Do They Know It's Christmas was worst song in the world, admits Bob Geldof

By Simon Cable
Last updated at 11:24 AM on 29th November 2010
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/ar ... eldof.html

If you haven’t heard a rendition of Do They Know It’s Christmas yet this year, it’s only a matter of time.

But should you curse Bob Geldof for writing That Song, you’ll be in good company. He’s fed up with it too.

The single was released 26 years ago today as Geldof set up Band Aid to raise money for famine-hit Ethiopia.

[caption=http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/11/28/article-0-01BE61810000044D-727_634x351.jpg 634]Cover your ears: It raised millions of pounds for charity and became the worlds' biggest selling single, Sir Bob Geldof has admitted that he dreads hearing his song, Do They Know It's Christmas during the festive season[/caption]
And although it became the biggest selling single in the world at the time, it seems he’s had enough.

He said: ‘I am responsible for two of the worst songs in history. One is Do They Know It’s Christmas? and the other one is We Are The World.

'Any day soon, I will go to the supermarket, head to the meat counter and it will be playing. Every ****ing Christmas.’

He said carol singers also include it in their repertoire when they visit his South London home each year, alongside the more traditional Silent Night.

[caption=http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/11/28/article-0-0014D0ED00000258-140_634x615.jpg 634]Power of pop: Bob Geldof (left) co-wrote the song with Midge Ure in 1984 to raise money for famine-hit Ethiopia. 26 years later, he still can't escape it[/caption]
The former Boomtown Rats frontman, 59, added: ‘Sometimes I think that’s wild because I wrote it. Or else I am thinking how much I want them to stop because they are doing it really badly.’

Geldof co-wrote the song with singer Midge Ure.

The campaign, which went on to raise more than £100million, was inspired by Michael Buerk’s BBC news report on Ethiopia’s famine.

Musicians including Sting, Bono, George Michael and Phil Collins sang on the Band Aid track.

Its success led to the release of U.S. charity single We Are the World months later.

[caption=http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/11/28/article-1333921-050CA6720000044D-466_634x240.jpg 634]Spot the difference: Ten years later, a new batch of singers came together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the song, raising more money for charity[/caption]
[caption=http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/11/28/article-0-01D96AAC0000044D-951_634x536.jpg 634]So great, they did it twice! The single was re-recorded with a new batch of celebrity singers in 2004. Sir Bob says that carol singers who visit his house regularly include it in their repertoire[/caption]

Thank God it's them instead of us!

I either blocked out or just plain forgot Midge Ure had anything to do with that. Bob's right; the song is awful. So is the caption of that second-to-last photo, by the way. "10 years later, they got together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the song".

It was actually recorded 3 times. A conglomeration of artists dubbed Band Aid II reached #1 in the UK with a second version in 1989.

Am I supposed to recognize anyone in that third photo?

You? No. Your grandkids? Definitely.

Very true...and that one is the hardest version to find, not like any of them is really worth tracking down. I've still got the 3" CD single of the original, with the 12" mix. I'm not getting rid of it, but I'm also not intentionally listening to it any time soon. If that song and Wham's "Last Christmas" were completely wiped off of all radio, I certainly wouldn't be sad. In fact, perhaps that's a thread we could start..."Christmas Songs That You wouldn't Mind NEVER Hearing Again!"

There are only a few pop Christmas songs that aren't really really old that get any radio airplay. Unfortunately this is one of them.

It's a bad song, for sure. Hardly the worst, though.

Well, I'll dissent. I loved it when it was first released, and still like playing it every year. Many of the participants were my favorite musicians in the 80s.

I sorta like the song too. I mean, the lyrics are really horrible - the worst kind of obliviously well-meaning and narcissistic - but the melody's sweet, and the synth-poppy sound of it is pretty much in tune with everything I loved about music when the song came out. So I loved it then, and hearing it on the radio now is like finding a note from my 7th grade "girlfriend" (I'm actually gay) with her terrible, but sincere, 7th grade girlfriend poetry in it.

I heard it two nights ago and remembered this thread. I honestly don't mind hearing it once or twice per Christmas season. The line "tonight thank God it's them instead of you" always irks me but musically I still like it. This is one of those songs, though, that now makes me think of a parody version I used to hear regarding Johnny Carson's divorce settlement and the line "feed Joanna." Unfortunately, that happens with me a lot when it comes to songs that have been parodied by Weird Al, Bob Rivers, etc.

Glenn...you hit the nail on the head there with parodies. I used to listen to John Valby's "Jingle Balls" a lot during the holidays. Now I hear any song that Valby mangled being played in public and I can't help but sing his words in my head. I just can't get the alternate lyrics out of my consciousness.

"It's beginning to look a lot like syphilis..."

I feel your pain. I'm afraid I'll always hear "Walking round in women's underwear" when I hear "Winter Wonderland"

If you're prone to the same inclinations as I am, as you're suggesting, stay FAR AWAY from John Valby! At least if you slipped and sang Bob Rivers in public, people would just think you were odd. If you ever sang Valby out loud, prepare for full banishment!

I just heard it played on the radio. Still love it after all this time. Too bad Bob Geldoff feels different about it today.