I keep getting Emails from people asking me to re-upload the links and music etc. I think people are just getting to those particular pages so are not reading the reason for the dead links.
So I am putting this in place so hopefully people will read it and stop Emailing me about it.
The reason the links are dead is that my account with Media Fire has been closed with all 11,000 files lost. That is why you can not download the things and No I can not re-upload them.
Eventually I will start doing that again when I have found something suitable. In the meantime this blog will be information only blog.
Thank you all
Michaael
New Blog Forum
The 80s Music and Fame Media Forum is now open for users to chat, make new friends, leave messages for each other and leave comments on the blog sites. To access it click the link below or use the link in the side bar.
'I Can't Help It' is a song written and recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It is included on their fourth studio album Wow! and was released as its third single except in the U.S., where it was the album's second single (following 'I Heard a Rumour') and Australia, where it was the album's fourth single (after 'I Want You Back'). The track was co-written and produced by the Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) trio.
The song is a disco-influenced pop tune similar to many hits produced by SAW during this time period
The single peaked at number twenty in the UK singles chart, number 27 on the Australian ARIA chart (where it was released in August 1988 after I Want You Back), and just missed the top-forty on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. A hit in nightclubs, 'I Can't Help It' climbed to number seven on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart.
This is the final Bananarama single to feature Siobhan Fahey, who announced her departure shortly after its release.
The photos on the record sleeve were taken by famous American photographer Herb Ritts. The record sleeves for 'I Can't Help It' and 'Love in the First Degree' were switched with each other for the UK and North American markets.
The song's suggestive lyrics and music video further perpetuated Bananarama's sensual visual image that the group began to incorporate with their previous album True Confessions.
The 'I Can't Help It' video featured muscle men dancing, colourful backdrops, and Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward in a milk bath filled with fruit and naked men. Siobhan Fahey, extremely pregnant at the time, also appears but was only shown on camera from the shoulders up. Music video directed by Andy Morahan.
Please click the link belwo to download the following: Video Single Version Extended Remix Hammond Excursion Version BUK Solitaire Version Esctacy - B-Side Mr Sleaze - Rare Groove Remix - 12 inch B-Side
'Whenever You Need Somebody' is a number-one dance hit from 1985 performed by O'Chi Brown and written by the team of Stock Aitken Waterman. Brown's version of the song, would also make the soul singles chart, peaking at number eighty-eight.
In 1987, Rick Astley covered the song, and it would become the title track and second single from Astley's multi-million selling debut album Whenever You Need Somebody, also written and produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. The single reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart.
It was also a successful European hit for Astley, continuing the success of his previous smash single 'Never Gonna Give You Up'. It was not released as a single in the U.S.
Click the link below to download the following: Video Single Version Instrumental Version Rick Sets It Off Mix Lonely Hearts Mix Diego Grez 2008 Remix Edit Just Good friends - B-side
'Do Not Disturb' is a song recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It was written and produced by the production duo of Steve Jolley and Tony Swain.
Originally released as a stand-alone single in 1985, the track was later added to Bananarama's third album 'True Confessions' which was issued by London Records a year later. 'Do Not Disturb' was released in the UK, Australia, Germany and Japan but only charted in the UK.
Bananarama did not like the song. Group member Keren Woodward later said of the 'True Confessions' album, "It is all our ideas, it is what we wanted to sound like and sing about. Except 'Do Not Disturb' which Swain and Jolley wrote and which we don't think is very good. Thats why there's eleven songs on the LP instead of ten". When released, 'Do Not Disturb' was a mid-charting single, peaking at number thirty-one.
The music video for 'Do Not Disturb' directed by Simon Milne features Bananarama in a brightly lit hotel clad in long white flowing dresses and blouses similar to the single's picture sleeve. The video also cuts frequently to a set with Bananarama dancing, and doing football tricks with superimposed circular footage. The whole video has a "round" theme, from round beds, and spas to a round frame in which each member dances within. 'Do Not Disturb' is also interesting because it demarcates between the silly contrived videos from Deep Sea Skiving, and the sophisticated and sensual videos from 'Venus' onwards. For this reason, 'Do Not Disturb' is a transitional video in style and image; the trite and silly storyline is a remnant of their predecessor videos, but the tidier and glamourous image and clothes is much more aligned towards 'Venus'.
