Hi folks

As most of the western world knows by now a brand new version of "Do they know it's Xmas" has been recorded.

The first play has aired this morning on radio 1.

Did you hear it? If so, what did you think.

I heard it, and, to be honest on first listen I'm not overly impressed. It's lost something over the original anthemic atmosphere.

Maybe it'll be a grower, but it didn't grab me like I remember the original did.

I'll still buy it as it's for charidy folks.

Interested in your views.

Darren

One word: HYPE

Do you know what i think its actually alright... with some of the hype i was expecting it to be made with an urban vibe to try to make it cool, but they didnt. I like the thin lizzy stlye layered guitars by the hawkins brothers lots. I dont think its over the top either. Dizzy Rascal despite being great at what he does, gives it a bit of a bad tone in the middle. But i actually like it. Lets hope it can do lots of good again this year

Heard it on Radio 1 at 8, then on all the local radio stations soon after. Having heard it four or five times I can say it is a grower but I still prefer the original.

I'd be interested to know whether the younger members of this board like this one or not. Us oldies remember the 80's with fond memories and that may tint our opinion.

Did you hear CM talking about the download versions? Now that is marketing at its very best. Excellent news for the future.

I didn't like it, it was lacking something.. And Dizee Rascals rap just doesn't fit into it (imo), sounds tacky..

Sorry, not impressed. "Too Piano'y " would be my overall comment

I was hoping that "modernised" meant that it would either be better to dance to, or, failing that, would retain the magic of the first one. It's certainly a good cause, should certainly hit no.1 for Christmas and a week or two either side - probably until February 2005 the way the charts are going, and the lack of any decent new releases in the first few months in any new year.

I'll buy the CD single and keep my fingers crossed for a dance mix track.

heard it on our local repeat fm at 2 minutes past 8

first impression....it sounded flat. to me it has no passion in the performances apart from Robbie. and as for the totally out of place rap...eek

sorry i didnt like it, hope its a grower and i do hope it raises at lot of money.

when i hear Paul Young sing that first line on the original the hairs on the back of my neck still stand up.....

I agree with most comments.. It doesnt pack the punch of the original.

I know that the original was a fresh idea and no-one knew what to expect, where as they do this time, but still.

It was also odd that this time it appeared they let everyone sing two lines, rather than one like the original... Plus "Tonight thank god it's them, instead of you" just wasnt as wow as the first.....

Will still buy it and like Gary, hope there is something on the cd single that inspires....

I wouldve also thought that Busted etc would've played a bigger role to attract the younger audience.....

I havent heard it yet and i must admit i didnt like the original

Just picked this off the BBC website:

Band Aid 20 - Who sings what

Chris Martin (Coldplay) - It's Christmas time, there's no need to be afraid. At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade

Dido - And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy. Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time.

Robbie Williams - But say a prayer, Pray for the other ones. At Christmas time it's hard, but when you're having fun.

Sugababes - There's a world outside your window, and it's a world of dread and fear.

Fran Healy (Travis) - Where the only water flowing

Fran Healy and the Sugababes - Is the bitter sting of tears

Fran Healy and Justin Hawkins (The Darkness) - And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom

Bono - Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you

Will Young and Jamelia - And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time

Ms Dynamite and Beverly Knight - (Oooh) Where nothing ever grows, no rain nor rivers flow

Group of 10 and Joss Stone - Do they know it's Christmas time at all?

Tom Chaplin (Keane) - Here's to you

Justin Hawkins - Raise a glass for everyone

Dizzee Rascal - Spare a thought this yuletide for the deprived, if the table was turned would you survive

Busted - Here's to them

Justin Hawkins - Underneath that burning sun

Dizzee Rascal - You ain't gotta feel guilt just selfless, give a little help to the helpless

Joss Stone and Justin Hawkins - Do they know it's Christmas time at all?

Tom Chaplin - Feed the world

Tom Chaplin and Chris Martin - Feed the world

Tom Chaplin, Chris Martin and Sugababes - Feed the world

Everyone - Feed the world, let them know it's Christmas time again (repeated)

Fran Healy - Wooo

Group of 10 - Feed the world

Everyone - Feed the world (repeated to end)

Joss Stone - Ad-libs over outro



Personally, I dont like Coldplay or Dido as most of their music is quite depressing... I know that they have a large fanbase, but their music isnt really very happy and filled with joy, so why they started with them I dont know....

Just my opinion though....

