On this day in 1984, musical aficionados from the worlds of pop and rock came together to record the iconic ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ single for Band Aid. The single has gone down in history as an example of the power of music to help right the wrongs in the world. The song leapt to the number one spot over the Christmas of 1984, selling over a million copies in under a week and totalling sales of three million by the end of that year. The Band Aid super-group featured the cream of eighties pop, including David Bowie, Phil Collins, George Michael, Sting, Cliff Richard and Paul McCartney.
The sales target for the single was £70,000, all of which was to be donated to the African famine relief fund. With support from Radio 1 DJs and a Top of the Pops Christmas Special, sales sky-rocketed and Geldof, feeling the strength of public opinion behind him, went toe-to-toe with the conservative government in an attempt to have tax on the single waived. Margaret Thatcher initially refused the plea, but as public outcry grew, Thatcher caved-in to public demands and the tax on sales worth nearly £9 million was donated back to charity.
Bob Geldof and a host of artists old and new have re-recorded the single to help raise funds to stem the Ebola crisis. Our infographic marks the 30th anniversary of the original recording and illustrates the movers and shakers that made this monumental milestone in pop history possible.
To view free articles examining the cause, the people, and the music, you can open the graphic as a PDF.
Headline image credit: Live Aid at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, 1985. CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
The post Band Aid (an infographic) appeared first on OUPblog.
The one name linking all of these is Richmond.
1. Dave Richmond, bass player and founder member of 1960s band Manfred Mann. He left the group after ‘5-4-3-2-1′ and then, after a time with the John Barry Seven, became a session musician. As such he has played with, amongst others, Dusty Springfield, Cliff Richard and Elton John. He was also on the controversial (at the time) ‘Je T’aime’ by Serge Gainsborough and Jane Birkin. For the last 21 years he has played bass on the theme for television’s ‘Last of the Summer Wine’. Dave Richmond’s home page
2. Richmond, the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, U.S. Virginia is one of four states in the U.S. which use the term commonwealth in their names, the others are Massachusetts, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Richmond, which stands on the James River, was also the capital of the Confederacy from July 1861.
3. Richmond Palace was a royal palace on The Green, Richmond, Surrey, England, U.K. in what is now part of London, between 1327 and 1649. It was built by Henry VII on the site of the former Palace of Shene (a.k.a. Sheen or Sheane) after a disastrous fire in 1497 and renamed Richmond Palace. Elizabeth I spent a lot of time at Richmond and died there in 1603.
Richmond Palace
Image via Wikipedia
4. Richmond Arquette is the sibling of Alexis, David, Patricia and Rosanna Arquette. He is a minor character actor who is perhaps best remembered as the delivery driver, who unwittingly delivers the box containing the head, at the end of the film ‘Se7en’ (1995).
5. Richmond Castle, North Yorkshire, England, U.K. Norman fortress built on a rocky promontory overlooking the River Swale and dating from shortly after the Norman conquest. Now over 900 years old it is in the care of English Heritage.
The one name linking all of these is Richmond.
1. Dave Richmond, bass player and founder member of 1960s band Manfred Mann. He left the group after ‘5-4-3-2-1′ and then, after a time with the John Barry Seven, became a session musician. As such he has played with, amongst others, Dusty Springfield, Cliff Richard and Elton John. He was also on the controversial (at the time) ‘Je T’aime’ by Serge Gainsborough and Jane Birkin. For the last 21 years he has played bass on the theme for television’s ‘Last of the Summer Wine’. Dave Richmond’s home page
2. Richmond, the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, U.S. Virginia is one of four states in the U.S. which use the term commonwealth in their names, the others are Massachusetts, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Richmond, which stands on the James River, was also the capital of the Confederacy from July 1861.
3. Richmond Palace was a royal palace on The Green, Richmond, Surrey, England, U.K. in what is now part of London, between 1327 and 1649. It was built by Henry VII on the site of the former Palace of Shene (a.k.a. Sheen or Sheane) after a disastrous fire in 1497 and renamed Richmond Palace. Elizabeth I spent a lot of time at Richmond and died there in 1603.
Richmond Palace
Image via Wikipedia
4. Richmond Arquette is the sibling of Alexis, David, Patricia and Rosanna Arquette. He is a minor character actor who is perhaps best remembered as the delivery driver, who unwittingly delivers the box containing the head, at the end of the film ‘Se7en’ (1995).
5. Richmond Castle, North Yorkshire, England, U.K. Norman fortress built on a rocky promontory overlooking the River Swale and dating from shortly after the Norman conquest. Now over 900 years old it is in the care of English Heritage.