded in the last 40 years, including Bono, Fran Healy, Sting, Rita Ora, Seal, Jason Donovan, Ellie Goulding and Olly Murs.

Also on November 25, in honour of it being the 40th anniversary of the song, The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show will switch on Christmas on the station with Ball speaking to a selection of guests who have been associated with Band Aid through the years.

Later that day, from 12pm to 2pm on the station, Jeremy Vine will cover the anniversary in more depth, looking back to when it was recorded and what has followed since.

The documentary will air later that week.

Helen Thomas, head of BBC Radio 2, said: “Do They Know It’s Christmas? is a true Christmas classic, loved by our audience.

“On Radio 2 and BBC Sounds, The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show and Jeremy Vine will both look at the enduring appeal of the song across four decades since Band Aid released the original in 1984, alongside a special documentary also presented by Zoe Ball.”