How George Michael transformed Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' with one note

3 December 2024, 08:26

George Michael had a huge impact on his part in the original ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ recording.

Bob Geldof and Midge Ure’s Band Aid charity single – which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary – features some iconic lines delivered from Wham! singer George Michael.

Now, a new documentary made up of previously unseen behind-the-scenes footage from the 1984 original recording has revealed how George was originally meant to sing something a little different.

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While working on his lines in the recording studio, the new footage shows how the singer (who would go on to release his very own Christmas hit ‘Last Christmas’ that same year) suggested he should change the tune of one of his lines to help with its delivery.

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In the clip, the musician can be seen carefully mulling over how to improve his performance after being given a note to make sure he delivered it emotionally.

“That actual line itself, ‘But say a prayer’, is hard for me to sing powerfully,” George explained to Midge Ure from the recording booth.

“If you wanted to change the notation a little bit so that it started off a little bit higher or something [he demonstrates], I could do that if you want?”

Midge approved of George’s suggestion, so the ‘Careless Whisper’ singer then went on to successfully record the line with this small tweak, creating his iconic contribution to the song.

George joined artists including other hitmakers like Bono, Sting and Boy George in recording all his parts for the Christmas hit on just one Sunday in November 1984.

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Famously, none of the artists present had access to the charity single’s lyrics or tune until that day, making the project and spontaneous additions like George’s even more impressive.

Reminiscing about recording day during a recent appearance on Smooth, Bob Geldof told Kate Garraway: “There was embarrassment about who'd go first, like in school.

Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas? (Official Video) [4K]

“Boy George is looking at Tony Hadley, who's looking at Sting, who's looking at Bono. And they're all going, 'I don't want to go first'.

"Paul Young just said, 'Oh, for God's sake, I'll go'. It was so English and naff,” he joked.

How can I watch the Making of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ documentary?

Band Aid’s Making of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ documentary first aired on BBC Four on Friday, November 29.

The documentary is available to stream for free on YouTube via Band Aid’s official YouTube channel.

Band Aid - The Making Of The Original 'Do They Know It's Christmas?’ (New Documentary, 2024) [4K]