Click the link below to download the following: Video Single Version Bananamix Version Ghost - B-side
'New Life' is the second UK single by Depeche Mode, originally released on 13 June 1981. It was not commercially released in the United States.
There were two versions of the song available. The 7" version would later become the "album version", as it would eventually appear on the UK version of Speak & Spell, released in October of 1981, and a 12" "remix," which differs from the "album version" in that it has a different intro, and an added synth part in the "solo" vocal section in the middle of the song, which is not present on the 7" mix. The "remix" would later appear on the US version of Speak & Spell.
The single became Depeche Mode's breakthrough hit in the UK, peaking at number 11. On 25 June 1981, the band performed 'New Life' during their debut appearance on the BBC's Top of the Pops. The band would perform the song twice more on the show, on July 16 and July 30, 1981.
The b-side, 'Shout!', is the first Depeche Mode song to get a 12" extended remix, called the "Rio Remix". This mix would later appear on the remix compilation Remixes 81–04, released in 2004. It is the earliest recorded song available on the compilation.
Click the link below to download the following: Single Version Shout - B-Side
'Speak & Spell' is the debut album from the British synthpop group Depeche Mode, recorded and released in 1981. The album peaked at number 10 in the UK Albums Chart.
This was the only Depeche Mode album with Vince Clarke as a member of the band. Clarke wrote most of the songs for the band, before departing to form the synthpop duo Yazoo with Alison Moyet and later, the duo Erasure with Andy Bell.
The album is significantly lighter in tone and melody than their later work, a direction which can largely be attributed to Clarke's writing. After he left, Martin Gore would take over songwriting duties, writing almost all of the band's material. Later albums written by him would explore darker subjects and melodies.
The album title alludes to the then-popular 'Speak & Spell' electronic toy.
Tracklisting: 01 - I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead 02 - Puppets 03 - Boys Say Go 04 - Nodisco 05 - What's Your Name? 06 - Photographic 07 - Tora! Tora! Tora! 08 - Big Muff 09 - Any Second Now (Voices) 10 - Just Can't Get Enough
'Dreaming of Me' is the debut single by Depeche Mode, originally released on February 20, 1981 in the UK. The single was not commercially released in the United States.
Two mixes of the song have been released, one which fades out, and one which does not. The alternate version is on the CD re-release of Speak and Spell in Europe, while the American Speak and Spell (and all singles compilations containing the song) has the regular version. The re-release of Speak and Spell in 2006 also features the no-fade out version, and was released in all regions.
The B-Side, 'Ice Machine,' is similarly available in a fading version, and an alternate non-fading version. The song is also a bonus track on the CD rerelease of Speak and Spell in the UK. The 1986 and 2006 re-releases of Speak and Spell use the no-fade out version. A live version of 'Ice Machine' (recorded during the Some Great Reward tour) is available on the 12" version of the 1984 single, 'Blasphemous Rumours.'
Due to a poor chart placement (number 57 on the UK singles chart), 'Dreaming of Me' did not originally appear on Speak and Spell, but did show up in the CD re-release in the UK as a bonus track. In the United States, 'Dreaming of Me' was on the original pressing of the album, replacing 'I Sometimes Wish I Was Dead.' On the 2006 re-release of Speak and Spell it was placed at the end of the album, with the original U.K. tracklist preceding it.
Click the link below to download the following: Single Version Ice Machine - Live Version
'More Specials' is an October 1980 album from the ska band The Specials. The album was the band's second, after their self-titled debut, and expanded the group's 2 tone sound to include lounge music and other influences. It includes collaborations with The Go-Go's, Rhoda Dakar from The Bodysnatchers and Lee Jay Thompson from Madness. The lyrics, like the previous album, were often intensely political.
On the charts, the album hit the Top Five in the UK, where 'Rat Race', 'Stereotype' and 'Do Nothing' hit the Top Ten. 'Rat Race' hit number 89 on Billboard Music Chart's (US) Club Play Singles chart, while the album as a whole hit number 98 on Billboards Pop Albums chart.
