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Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ released on December 7, 1984, was an era-defining call to action that proved the power of pop music as a force for change. Featuring the biggest pop stars in the UK at the time, the song raised millions of pounds for aid charities fighting famine in Ethiopia. And that song continues to raise millions of pounds every year to provide emergency aid and long-term development projects in Africa.
The reaction to the song was so great, that the Band Aid legacy continued as several more versions were recorded in the decades that followed.
In this programme the leading producers and musicians who participated in the reworked versions explain the song’s importance and influence.
Pete Waterman, Jason Donovan, Marti Pellow, Keren Woodward, Sara Dallin and Cathy Dennis all recall the recording of the Band Aid II version in 1989; Nigel Godrich, Fran Healy, Bono and Tom Chaplin talk about the Band Aid 20 version recorded in 2004 and Paul Epworth, Seal, Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora and Olly Murs are among the guests re-visiting the Band Aid 30 version in 2014, which raised funds to help the UN fight the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.