TV Review - The Making of Do They Know It's Christmas

 

There is not that much footage of landmark musical moments being made in the studio because acclaim and legend come much later. Yet when you gather a clutch of an era’s pop stars in one place to work together one time only the cameras are going to be there and for the recording of `Do They Know It’s Christmas` in November 1984 they certainly were. Eight film crews and a phalanx of photographers, (some of whom came with their own step ladders) were present to capture the recording and some of that footage has never been seen until now. Recently debuting on iPlayer, this making of documentary plays like its 1984 without any contemporary perspective or additions and if you remember the era (or even if you don’t) it is fascinating.

This is despite the fact that watching something being recorded is not in itself that interesting unless you’re the sort of person who gets excited about compression and is willing to sit at a console for far too many hours per day than is strictly healthy. Yet the Band Aid song had star studded participants so its interesting to see them interact and behave like, well, normal folk really. Nobody flounces in wearing a silver jumpsuit surrounded by ten bodyguards. It's very English, very respectful, quite jokey and even though the documentary only lasts seventy- five minutes it is clear this was a very, very, very long day.

The song itself is an oddly paced piece of music though that gives it an individuality especially the opening with an unsettling drone sound (apparently sampled from a Tears for Fears song) and includes an instrumental bit in the middle that sounds a bit like the Z Cars theme. Yet it does have a memorable tag line in “feed the world” that everyone can join in with. The lyric has been dissected over the years with some saying its patronising towards Africa (does it ever snow in that continent?) plus most Ethiopians would certainly be aware it was Xmas. I think the lyric is shorthand for saying that they felt forgotten, far from gifts and what they needed was more basic and essential. People have also pointed out that all the lead singers are white male artists. Yet as Bob Geldof recently said none of these concerns matter when the record helped and continues to help a lot of people. Pop stars can’t change the world order but they can do something to help in the here and now.

The documentary footage is presented without narration and mostly chronologically when the pop stars turned up at Trevor Horn’s Sarm studios on a Sunday (a day when we always assumed pop star slept like resting vampires) some to record a couple of lines and all to join in with the chorus. Given that these stars had not been averse to taking digs at each other in the pop magazines, they seem comfortable with each other. Simon le Bon likens it to the moment in the First World War when opposing soldiers declared a temporary Xmas day truce to play football in the trenches.

What the film does provide is a very detailed look at how a pop record was made back then. I suspect that while the technology has altered in four decades, the painstaking insistence on precision has not. Of course the difference here is that the song had to be recorded in one day. Matters take a while to get going with some uncertainty over who might start; in the end a game Tony Hadley steps forward. As the day progresses, we see each line being rehearsed and recorded including the notes the producers would give. We see them move people around so that different voices complement each other. I’d always wondered if they faded people in and out as their part dovetails into the next person but it seems that some of the singers just stop halfway through a line which is then mixed with whoever has the next line. The process is surprisingly calm, nobody has a tantrum or seems restless.

In late 1984 Boy George was probably the biggest pop star in the world, George Michael was in his Imperial phase and Duran Duran had earlier in the year completed a massive US tour and had the Bond theme in their pocket, Phil Collins (who drums on the song) was massive twice over with Genesis and his solo career. It’s interesting the way these stars and other regular chart toppers were willing to be directed and perhaps because the producer was another musician they felt safe. They are advised and coaxed into delivering the lines as they need to be. As producer , Midge Ure is a strict but fair taskmaster and while politely accepting input from Bob Geldof its clear he is in control. He has help from two studio engineers whose names are not mentioned but the one wearing the flat cap is Stuart Bruce. There’s a great interview with him on YouTube in which he talks a little about the session and how he wasn’t even able to eat till Simon Le Bon got him a sandwich! A lot of people see Trevor Horn in the clips and assume it was he who produced the single whereas he did the twelve-inch version and of course is his studio.

We see some unlikely conversations notably Paul Weller chatting with Marilyn. Incidentally both Weller and Sting have always come across on the promo video as being a bit austere yet there’s plenty of moments here when we see them being amicable and even smiling. Quite why Sting carries a newspaper the whole day remains unanswered. A hungover Status Quo struggle with the high notes. We see George Michael revealing the opening lines of his at the time unheard single `Last Christmas` for the first time to Paula Yates yet he seems fine with the idea that it might not get to number one because of Band Aid. This is the spirit of the day, though in the end both songs enjoyed time at the top of the charts.

Band Aid started the trend of pop stars giving their services in charitable causes and along with the following summer’s Live Aid concert has been blamed for the homogenisation of pop. It is true that it should not be left up to musicians and pop stars to help stricken parts of the world but when governments are too slow to respond or don’t help at all at least these stars are using their influence for some good. They can hardly be held responsible for what it did to the evolution of pop music. This film is a fascinating record of a time when arguably pop music was never as big or powerful yet its icons used that celebrity to try and do something.