More Specials was a hit in the two-tone movement, a late-1970s revival of Jamaican ska from the 1960s. Along with bands like the Bodysnatchers and Madness, The Specials would go on to be a leader in this revival, and later heroes for two further ska-punk revivals on the opposite side of the Atlantic: the late 1980s Southern California scene (NOFX, Operation Ivy) and the mid-1990s "third wave of ska" (Sublime, No Doubt) which popularised the mixture.
The Track 'Hey, Little Rich Girl' has been covered by Amy Winehouse
Tracklisting: 01 - Enjoy Yourself 02 - Rat Race 03 - Man at C & A 04 - Hey, Little Rich Girl 05 - Do Nothing 06 - Pearl's Cafe 07 - Sock It to 'Em J.B 08 - Stereotype/Stereotypes, Pt. 2 09 - Holiday Fortnight 10 - I Can't Stand It 11 - International Jet Set 12 - Enjoy Yourself (Reprise)
'Travelogue' is the second full-length studio album released by the British synthpop band The Human League.
Released in May 1980, the band had yet to achieve any degree of commercial success. For Travelogue, the band worked with a new producer, Richard Mainwaring, who went on to produce OMD's platinum selling Architecture & Morality the following year.
Travelogue entered the UK album chart at number 16, which was also its chart peak, and remained on the chart for 9 weeks in 1980. Although a vast improvement on their debut album, Reproduction, which had failed to chart at all the year before, the lack of high success precipitated the departure of founding band members Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, who went on to form Heaven 17.
Their departure led to remaining members Phil Oakey and Adrian Wright moving The Human League in a new musical direction with a new line-up. As the new band then began to make a commercial impact the following year, Travelogue re-entered the chart in August 1981 for a further 33 weeks, eventually being certified Gold by the BPI in May 1982.
Two songs were released as singles from the album; a new version of the band's first single, 'Being Boiled' (as part of the Holiday '80 EP released a month before the album), and a cover of Mick Ronson's 'Only After Dark' (which was ultimately given away as a free single with a re-issue of the band's 1979 single 'Empire State Human' in June 1980). Neither of these were successful, though 'Being Boiled' would be re-issued once again in early 1982 when it finally became a top 10 hit. The album also featured a cover of the famed advertising jingle for Gordon's Gin, written by Jeff Wayne.
Virgin Records remastered and re-issued Travelogue on CD in 1988, with an expanded track listing which included the Holiday '80 EP, the disco single 'I Don't Depend on You' (originally released under the moniker 'The Men'), and the single 'Boys and Girls', which had been produced by Oakey and Wright after the line-up split.
Tracklisting:
01 - The Black Hit of Space 02 - Only After Dark 03 - Life Kills 04 - Dreams of Leaving 05 - Toyota City 06 - Crow and a Baby 07 - The Touchables 08 - Gordon's Gin 09 - Being Boiled 10 - WXJL Tonight
'If You Can't Stand the Heat' is a single by UK pop group Bucks Fizz.
Written by Andy Hill and Ian Bairnson and produced by Hill, the song became the group's fifth top 10 single (and seventh consecutive top 20 hit), eventually peaking at No.10 in January 1983.
The lyrics of the song tell of someone who is manipulative, but when faced with her own medicine, can't handle it, hence the song's title. The song was a change for the group in that it was their first single where the two female members took the lead vocals on the track - according to the group, this was done due to requests from fans. It has also been noted that the faint reggae beat on the track gives it a slight variation on the group's usually straightforward pop. The song received a positive review from Record Mirror magazine, which complimented the song's production values. The Promotional Video depicts a day in the life of Bucks Fizz, featuring rehearsals, press interviews and culminating in a live performance.
The song featured on the group's third album, 'Hand Cut', released in 1983, while an extended 12" remix was released in tandem with the 7". The single came in two different picture sleeves - both with the same photographs, but with different coloured backgrounds - yellow and orange.
An alternate mix of the song appeared on the group's 2005 compilation The Ultimate Anthology.
Click the link below to download the following: Video Marti Webb - 1982 TV Performace TOTP - 1982 TV Performance Single Version Stepping Out - B-Side
'Holiday '80' is an EP released by the original line-up of the British synthpop band The Human League. The EP was issued by Virgin Records in the UK in April 1980, a month before the release of the band's second album Travelogue. The EP peaked at number 56 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1980, but was later reissued and returned to the chart, peaking at number 46 in February 1982.
