Green Man wrote:
robbiex wrote:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0025gmy/t...y-know-its-christmas

Watching the documentary on the making of the record, makes me realise what a treat this was for any pop fan of the mid-80s. Virtually every massive uk pop star of the time in one video from George Michael, Boy George, Duran, Spandau, Paul Young, Sting, and Paul Weller. I heard complaints on the radio about Bananarama being the only females aprt from Jodie Watley from Shalamar. There were lots of females in the music industry then such as Kim Wilde, Toyah, Alison Moyet, Kate Bush, half of Bucks Fizz, and Clare Grogan from Altered Images. I bought the record as a school child back in the day which gave £1.50 to charity, which otherwise I wouldn't have given.


I can't imagine Toyah doing a charity single. Toyah tends to shy away from politics and has always been busy with charities but is hush-hush. I couldn't imagine Kate Bush singing a charity single, she tends to enjoy being away from the limelight.

I am not surprised Kim Wilde, Alison Moyet and Clare Grogan were not on it. I couldn't stand Clare Grogan's poppy songs and voice. Alison Moyet's strong vocal chords would have stuck up like a sore thumb in the harmonies.

Kate Bush was on the Ferry Aid single Let It Be in 1987 which raised funds for the Zebrugge Ferry Disaster.
It was her only charity single appearance.

Rich wrote:
So today is 40 years since that first recording was done, and now this latest mash up is out.

I'm interested to note that one of my favourite record producers Trevor Horn has produced this rehash. If anyone can make a track sound decent he can I suppose, not that I've heard it yet or am straining at the leash to do so in November.

One interesting comment from this BBC news article today reviewing the track says - "The 1989 recording, however, appears to have been erased from existence: There's no sign of Kylie Minogue, Lisa Stansfield or Sonia's contributions" - I'm not surprised, that 1989 version was quite dreadful in every way, sterile and with no passion, with a very substandard bunch of vocals showing up mostly from the SAW singers stable of the time, Big Fun, yuck, and the poor production of Waterman and Co. Well and truly best forgotten, except Lisa, she's okay.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgl47nddn1wo

Predictably it got a big reveal on Radio 2 earlier and they wheeled out Geldof for more of the same. You can already see the next one coming along for the 50th in 2034 can't you.....Zzzzzzzzzzz.

I didn't mind it, i think the 2014 one was the first and quite forgotten now, it didn't stay around the charts for very long.

Band Aid II had more non-SAW artists like Lisa Stansfield as mentioned, plus Chris Rea, Cliff Richard, The Pasadenas, Wet Wet Wet and Bros.
SAW were very popular at the time and that's why they were chosen.
Not everyone's cup of tea i know, but they had their fans.

robbiex wrote:
Green Man wrote:
robbiex wrote:
www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0025gmy/t...y-know-its-christmas

Watching the documentary on the making of the record, makes me realise what a treat this was for any pop fan of the mid-80s. Virtually every massive uk pop star of the time in one video from George Michael, Boy George, Duran, Spandau, Paul Young, Sting, and Paul Weller. I heard complaints on the radio about Bananarama being the only females aprt from Jodie Watley from Shalamar. There were lots of females in the music industry then such as Kim Wilde, Toyah, Alison Moyet, Kate Bush, half of Bucks Fizz, and Clare Grogan from Altered Images. I bought the record as a school child back in the day which gave £1.50 to charity, which otherwise I wouldn't have given.


I can't imagine Toyah doing a charity single. Toyah tends to shy away from politics and has always been busy with charities but is hush-hush. I couldn't imagine Kate Bush singing a charity single, she tends to enjoy being away from the limelight.

I am not surprised Kim Wilde, Alison Moyet and Clare Grogan were not on it. I couldn't stand Clare Grogan's poppy songs and voice. Alison Moyet's strong vocal chords would have stuck up like a sore thumb in the harmonies.

I heard Toyah talking out against asylum seekers living in her area. I also heard her say that she hated Margaret Thatcher. To be a punk in itself is supposedly political in itself. I like Toyah, but she does seem to do anything for money or publicity. Shes done I'm a celeb, celebrity masterchef, celebrity pointless, and strictly come dancing this year. She does 80s reunion tours all the time, which some turn their nose up at. Smash Hits editors always referred to her as been in reception, because she was readily available to do a cover shoot. I think she would have jumped at the chance to be on the band aid single, but her profile was pretty low at the time, and her lispy voice would stand out like a sore thumb. On a recent podcast called Rockenteurs Alison Moyet said that she wasn't on the band aid single because she didn't have any showbiz mates and thus wasn't contacted. She was a very private and solitary person

Toyah lives in Pershore, Worcestershire

Interesting, I have never heard about asylum seekers wanting to move in her area and was vocal about it.


I thought everyone was against Maggie to stay punk and think socialism is cool. When it comes to TV I am lost it's trash to me

Was T'Pau on the single?

Regarding Band Aid II, Stock Aitken Waterman also produced both the 1987 Ferry Aid single Let it Be
and the 1989 Hillsborough single Ferry 'Cross The Mersey which weren't their usual SAW sound.

