Do They Know It's Christmas?
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of popular British and Irish musical acts. It was recorded in a single day at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill, London, in November 1984.
Cover artwork by Peter Blake
Do They Know It's Christmas?
Do They Know It's Christmas?
During the recording session, Geldof (right) persuaded a reluctant Bono (left) to sing the line "Well, tonight thank God it's them, instead of you".
Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part of the punk rock movement. The band had UK number one hits with his co-compositions "Rat Trap" and "I Don't Like Mondays". Geldof starred as Pink in Pink Floyd's 1982 film Pink Floyd – The Wall. As a fundraiser, Geldof organised the charity supergroup Band Aid and the concerts Live Aid and Live 8, and co-wrote "Do They Know It's Christmas?", one of the best-selling singles to date.
Geldof in 2009
Geldof performing as a solo artist in 1987
Geldof performing with Die Toten Hosen at Your Voice Against Poverty concert in Rostock, Germany on 7 June 2007
Letter of thanks from Geldof to the Acropole Hotel in Khartoum, Sudan, for supporting Band Aid during the 1980s drought in Darfur and Ethiopia