In 1982, Bow Wow Wow released their 6th single called 'Go Wild In The Country'. this proved to be a big hit with the public making it their first U.K. top 10 hit by getting to Number 7 on the UK singles chart.
I loved this when it was released. It still is another of my favs that I still enjoy listening to today.
Click the link below to download the following: Live in Liverpool - 1982 Performance Single Version El boss dicho - B-Side
'The Dignity Of Labour' is a 12 inch vinyl record released in 1979. The tracks were written and performed by the The Human League with the line-up Ware, Marsh and Oakey.
The 12 inch was released as the follow-up to their earlier single 'Being Boiled', b/w 'Circus of Death', on Fast Product Records, the label that the band released their early singles.
All four parts are instrumental pieces of electronic music, 'The Dignity of Labour, Pts. 1-4'. These are loosely tied together with a story depicting the construction of the Vostok 1 spacecraft, as well as the launch of the rocket and the pioneering Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into space. The cover art depicts Gagarin, having just landed on earth, about to receive a medal of honor.
At the time of release, the record contained a free single on Flexidisc which featured a recording of the band members and Bob Last discussing what the Flexidisc should contain, in homage to the film, Dark Star.
Tracklisting:
A1 The Dignity Of Labour Pt. 1 - The first part has the miners underground in Russia, digging up the coal to make steel
A2 The Dignity Of Labour Pt. 2 - The second part shows gantries being made from the steel, for Yuri Gagarin's spaceship
B1 The Dignity Of Labour Pt. 3 - The third part is an instrumental tribute to Yuri Gagarin
B2 The Dignity Of Labour Pt. 4 3:49
C Flexi Disc
Click the link below to download the tracks listed above:
'Specials' is the debut album by British ska revival band The Specials.
Released in 1979 on Jerry Dammers' 2Tone label, the album is seen by some as the defining moment in the UK ska scene.
Produced by Elvis Costello, the album captures the disaffection and anger felt by the youth of the UK's "concrete jungle" - a phrase borrowed from Bob Marley's 1972 album 'Catch A Fire' but equally apposite used here to describe the grim, violent inner cities of 1970s Britain.
Musically, the album encapsulates the wave of British ska, greatly reworking the original sound of 1960s Jamaican ska. The music shares the infectious energy and humour of the original sound, but injects new-found anger and punk sensibility. The resulting sound is considerably less laid-back and "Caribbean" sounding than original ska, and dispensed with much of the percussion and the larger horn sections used in the older variety. The Specials also brought guitar to the front of the mix; it had often been a secondary instrument in Jamaican ska. The album features a mixture of original material and several covers of classic Jamaican ska tracks, a debt which went uncredited on the 1979 vinyl release.
Many songs on The Specials' debut album were covers of older ska songs. 'Monkey Man' had been a hit for Toots & the Maytals in 1969, 'Too Hot' was a Prince Buster original from 1966, and the opening track, 'A Message to You, Rudy' was a Dandy Livingstone single in 1967. 'You're Wondering Now' was originally performed by The Skatalites; a vocal version was recorded by duo Andy and Joey in 1964. Other tracks are reworkings of Jamaican originals; 'Too Much Too Young' was based on Lloyd Charmers' 'Birth Control', 'Stupid Marriage' draws heavily on the Prince Buster hit 'Judge Dread'.
A live version of 'Too Much Too Young' was later released on a five track EP, The Special AKA Live, which went to number 1 on the UK charts. A Message to You Rudy/Nite Klub was also released as a single.
Trombonist Rico Rodriguez, who performed on many 50s and 60s Jamaican recordings before moving to London in 1962, played on the band's version of 'A Message to You, Rudy', as he had on the original recording fifteen years previously. As a former member of the legendary The Skatalites, a band that helped define the sound of ska and reggae, Rico's appearance on the album considerably added to the album's credentials.
In 2000 Q magazine placed Specials at number 38 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.
A digitally remastered edition also featuring promotional videos to 'Gangsters' and 'Too Much Too Young' as enhanced content was released by EMI in 2002.
