As the epic recording session for “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” began on Nov. 25, 1984, Bob Geldof — the mastermind behind the all-star charity single — realized that one A-lister was MIA: Culture Club frontman Boy George.
“I called him [and] I said, ‘Where are you, man?’ ” Geldof, 73, told The Post. “And he said, ‘Oh, I’m in bed. You know, I had a late night.’ ”
But the “Karma Chameleon” crooner was laid up a whole continent away from Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill, London.
“He’s in New York, and we’re recording,” recalled Geldof. “I said, ‘Get on a plane and come here! There’s a Concorde in an hour and a half. Get on it.’ And he got there at 6 in the evening.”
Boy George joined a who’s who of British and Irish hitmakers — from Sting, Bono and George Michael to Phil Collins, Duran Duran and Bananarama — in the supergroup Band Aid that would raise millions for Ethiopian famine relief.
The historic single — which shot to the top of the UK charts with record-setting sales after its release on Dec. 7, 1984 — inspired a new wave of humanitarianism in pop, with benefit recordings and concerts such as USA for Africa’s “We Are the World” and the Geldof-helmed Live Aid following in 1985.
And four decades later, the song that helped feed the world is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a special “2024 Ultimate Mix” and compilation — just as we begin another Christmastime.
It’s a music movement that goes back to when Geldof saw BBC reports by Michael Buerk on the Ethiopian famine in October 1984.
“It was horrifying,” he said. “It seared itself into my head … These people were dying of want in a world of surplus.”
After being driven to tears, the Boomtown Rats frontman was driven to action. “This demanded more than simply putting a buck or two into the local charity box,” said Geldof. “So I thought I’d do a song.”
But rather than resort to his own group to bring his mission to life, Geldof wanted to enlist the “new generation” at the top of pop in Band Aid (a name that once drew a cease-and-desist letter from Johnson & Johnson).
Geldof joined forces with Midge Ure of the band Ultravox to come up with just the right song for the cause. But he initially thought a cover might work best — especially with the time crunch to get something out for the holiday season.
“I said, ‘Let’s just do some [Bob] Dylan thing or something,’ ” said Geldof. “[Ure] said, ‘No, no, let’s write something.’ And he sent me a little riff.”
For his part, Geldof harked back to a song he had written called “It’s My World” that was rejected by the Boomtown Rats as “awful.”
“The opening lines were, ‘It’s my world/And there’s no need to be afraid,’ ” said Geldof of the lyrics that echo the beginning of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”: “It’s Christmastime/And there’s no need to be afraid.”
As the song came to life, Geldof began building his all-star team. First Spandau Ballet, then Sting — who was riding high with the Police when they were arguably the biggest band in the world. “He said ‘I’m in’ straight away,” said Geldof.
As the roster filled up, everyone pulled out all the stops to make the one-day recording session. “Spandau Ballet flew back from Japan just to do this,” said Geldof. “Duran Duran had done a huge concert in Germany the night before [and] flew in early in the morning.”
And Michael even put aside his own ambition for Wham!’s “Last Christmas” to go No. 1 that holiday season, contributing to the competition on “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” “He said, ‘I’m still here because it’s a good thing to do,’ ” said Geldof.
Bono, who came in from Dublin in the early days of U2, returned for the 20th and 30th anniversary versions of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” in 2004 and 2014, respectively.
“Bono and I are like Mutt and Jeff,” said Geldof. “We’ve gone on this journey together.”
The new “2024 Ultimate Mix” unites artists from the different versions of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” — as does its generation-splicing video. One moment there’s a young Sting and Bono, then Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, then Harry Styles and Sam Smith.
But Ed Sheeran, who was on the 2014 version, recently said that he wouldn’t have allowed for his vocals to be used on the “2024 Ultimate Mix” if he had been asked for his permission because his “understanding of the narrative associated with this has changed.”
“As time passes, there’s different opinions, new sensibilities,” said Geldof. “He has a point of view. He’s articulating that point of view.”
For Geldof, it’s exactly that kind of debate that enlivens the cultural conversation — just like Band Aid did with “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” 40 years ago.
“Rock ’n’ roll is about articulating possibility,” he said. “It’s specifically about articulating change, demanding change. And that’s what they were all doing.”
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