"Do They Know it's Christmas" at 40 with Midge Ure

Midge Ure from The Rich Kids, Ultravox and Visage co-wrote and
produced "Do They Know it's Christmas" 40 years ago this week on
November 25, 1984. He recently released a new live
album, Live at the Royal Albert Hall 04.10.23, so we talked
about that, touring, the Blitz club and his memories of the
sessions for "Do They Know it's Christmas." 


In this episode, I talk a little more than usual to contextualize
the song and the interview. We talk about the new 40th
anniversary mega-mix, which is due out Friday but the video is
already out. I'll talk more about it next week.


I also mention the documentary Band Aid the Song that Rocked
the World, where Midge Ure tells the story of the song in
2004. 


I also found it interesting to think about this next to USA for
Africa's "We Are the World." Band Aid led the way, and the
American version feels very American because, as the Netflix
documentary The Greatest Night in Pop showed, it threw cool out
the window and simply marshaled the biggest names in music that
they could get, whereas Geldof and Ure bet on the cutting edge of
British pop to not only raise money but make charitable donations
cool. 


Next week I'll talk a little about the 40th anniversary mega-mix
and some developments that have sprung up around it. 


In the episode, I mentioned this year's playlist. I envision it
as an alternative to the all-Christmas radio stations and
recommend you listen to it on shuffle so you don't know what's
coming next. It will also grow as I hear more songs that I want
to share or listen to and decide what's missing.


Once again, I'm also making a special, listeners-only
downloadable Christmas mix. If you want one, email me at
alex@myspiltmilk.com and I'll send it over.