Not the best record ever, but thats not the point so ill be buying a copy and it will get lost at the back of a box some place.

ditto

while i will still buy it i feel it was over hyped or then again did we all expect too much?.
cheers
mick

Do you remember how you felt the first time you heard the original? I seem to remember this utter feeling of astonishment because we expected something more from the talent that was on offer that day. They had the excuse of lack of time to prepare, record AND distribute. Nobody really knew what the hell was happening or who was turning up.

This time, they've forced the deadline for air-play to make it seem really exciting. But somebody could have been working on this for months.

As I said earlier, it's a grower but it still isn't anywhere near as good as the original - things in life rarely are. Ooh, hark at old wise owl Big Ben.

I didn't explain on my first post but each artist has recorded the whole song. This means you can go to the download site and make your won mix up, lord knows how many versions you could create.

This IS the future of downloading.

i didnt have time to listen to it on my local radio station this morning coz of school but ive just found it sumwhere available to download. im actually listening to it now whilst writing this post. its alright. nothing special

i agree with big ben i also prefer the original will buy it. but probably play the original at xmas :

Pity they could'nt have recorded a new tune completely,that way people such as myself would'nt keep comparing it with the original. But having said that I think its a number one especially with all the hype.

I've been working all day and yet to hear it. Can anyone link to a preview?

I waited with anticipation and eagerness - and feel a little let-down by the performance from Dido and Bono.

I understand the 'new interpretation' of the song, but it strongly lacks the 'punch' of the original.

It was 'sung' by modern day artistes who may actually have had a greater 'say' in the arrangement than the original cast because of the artiste pre-recordings before the actual main recording day.

However, I like the 2nd movement (Feed The World onwards) and can clearly hear the influences towards the end of the track where the Macca / Beatle like conclusion has strong overtones.

I hope it goes to No#1 for Christmas, but would not be surprised if it was inadvertently pipped to the post by another track.

IMHO - I can't see a gig audience at a Christmas gig accept it as much as the original version, but that's not the point of the track!

I'll be buying as many copies as I can afford on the release day.

What a load of pants ,its flat no soul and not any feeling at all.In other words RUBBISH

From yesterdays Music Week:

its a complete pile of rubbish !
theres no way I am buying it
i will play the original if asked and give my money to the guide dogs !

I prefer the original.... and will play the original at christmas... but will buy the single as the main issue is to raise money for charity

its a good tune but a little to much spiced up i think

just listened to em both

regards jonny

Still haven't even heard a snip of it yet

I dont like it at all.

I think its poorly mixed, lacks drive and sparkle.

I hope it raises a load of dosh for the charity, but think it could have been done better!

Absolute rubbish

I'll buy it for the cause but even Band Aid II in '89 was better than this one.....

As with many things the original is the best (I sound old now don't I ), I liked it then and I still do. I always get that "lump in the throat" feeling when I here the intro, I doubt the latest will cause that for many!

I reckon > 80% will be playing the original this Christmas..........

Just to follow on from my previous post, I now understand why I like the second movement.

From watching the video, which appears to be repeated on the ITN news Channel (SKY 525), the second movement is a slight contrast to the first.
I agree that Robbie's approach is in the same attempted style of the original song - sung with passion and feeling, but from the looks of the line-up on the video, the younger 'stars' are clueless or 'dumb sung' until Sir Bob Gandalf shows the original video and stirs the group to sing their heart out!

I appreciate the way Midge Ure and Sir Bob have re-invented the song/video.
The opening is quite good after watching the video (now!)
Anyway, Dido is over rated in my books, and should have stuck to backing Faithless. Off key ... understatement. But I did Like her 'Here With Me' Song.

The decision to go 'electric guitar' on the track is ok in my books, but the ending is too much.
The oroginal version was recorded in 24 hours.
This version had nearly tripple that plus hindsight. But I wish it well.
As discussed before on another thread, the line-up would have been a little different in my books!

I don't like it one little bit. I expected far more after the blaze of publicity. It will get to #1 but purely because it's a charity track, and NOT because its a good track, because frankly it's total smeg .

Why don't I like it?, well first of all the original had depth and strength, and you could tell that each artiste sung it with feeling. Perhaps because the artistes singing on the original had talent perhaps??.

This is just a poor and perhaps quick attempt to get a no1 in time for Xmas. There is no real depth to the track, and those taking part seem to be whining their way pitifully through the lyrics, and the rap.....LOL is that an attempt to appear 'Kewl'.

Bring back the original line up.

Now for the "Old Man" bit............