Ferry Aid featured the likes of Kate Bush, Kim Wilde, Nik Kershaw, Boy George, Ben from Curiosity Killed The Cat,
Mark King from Level 42, Nick Kamen, Junior Giscombe, Mel and Kim, etc

Hillsborough 1989 featured Paul McCartney, Holly Johnson, Gerry Marsden and The Christians

]Green Man wrote:
Interesting, I have never heard about asylum seekers wanting to move in her area and was vocal about it.


I thought everyone was against Maggie to stay punk and think socialism is cool. When it comes to TV I am lost it's trash to me

Was T'Pau on the single?

[url=https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/7702830.toyah-joins-in-asylum-outcry/]https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/7702830.toyah-joins-in-asylum-outcry/[/url

Band Aid was too early for T'Pau, they didn't achieve any success till about 87.

MCR wrote:
Regarding Band Aid II, Stock Aitken Waterman also produced both the 1987 Ferry Aid single Let it Be
and the 1989 Hillsborough single Ferry 'Cross The Mersey which weren't their usual SAW sound.

Ferry Aid featured the likes of Kate Bush, Kim Wilde, Nik Kershaw, Boy George, Ben from Curiosity Killed The Cat,
Mark King from Level 42, Nick Kamen, Junior Giscombe, Mel and Kim, etc

Hillsborough 1989 featured Paul McCartney, Holly Johnson, Gerry Marsden and The Christians



Let's just take Ferry Aid for a moment. I thought at the time it was a step too far.

How much money did the victims receive out of that in the end, and just who decided who got what? Because unlike Band Aid, Ferry Aid was a much more narrow remit with only a relatively few people involved compared to a general famine situation. Where though did you ever hear people asking such questions. After all, why was there a need for a charity single for this at all, or for the Bradford stadium fire. You forgot The Crowd MCR. These terrible tragedies will have surely been covered by some kind of government compensation scheme would they not?

Why did nobody care to help out the 167 oil workers killed on Piper Alpha in the same period? Just stop oil eh, no Oil Aid. What about the Manchester airport disaster, August 1985. King's Cross Fire? November 1987. The Clapham rail disaster. December 1988. The Marchioness boat tragedy that killed about 50 in the Thames in August 1989. Nothing for them.

The list of major loss of life tragedies that hit the UK between 1985 and 1989 in the immediate aftermath of Band Aid was deeply shocking and they came along in regular short succession like nothing seen before or since, oh and I've not even mentioned Pan AM crashing on Lockerbie in December 1988 and then two weeks later another plane crash on the M1 with massive loss of life.

So by my reckoning that's;

May 1985 - Bradford Fire - 56 dead, 265 injured.
August 1985 - Manchester Runway Plane - 55 dead, 15 injured, some survivors.
November 1986 - Sumburgh Chinook Disaster - 45 dead, 2 injured.
March 1987 - Zeebrugge Ferry Capsize - 193 dead.
August 1987 - Hungerford Massacre - 17 dead, 15 injured.
November 1987 - King's Cross Station Fire - 31 dead, 100 injured.
July 1988 - Piper Alpha Disaster - 167 dead.
December 1988 - Clapham Rail Disaster - 35 dead, 484 injured, 69 seriously.
December 1988 - Flight PanAM 103 bomb Lockerbie - 259 dead.
January 1989 - Kegworth M1 Air Disaster - 47 dead, 74 injured.
April 1989 - Hillsborough Stadium Disaster - 97 dead, 766 injured.
August 1989 - Marchioness Riverboat Thames Disaster - 51 dead.

There was also a massive air disaster of an incoming Heathrow bound 747 jumbo jet, Air India Flight 182, from Canada just off the UK/Irish coast by just 120 miles in June 1985 - 329 dead, including 27 Brits. This happened while one of these charity singles for the Bradford fire was actually No1.

What an incredible period of time this was. I may ewven have missed something still. These are just the ones I remember without even checking up, other than the exact stats. Could you imagine this level of separate UK disasters over the next 4 years?

Rich wrote:
MCR wrote:
Regarding Band Aid II, Stock Aitken Waterman also produced both the 1987 Ferry Aid single Let it Be
and the 1989 Hillsborough single Ferry 'Cross The Mersey which weren't their usual SAW sound.

Ferry Aid featured the likes of Kate Bush, Kim Wilde, Nik Kershaw, Boy George, Ben from Curiosity Killed The Cat,
Mark King from Level 42, Nick Kamen, Junior Giscombe, Mel and Kim, etc

Hillsborough 1989 featured Paul McCartney, Holly Johnson, Gerry Marsden and The Christians



Let's just take Ferry Aid for a moment. I thought at the time it was a step too far.

How much money did the victims receive out of that in the end, and just who decided who got what? Because unlike Band Aid, Ferry Aid was a much more narrow remit with only a relatively few people involved compared to a general famine situation. Where though did you ever hear people asking such questions. After all, why was there a need for a charity single for this at all, or for the Bradford stadium fire. You forgot The Crowd MCR. These terrible tragedies will have surely been covered by some kind of government compensation scheme would they not?