Tracklisting: 01 - A Message to You, Rudy 02 - Do the Dog 03 - Gangsters 04 - It's Up to You 05 - Nite Klub 06 - Doesn't Make It Alright 07 - Concrete Jungle 08 - Too Hot 09 - Monkey Man 10 - (Dawning of A) New Era 11 - Blank Expression 12 - Stupid Marriage 13 - Too Much Too Young 14 - Little Bitch 15 - You're Wondering Now
'Another Brick in the Wall' is the title of three songs set to variations of the same basic theme, on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera, The Wall, subtitled Part I (work title Reminiscing) , Part II (work title Education), and Part III (work title Drugs), respectively, all of which were written by Pink Floyd's bassist and then lead songwriter, Roger Waters. It has become one of the most famous Pink Floyd songs.
Part II is a protest song against rigid schooling in general and boarding schools in particular, which has led to the song being banned in South Africa. It was released as a single and provided the band's only number-one hit in the UK, the US, West Germany and many other countries. In the UK, it was their first single since 1968's 'Point Me at the Sky'.
The song has the notourious position of being the last number 1 single, in the UK, of the 70's and the first number 1 single of the 80's.
For Part II, Pink Floyd received a Grammy nomination for Best Performance by a Rock Duo or Group and lost to Bob Seger's 'Against the Wind'. In addition, Part II was number 375 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. The single sold over 4 million copies worldwide. In Israel Part II was chosen as the best rock song of the 1980s (although it was issued before 1980), in a survey by one of the main radio stations Israel Army Radio held at the end of 1989.
In 1980, the song was adopted as a protest anthem by black students during the "Elsie's River" uprising in South Africa, protesting against the racial propaganda and bias in the official curriculum. On May 2, it was banned by the government
For "Part II", Pink Floyd needed a school choir, and producer Bob Ezrin asked sound engineer Nick Griffiths to find one. Griffiths approached music teacher Alun Renshaw of Islington Green School,[4] around the corner from their Britannia Row Studios. Though the school received a lump sum payment of £1000, there was no contractual arrangement for royalties from record sales. Under 1996 UK copyright law, they became eligible for royalties from broadcasts, and after royalties agent Peter Rowan traced choir members through the website Friends Reunited and other means, they claimed their payments. Contrary to press reports, this did not involve suing Pink Floyd. Music industry professionals estimated that each student would be owed around £500.
Prior to the film, the first video for the track, directed by Alan Parker, depicted students running in a playground and the teacher puppet from The Wall concerts was used. The video also mixed in some animated scenes later used in 'The Trial' and 'Waiting for the Worms'. The children who sang on 'Another Brick in the Wall (Pt. II)' could not appear in the video because they didn't hold Equity Cards.
Once the film was made, the actual scenes of 'The Happiest Days of Our Lives' and 'Another Brick in the Wall, Part II' were combined into a new video, which now represents the music video for 'Another Brick in the Wall'.
Click the link below to download the following: Video Single Version Club Mix Megaband Remix One Of My Turns - B-Side
'New Year's Day' is a song by rock band U2. It is the third track from their 1983 album War and was released as the album's lead single in January 1983.
Written about the Polish Solidarity movement, 'New Year's Day' is driven by Adam Clayton's distinctive bassline and The Edge's keyboard playing. It was the band's first UK hit single, peaking at number 10 on the singles chart, number 11 on the Dutch Top 40 and charting on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in their career. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed the single at number 427 on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
The lyric had its origins in a love song from Bono to his wife, but was subsequently reshaped and inspired by the Polish Solidarity movement.
In 1983, Bono said of the song, "It would be stupid to start drawing up battle lines, but I think the fact that 'New Year's Day' made the Top Ten indicated a disillusionment among record buyers. I don't think 'New Year's Day' was a pop single, certainly not in the way that Mickie Most might define a pop single as something that lasts three minutes and three weeks in the chart. I don't think we could have written that kind of song."
The video was one of their first to see heavy rotation on MTV. It was filmed in Sälen, Sweden in December 1982 and directed by Meiert Avis. The band only appeared in the performance scenes of the video as it was filmed in the dead of the Swedish winter. U2 guitarist Edge revealed in the official U2 biography that the four people riding on horseback in the video that appeared to be the four U2 members were in fact four Swedish teenage girls disguised as the members of U2 riding on horseback with masks over their faces. This was done as the band were frozen from shooting the video in sub-freezing temperatures the day before. Their biography states that Bono refused to wear any headgear despite the cold weather and had a lot of trouble mouthing the lyrics. The video also features footage of Soviet troops advancing in winter during World War II.