I have already stated that I dont like it.

One thing I have noticed is that there are not many " STARS" on there. Sure, you have the likes of Sugarbabes etc, but where was the likes of Elton John, Cliff Richard, Bowie, Queen, Phil Collins even Rod Stewart?

If there were more artists with more "Experience" under their belts I feel that the sound would have been fuller. That aside, some of the "Older Artists" have loads of devoted fans who would have purchased this just because their idols were on the recording, thereby increasing its appeal and profitability.

This, in my opinion, could have been recorded by a load of Krapeoke singers in your average pub!

The one bit thats good in my opinion: the guitar riff by Darkness added over the break!

And as for the video...................

I think it's utter baloney...the dizzee rascal bit is like "uh?", the sugababes bit is like "why?" - those girls should smile a bit more they have faces down near their knees..

that joss stone is a bit of a babe though, but on the whole, it'll get to number one i'm sure but the record is naff at the end of teh day.

I heard and saw it for the 1st time yesterday when it was on all terrestrial TV channels at the same time. I was looking forward to hearing this new arrangement but it left me feeling numb.

There didn't appear to be much enthusiasm from many of the artistes involved and the Dizzee Rascal segment just didn't fit in with the flow of the song at all. There are some good cover versions of old songs, sadly this is not one of them and I don't think it'll grow on me either.

I will buy it and give it away to someone for Christmas but I'll stick with playing the original - now if they'd re-release that on CD and put it in direct competition with the new one they'd raise far more money.

PaulS

With the original the artists gave up their time for the cause,this time it is all about ego.
I'm sorry but if they couldn't make it to the studio they weren't on it.
It lacked spontaniety(sp).In the first video it was a film of the day not a thought out video.There was no glitz or make-up(except marylin)
Utter tosh.

I heard it and thought waht a load of crap, I have the original on 12" with the speaches in it by all the members and a good speah by Geldof, it can not be betten. I still play the 12" version, I think it cost me £4.99 when it came out, and it was worth every penny, I recorded it onto MP3, so I have it on my PC, and play it every so often, its amazing the reaction I get from people when they here all the comments by the singers.

Nope dont like it still.... The original was just so much better.

This version sounds.... Over engineered (for want of a better description) it doesn't flow like the original.

I was looking forward to it with all the hype and the High profile it was getting... But its not the same - the atmosphere, the idea, and i'm sure some of them are out of tune at the end! But if it raises awareness, then the record has done its job... good or bad !

They should have just re-released the original, or written a whole new song.

STILL haven't even heard a note of it

I took a "show of hands" vote with the audience at my gig on Saturday...they prefered the original version too.

Maybe thats how they came up with the numeric part of the group name this time, its the ratio of those who liked the original song, compared to the new version...

Band Aid: 2 - 0

Manchester Town Rovers: 1 Kingston United: 3

OK guys, Watchin BBC 3 at the mo, and they are advertising 'do they know it xmas' from 1984, its brill, all the old guys, makes the new one look like

Heard it for the first time today, Its

Heard last 2 minutes of it today, absolute pile of dog poo on your shoe.

OK, all agreed it is poo. All remember the original as ok, do you remember the second band aid - do they know it's christmas? Apparently there was a remake of the original a few years later, before the current one...

So 3 in total, not 2

was by band aid 2 i believe but it wasnt that remarkable.......mind you i think it was far better than the new one.and yes i have bought it!!!
for those who havent:-

Track 1 .......utter crap

Track 2 ........original version

Track 3 ......... live aid version

Worth buying for the remasterd original version alone!

Come on folks - make a small difference and spend some f'kin money!

have you heard the news today guys? a website is offering to smash up the bandaid20 singles if you've bought it but dont want it

The singing soundy pretty flat in places to me and the song had no emotion whatsoever. Although I was not old enough to remember the first time the original was played. Everytime I hear it around xmas time it gives me quite happy feeling. But the new one just doesn't do that.

I will be playing the original at my xmas parties!

Ive just received the latest cd pool disc and band aid is on it
i just wondered does the charity still get anything ??

Hi

I played the Band Aid 2 track last night at the 13 to 16's club night.

Actually liked it once the volume was cranked up, very surprised.

However, I still think it soundsa bit drab with normal radio sound levels.

Darren

Wont buy it wont play it.

If record stores were to put a collecting tin next to the cd's then I'd put me money in there and leave knowing that I have helped the cause and have not promoted garbage at the same time.

Dunc.