Why did nobody care to help out the 167 oil workers killed on Piper Alpha in the same period? Just stop oil eh, no Oil Aid. What about the Manchester airport disaster, August 1985. King's Cross Fire? November 1987. The Clapham rail disaster. December 1988. The Marchioness boat tragedy that killed about 50 in the Thames in August 1989. Nothing for them.

The list of major loss of life tragedies that hit the UK between 1985 and 1989 in the immediate aftermath of Band Aid was deeply shocking and they came along in regular short succession like nothing seen before or since, oh and I've not even mentioned Pan AM crashing on Lockerbie in December 1988 and then two weeks later another plane crash on the M1 with massive loss of life.

So by my reckoning that's;

May 1985 - Bradford Fire - 56 dead, 265 injured.
August 1985 - Manchester Runway Plane - 55 dead, 15 injured, some survivors.
November 1986 - Sumburgh Chinook Disaster - 45 dead, 2 injured.
March 1987 - Zeebrugge Ferry Capsize - 193 dead.
August 1987 - Hungerford Massacre - 17 dead, 15 injured.
November 1987 - King's Cross Station Fire - 31 dead, 100 injured.
July 1988 - Piper Alpha Disaster - 167 dead.
December 1988 - Clapham Rail Disaster - 35 dead, 484 injured, 69 seriously.
December 1988 - Flight PanAM 103 bomb Lockerbie - 259 dead.
January 1989 - Kegworth M1 Air Disaster - 47 dead, 74 injured.
April 1989 - Hillsborough Stadium Disaster - 97 dead, 766 injured.
August 1989 - Marchioness Riverboat Thames Disaster - 51 dead.

There was also a massive air disaster of an incoming Heathrow bound 747 jumbo jet, Air India Flight 182, from Canada just off the UK/Irish coast by just 120 miles in June 1985 - 329 dead, including 27 Brits. This happened while one of these charity singles for the Bradford fire was actually No1.

What an incredible period of time this was. I may ewven have missed something still. These are just the ones I remember without even checking up, other than the exact stats. Could you imagine this level of separate UK disasters over the next 4 years?

It's all about virtue signalling and raising their profiles. Pop stars are egotistical idiots who are blessed with talent. I knew many pub bands with bags full of charisma and talent but couldn't get a contract in the proper scene.

The re-hash Band Aid single has failed to break into the UK Top 40, charting as a new entry at only No45.

I don't know anyone who buys and download singles; they buy albums!

Green Man wrote:
I don't know anyone who buys and download singles; they buy albums!

You do now. Although I haven't downloaded a single in ages but I do like the feeling of proper ownership of a piece of music, even if it is a digital example of it. I've never even looked at Spotify!

Digital download for songs is what older people did back in the day. They used torrents and burnt songs on to blank discs or their MP3 player. My partner pays for Spotify she uses it a lot but the quality is bad.

Ilove Alison Moyet's anecdote about Live Aid- see below recent interview with Chris Evans, Live Aid anecdote is at 05:10 in the clip (tho the whole interview is great- she is funny, self-deprecating and honest. She is also doing a huge world tour next year.

Alison Moyet seems like a decent humble person, and I'm sure that it would be enjoyable to see her do a concert in a small venue.
Whether we need another Band Aid remix, then we don't need it, but there are lots of things we don't need like another cover version of "All the Young Dudes", or a cover of "Sugar Sugar", but some people might want it, and those that don't like it can ignore it.

I agree Robbie, Pet Shop Boys are becoming very bland and forgettable. They have lived off West End Girls and It's A Sin for nearly 40 years.

Alison Moyet is one that I could take or leave, she was never on my radar. She is still going, so good luck to her.

Pet Shop Boys consider themselves innovative but I think they've been very generic and samish for the past 30 years. What was the last truly great song they made? This became clear to me when Radio 2 did one of those polls recently and played the top thirty favourite Pet Shop Boys songs and much of the lower half sounded very forgettable actually, and all the top positions were in a narrow couple of year period out of a near 40 year existance.

Band Aid 40 went 45 to 8 this past week.

Rich wrote:
Pet Shop Boys consider themselves innovative but I think they've been very generic and samish for the past 30 years. What was the last truly great song they made? This became clear to me when Radio 2 did one of those polls recently and played the top thirty favourite Pet Shop Boys songs and much of the lower half sounded very forgettable actually, and all the top positions were in a narrow couple of year period out of a near 40 year existance.

Band Aid 40 went 45 to 8 this past week.

I disliked the 12-inch mixes and remixes they did. They were so forgettable and dragged, some of the remixes were just.

Well this was interesting. Has the Band Aid bubble finally burst?

Having only entered first week at No45, last week it leapt to No8, but this week Band Aid 40 has gone into reverse and fallen out the top ten to only No14.

Even Andy Williams has outdone it this week, he's No13 with It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas.

Proof if it were needed and as I thought, this was one Band Aid rehash too many.

But with supreme irony, the song that Band Aid kept off the top spot for five weeks at Christmas 1984/New Year 1985 has returned to the No1 spot this week again,