U2 allowed free of charge use of this song in a spot prepared by the European Commission. This clip published on YouTube shows a transformation of Poland in last 20 years mixed with short scenes from today’s Warsaw seen from a perspective of a 20-year-old woman.
Click the link below to download the following: Video Single Version Full Version USA Remix 12 inch Wave Remix Mauro Picotto Remix Ferry Corsten Mix Dance Remix Treasure (Whatever Happened To Pete The Chop) - B-Side Fire - B-Side I Threw A Brick Through A Window / A Day Without Me - B-Side
'Happy New Year' is a popular song by Swedish pop group ABBA from their 1980 album Super Trouper. The song's working title was all the more festive and humorous; 'Daddy Don't Get Drunk on Christmas Day'.
In 1980, the song was released as a single in Japan, Brazil and Portugal. It was released again in 1999 and charted in Sweden (number 27), The Netherlands (number 15), and Germany (number 78), to promote the CD re-release of many of ABBA's singles.
'Felicidad' was the Spanish language version of the song. The single charted in the top 5 in Argentina. The song was also included on the South American versions of the Super Trouper album. Released in 1980 in Argentina, the single's B-side was the album's title track, 'Super Trouper'.
'Felicidad' was first released on CD as part of the 1994 Polydor U.S. compilation Más ABBA Oro, and in 1999 on the expanded re-release of ABBA Oro: Grandes Éxitos.
In 2008, it was released again in several countries, and charted in Denmark (number 25), Norway (number 11), and Sweden (number 4). It re-entered the Sweden and Norway charts in 2009 at number 5 in both charts.
Click the link below to download the following: Video Live performance around the piano Single Version
'A Very Special Christmas' is the title of an ongoing series of Christmas music compilation albums that benefit Special Olympics. It features songs performed by artists from a variety of genres, such as U2, Stevie Nicks, Bon Jovi, Madonna, No Doubt, Whitney Houston, Run–D.M.C., Willie Nelson and Bruce Springsteen.
The first album was released iin 1987 and was the brainchild of music producer Jimmy Iovine, who wanted to produce a Christmas album as a memorial to his father. The idea of the record benefiting Special Olympics was suggested by Iovine's wife Vicki, as she was a volunteer for the organization.
Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, the founders of A&M Records, along with Bobby Shriver, helped the Iovines realize the project. Since the release of the first album, the series has raised over $100 million for Special Olympics, more than any other benefit series. The album cover art is designed by artist Keith Haring.
Tracklisting:
01 - The Pointer Sisters - Santa Claus Is Coming to Town 02 - Eurythmics - Winter Wonderland 03 - Whitney Houston - Do You Hear What I Hear? 04 - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band - Merry Christmas Baby 05 - The Pretenders - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 06 - John Cougar Mellencamp - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus 07 - Sting - Gabriel's Message 08 - Run D.M.C. - Christmas in Hollis 09 - U2 - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) 10 - Madonna - Santa Baby 11 - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band - The Little Drummer Boy 12 - Bryan Adams - Run Rudolph Run 13 - Bon Jovi - Back Door Santa 14 - Alison Moyet - The Coventry Carol 15 - Stevie Nicks - Silent Night
Band Aid were a British and Irish charity supergroup, founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the record 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' for the Christmas market. The single surpassed the hopes of the producers to become the Christmas number one on that release. Two subsequent re-recordings of the song to raise further money for charity also topped the charts.
The original was produced by Midge Ure. The 12" version was mixed by Trevor Horn. The name 'Band Aid' was chosen as a pun on the name of a well known brand of adhesive bandage, also referring to musicians working as a band to provide aid and alluding to the fact that any help stemming from their efforts is likened to a band-aid on a very serious wound. The group has formed on three occasions, each time from the most successful British and Irish pop music performers of the time, to record the same song at the same time of year.
The original 1984 Feed The World logo was based on a pencil sketch by Bob Geldof after watching a BBC television news report by Michael Buerk from famine-stricken Ethiopia. Geldof was so moved by the plight of starving children that he decided to try and raise money using his contacts in pop music. Geldof enlisted the help of Midge Ure, from the group Ultravox, to help produce a charity record.
Ure took Geldof's lyrics, and created the melody and backing track for the record. Geldof called many of the most popular British and Irish performers of the time (Kool & The Gang and Jody Watley were the only Americans present at the original recording), persuading them to give their time free. His one criterion for selection was how famous they were, in order to maximise sales of the record. He then kept an appointment to appear on a show on BBC Radio 1, with Richard Skinner, but instead of promoting the new Boomtown Rats material as planned, he announced the plan for Band Aid.
The recording studio gave Band Aid no more than 24 free hours to record and mix the record, on 25 November 1984. The recording took place between 11am and 7pm, and was filmed by director Nigel Dick to be released as the pop video though some basic tracks had been recorded the day before at Midge Ure's home studio. The first tracks to be recorded were the group / choir choruses which were filmed by the international press. The footage was rushed to newsrooms where it aired while the remainder of the recording process continued. Later drums by Phil Collins were recorded, including the memorable opening 'African Drum' beat. But in reality, the introduction of the song features a slowed down sample from a Tears for Fears' track called 'The Hurting', released in 1983.
Tony Hadley, of Spandau Ballet, was the first to record his vocal, while a section sung by Status Quo was deemed unusable, and replaced with section comprising Paul Weller, Sting, and Glenn Gregory. Paul Young has since admitted, in a documentary, that he knew his opening lines were written for David Bowie, who was not able to make the recording but made a contribution to the B-side (Bowie performed his lines at the Live Aid concert the following year). Boy George arrived last at 6pm, after Geldof woke him up by 'phone to have him flown over from New York on Concorde to record his solo part. (At the time Culture Club was in the middle of a US tour.)
The following morning, Geldof appeared on the Radio 1 breakfast show with Mike Read, to promote the record further and promise that every penny would go to the cause. This led to a stand-off with the British Government, who refused to waive the VAT on the sales of the single. Geldof made the headlines by publicly standing up to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and, sensing the strength of public feeling, the government backed down and donated the tax back to the charity. The record was released on 29 November, and went straight to No. 1 in the UK singles chart, outselling all the other records in the chart put together. It became the fastest- selling single of all time in the UK, selling a million copies in the first week alone. It stayed at Number 1 for five weeks, selling over three million copies and becoming easily the biggest-selling single of all time in the UK. It has since been surpassed by Elton John's 'Candle In The Wind 1997' (his tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales) but it is likely to keep selling in different versions for many years to come.
After Live Aid, 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' was re-released in late 1985 in a set that included a special-edition 'picture disc' version, modeled after the Live Aid logo with 'Band' in place of 'Live'. An added bonus, 'One Year On' (a statement from Geldof and Ure on the telephone) was available as a b-side. 'One Year On' can also be found in transcript form in a booklet which was included in the DVD set of Live Aid, the first disc of which features the BBC news report, as well as the Band Aid video.
The original Band Aid ensemble consisted of (in sleeve order):
Adam Clayton (U2) Queen Phil Collins (Genesis, solo) Bob Geldof (The Boomtown Rats) Steve Norman (Spandau Ballet) Chris Cross (Ultravox) John Taylor (Duran Duran) Paul Young Tony Hadley (Spandau Ballet) Glenn Gregory (Heaven 17) Simon Le Bon (Duran Duran) Simon Crowe (The Boomtown Rats) Marilyn Keren Woodward (Bananarama) Martin Kemp (Spandau Ballet) Jody Watley (Shalamar) Bono (U2) Paul Weller (The Style Council) James "J.T." Taylor (Kool & the Gang) George Michael (Wham!) Midge Ure (Ultravox) Martyn Ware (Heaven 17) John Keeble (Spandau Ballet) Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) Roger Taylor (Duran Duran) Sarah Dallin (Bananarama) Siobhan Fahey (Bananarama) Pete Briquette (The Boomtown Rats) Francis Rossi (Status Quo) Robert 'Kool' Bell (Kool & the Gang, whose members were the only Americans to participate) Dennis J. T. Thomas (Kool & the Gang) Andy Taylor (Duran Duran) Jon Moss (Culture Club) Sting (The Police) Rick Parfitt (Status Quo) Nick Rhodes (Duran Duran) Johnny Fingers (The Boomtown Rats) David Bowie Boy George (Culture Club) Holly Johnson (Frankie Goes to Hollywood) Paul McCartney (The Beatles, Wings) Stuart Adamson (Big Country) Bruce Watson (Big Country) Tony Butler (Big Country) Mark Brzezicki (Big Country)
Click the link below to download the following: Video Band Aid Story - 3 Part Documentary Single Version 12 inch Mix by Trevor Horn Standard Mix Feed The World - B-Side One Year On - Feed The World - B-side
Band Aid were a British and Irish charity supergroup, founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the record 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' for the Christmas market.
