Tag: David Bowie

Band Aid – Do They Know It’s Christmas? (Japan 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1984

Originally posted December 17, 2012

Do They Know It’s Christmas?” is a song written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1984 to raise money for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The original version was produced by Midge Ure and released by Band Aid on 29 November 1984.

In October 1984, a BBC report by Michael Buerk was aired in the UK, which highlighted the famine that had hit the people of Ethiopia. Irish singer Bob Geldof saw the report and wanted to raise money. He called Midge Ure from Ultravox and together they quickly co-wrote the song, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”.

Geldof kept a November appointment with BBC Radio 1 DJ Richard Skinner to appear on his show, but instead of discussing his new album (the original reason for his booking), he used his airtime to publicise the idea for the charity single, so by the time the musicians were recruited there was intense media interest in the subject. Geldof put together a group called Band Aid, consisting of leading British and Irish musicians who were among the most popular of the era. On 25 November 1984, the song was recorded at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill, London, and was released four days later.

The 1984 original became the biggest selling single in UK Singles Chart history, selling a million copies in the first week alone. It stayed at Number 1 for five weeks, becoming Christmas number one, and has sold 3.69 million copies domestically. It remained the highest selling single in UK chart history until 1997, when Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind 1997” was released in tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, which sold almost 5 million copies in Britain. Worldwide, the single had sold 11.8 million copies by 1989.

Following the release of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” in December 1984 and record sales in aid of famine relief, Geldof then set his sights on staging a huge concert, 1985’s Live Aid, to raise further funds.

The song was re-recorded in 1989 by Band Aid II and in 2004 by Band Aid 20, again raising funds for famine relief. The 2004 version of the song sold 1.16 million copies.

SIDE A:
Do They Know It’s Christmas? (12″ Mix) 6:14
Remix –Trevor Horn

SIDE B:
Do They Know It’s Christmas? (Standard Mix) 3:52
Feed The World 4:17

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

CHARTS:

Year Single Chart Position
1984 Do They Know It’s Christmas? U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #13
1984 Do They Know It’s Christmas? U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks #32

 

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Phonogram ‎– FEED 112
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM
Country: Japan
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Pop
Style: Synth-pop

CREDITS:
Engineer – Steve Lipsom*
Producer – Midge Ure, Trevor Horn
Written-By – Geldof*, Ure*

NOTES:
Many thanks to all the fine artists who kindly donated their time and effort in the making of this record.

All proceeds of this record are to assist famine relief in Ethiopia, this includes merchandise, sales, publishing & performance contributions.
Many thanks for the aid in manufacturing this record go to: Graphic Origination, Peter Blake, Torchlight, Robert Stace.

Find the 12″ at DISCOGS

VINYL RESTORATION BY:
-DjPaulT
burningtheground.net

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
Phono Pre-amp: Schiit Mani
Soundcard: Novation Audiohub 2×4 Audio Interface
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2, ocenaudio
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi

Username: btg
Password: burningtheground

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Ferry Aid – Let It Be (US 12″)

BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1987

Although this single was recorded to help victims of a 1987 tragedy. Today we pray for those affected in Manchester, England.

Ferry Aid were a British-American ensemble group, brought together to record the song “Let It Be” in 1987. The single was released following the Zeebrugge Disaster, which had occurred on 6 March 1987 involving the capsizing of the MS Herald of Free Enterprise ferry, which killed 193 passengers and crew. All proceeds from sales of the single were donated to the charity set up in the aftermath of the disaster. The recording was organised by The Sun newspaper, after it had sold cheap tickets for the ferry on that day. “Let It Be” was written by Lennon–McCartney and originally recorded by The Beatles in 1969.

Garry Bushell, then with The Sun newspaper, organised the recording of the song by recruiting record producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman. They then put an invitation out to the music industry for artists to contribute their vocals to the song. Although many stars were initially reluctant to join forces with the newspaper, eventually artists such as Boy George, Kate Bush, Gary Moore and Mark Knopfler agreed to take part. Original writer, Paul McCartney also contributed to the song, although his performance (and section in the accompanying video) were recorded independently in his own studios. In fact, it was later revealed that McCartney used his voice of the original recording of the 1970 Beatles track and added it to the Ferry Aid recording. The song was recorded over three days between 14 and 16 March 1987 and the single was released on Monday 23 March 1987. The first artist to record his part was Mark King (who also played bass guitar on the song) on the Saturday morning, while the last was Paul King on Monday evening.

In the original Beatles recording George Harrison did the guitar solo but for the purposes of this song – as shown in the video – the solo was divided with Gary Moore first, then Mark Knopfler, then back to Gary Moore with Moore’s parts being more ‘rock’ and Knopfler’s being more laid-back.

“Let It Be” reached #1 in the UK Singles Chart in its first week on 4 April 1987, and remained at that position for three weeks. It was the 13th best selling single of the year in the UK; it was certified gold for shipping over 500,000 copies. The single was also a number one hit in Norway and Switzerland, and reached the top 10 in several European countries.

Artists to have contributed and performed solo spots on the song are as follows:

Paul McCartney
Boy George
Keren Woodward and Nick Kamen
Paul King
Mark King
Jaki Graham
Taffy
Mark Knopfler (guitar solo)
Andy Bell
Pepsi & Shirlie
Mel and Kim
Gary Moore (guitar solo)
Kim Wilde and Nik Kershaw
Edwin Starr
Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot
Ruby Turner
Kate Bush

The closing choruses of the song feature an ensemble choir featuring many of the above performers as well other recording artists. The back-up chorus consisted of:

The Alarm, John Altman, Debee Ashby, Al Ashton, Rick Astley, Bananarama, Simon Bates, Alison Bettles, Jenny Blythe, Errol Brown, Miquel Brown, Bucks Fizz, Jay Carly, The Christians, Nick Conway, Linda Davidson, Hazell Dean, Anne Diamond, Difford and Tilbrook, Doctor and the Medics, The Drifters, Drum Theatre, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Roy Gayle, Go West, Carol Hitchcock, Felix Howard, Gloria Hunniford, Imagination, Jenny Jay, Ellie Laine, Annabel Lamb, Stephanie Lawrence, Loose Ends, Linda Lusardi, Ruth Madoc, Bobby McVey, Suzanne Mizzi, The New Seekers, Sadie Nine, The Nolans, Hazel O’Connor, Mike Osman, Su Pollard, Tim Polley, Pamela Power, Maxi Priest, Princess, Jimmy Pursey, Suzi Quatro, Mike Read, Sally Sagoe, Nejdet Salih, Ray Shell, Mandy Smith, Neville Stapleton, Alvin Stardust, Steve Strange, Sylvia Tella, Terraplane, Bonnie Tyler, Maria Whittaker, Working Week.

SIDE A:
Let It Be 6:30
Engineer – Mark McGuire
Mixed By – Burni Adams, Jamie Bromfield

SIDE B:
Let It Be (Mega Message Mix) 6:11
Mixed By – Jamie Bromfield

VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint

RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Profile Records ‎– PRO-7147
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 33 ⅓ RPM
Country: US
Released: 1987
Genre: Pop
Style: Pop/Rock

CREDITS:
Bass – Mark King
Drums – A. Lynn
Guitar – Gary Moore, Mark Knopfler
Keyboards – Matt Aitken, Mike Stock
Producer – Stock/Aitken/Waterman*
Written-By – Lennon/McCartney*

NOTES:
Recorded at PWL Studios.
Special thanks to: Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney

Find the 12″ on DISCOGS

EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck 
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Epson Workforce WF-7610 Professional Printer/Scanner

SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator

RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi