The following post contains material from two previous posts which originally appeared in December of 2011. I re-post them together here. There is a running theme between the two portions, which is the charity and hope which is part of the season. I dedicate this post to the community of Newtown, Connecticut, and to all those who have dealt with tragedy in recent times.
In 1984, a group of primarily British and Irish musicians united to collect fund for famine relief in Africa. A project initiated by musicians Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, they called themselves Band Aid, and they released a memorable Christmas single called "Do They Know Its Christmas." Band Aid was literally a "whos who" of the '80s British music scene, and included, among others, such names as Boy George, Sting, George Michael, Phil Collins, David Bowie and members of Bananarama, Duran Duran, and U2.
"Do They Know Its Christmas" went on to become a major holiday song in 1984, and a wonderful memory of that year. It also ultimately led to additional efforts at famine relief, such as USA for Africa and the enormous Live Aid concert in 1985.
Heres one of the groups which took part in Band Aid and Live Aid, U2, doing a great '80s Christmas Song: "(Christmas) Baby Please Come Home," off of the '80s charity album "A Very Special Christmas."