The single surpassed the hopes of the producers to become the Christmas number one on that release. Two subsequent re-recordings of the song to raise further money for charity also topped the charts. The original was produced by Midge Ure. The 12" version was mixed by Trevor Horn.
In 1985 a rare Japan only CD was released featuring some of the Prominent Names that were involved in the original 1984 Band Aid Project. The CD also features the full 12" Mix of 'Do They Kow It's Christmas' as well as the 'Single Version' and 'Feed The World' which were all featured on the original 12" Single.
Click the link below to download the album:
Tracklisting: 01 Band Aid Do They Know It's Christmas? - 12" Mix 02 Big Country In A Big Country 03 Marilyn Calling Your Name 04 Status Quo Marguerita Time 05 Boomtown Rats, The Tonight 06 Genesis That's All 07 Band Aid Do They Know It's Christmas? 08 Bon Jovi Runaway 09 Elton John Sad Songs (Say So Much) 10 ABC The Look Of Love 11 Tears For Fears Mothers Talk 12 Band Aid Feed The World
A new version was recorded under the name of Band Aid II in 1989, produced by the popular Hit Factory team of Stock, Aitken and Waterman and featuring a number of the year's most accessible artists, including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Lisa Stansfield and Bros. Bananarama also appeared, making Sarah Dallin and Keren Woodward the only artists to appear on both versions (although they couldn't be heard on the first). The song again reached #1 for Christmas, raising more money and also making it the final number-one single of the 1980s and it was final song to be played on Top of the Pops in the Eighties, whom of it was the original version of the song.
This version, released in 1989 was produced by British songwriting and production team formed of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman known as Stock Aitken Waterman. The only artists from the original Band Aid to be featured again on this version were Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward of Bananarama. This version topped the UK Singles Chart for three weeks, but ultimately achieved far less historical significance and status than its predecessor.
On Friday 1 December 1989, Bob Geldof called Pete Waterman to ask if he would consider producing a new version of the song featuring the big stars from that time. Waterman immediately cancelled his wedding (planned for that very day) and began calling up the artists. With just two days' notice, on Sunday 3 December, recording took place at PWL Studios in South London. Present in the studio was Bob Geldof, wife Paula Yates and six-year-old daughter, Fifi Trixiebelle, who was eager to meet Jason Donovan.
Production continued through the Monday, and by Tuesday 5 December the song was aired for the first time on London's Capital Radio. Advance sales of the record reached 500,000 and a number-one was inevitable. The song was released the following week on 11 December and spent three weeks at number one, becoming the 9th biggest selling song of the year, outselling Madonna's "Like a Prayer".
Participants The line up for the Band Aid II project consisted of (in alphabetical order):
Bananarama Big Fun Bros Cathy Dennis D Mob Jason Donovan Kevin Godley Glen Goldsmith Rolf Harris Kylie Minogue The Pasadenas Marti Pellow Chris Rea Cliff Richard Jimmy Somerville Sonia Lisa Stansfield Technotronic Wet Wet Wet
Click the link below to download the following: Video single Version
'I Can't Help It' is a song written and recorded by English girl group Bananarama. It is included on their fourth studio album Wow! and was released as its third single except in the U.S., where it was the album's second single (following 'I Heard a Rumour') and Australia, where it was the album's fourth single (after 'I Want You Back'). The track was co-written and produced by the Stock Aitken Waterman (SAW) trio.
Posts
