Band Aid II – Do They Know It’s Christmas?

Band Aid II’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” brought one of the most recognisable songs of the Eighties into a new musical era. Recorded in 1989, the project was organised by Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman, who assembled a new generation of British and Irish pop artists to record Bob Geldof and Midge Ure’s original charity song.

The production gives the familiar composition a distinctly late-Eighties feel. The gentle opening gradually develops into a polished, upbeat arrangement built around synthesizers, programmed drums, keyboards and layers of vocals. Rather than reproducing the sound of the original recording, Stock Aitken Waterman gave it the bright, streamlined production associated with their pop work of the period.

The recording features a remarkable collection of artists, including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Bananarama, Bros, Cliff Richard, Lisa Stansfield, Wet Wet Wet and Sonia. Their individual voices are woven together throughout the song, with the emphasis firmly placed on the collective performance and its humanitarian purpose.

The lyrics retain the original message, contrasting the celebrations and comforts associated with Christmas with the suffering experienced by people affected by famine in Ethiopia. While some of the language has subsequently attracted criticism for its portrayal of Africa, the recording was created with the intention of continuing the fundraising work begun by the original Band Aid.

Band Aid II remains an interesting snapshot of the changing pop landscape at the end of the Eighties, bringing together many of the decade’s most recognisable voices for a common cause.

The song peaked at No. 01 in the UK singles chart on 23rd December 1989.