Latest news with #DoTheyKnowIt'sChristmas
Evening Standard
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Evening Standard
Just for One Day: The Live Aid musical review: 'frustratingly shallow'
Of the other superstars involved in Live Aid, it's only Midge Ure (a very convincing and, astonishingly, unrelated George Ure) and Margaret Thatcher (Julie Atherton) who get stage time. We're told (as we're told a lot of things in O'Farrell's less than subtle script) that the ordinary people who helped put Live Aid together are the real heroes. The show doesn't follow that through: we only get to know one of them, Suzanne, who sells lots of copies of Do They Know It's Christmas. The whole show has this problem, of ideas left half-baked, characters underdeveloped. Always, it returns to Geldof (he swears, did you know).
Spectator
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
When did we become so boring?
Recently, I found myself trying to explain to a much younger colleague who Oliver Reed was. We'd got on to the subject of the hell-raising actor because I was bemoaning the fact – perhaps rashly – that today's world is completely anodyne. Fear of offending others means it's better to keep your thoughts to yourself; after all, who needs the police investigating them for a non-crime hate incident? Brave is the person who brings their whole self to work, as many of us are encouraged to do. The government's Employment Rights Bill, which some are calling the 'banter ban', may mean we're even more reluctant to speak our minds. This prohibition against saying anything even vaguely controversial extends to all walks of life – including television. So, I cited Reed's legendary appearance on the late-night Channel 4 discussion programme After Dark as an example of a time when we didn't have to weigh every word before uttering it. During an episode on men, Reed got hammered on the free booze, became argumentative and gave horrified feminist author Kate Millett an unsolicited peck on the cheek. Eventually, after being told off by Helena Kennedy, he was asked to leave. Some may think he confirmed masculine stereotypes with his boorish behaviour, but it was one of the funniest things ever broadcast and went down in the annals of television history. From today's vantage point, it seems almost unthinkable that an unscripted debate – where guests were plied with free booze – could ever be broadcast on terrestrial television. Instead, we're fed a diet of inoffensive pap featuring vacuous individuals with perfect hair, unblemished skin and 'Turkey teeth'. Intellectually challenging television is a thing of the past. Now, we have to endure endless crime dramas and cookery programmes, which are little more than chewing gum for the mind. God forbid we be allowed to view anything that jolts us from our collective stupor. I hanker after moments like 1985's Live Aid when Bob Geldof jabbed the table and said: 'Fuck the address, let's get the numbers!' when emphasising the urgency of getting donations by phone rather than giving out postal addresses. Interviewed on Sky News in 2014 about critical reactions to the re-recording of Do They Know It's Christmas, he said: 'I think they're talking bollocks.' Asked not to repeat the word, he responded to another of the presenter's assertions with: 'Complete load of bollocks.' The interview ended abruptly. Absolute comedy gold. I, for one, am sick of today's bland entertainment. We need TV programmes fronted by louche characters with several days' beard growth who look like they've come straight from a nightclub. Their rasping voices should suggest a 40-a-day habit. And the news would be far more interesting if presented by people who'd clearly enjoyed a good lunch on expenses. Broadcaster and journalist Reginald 'Reggie' Bosanquet often appeared worse for wear while fronting the News at Ten. One of his co-presenters, Anna Ford, recalled: 'Reggie was a dear. I mean, you wouldn't have chosen a man who had epilepsy, was an alcoholic, had had a stroke and wore a toupée to read the news, but the combination was absolute magic.' Just imagine how ratings would soar for any channel brave enough to put a modern-day Bosanquet in front of the camera. It would be compulsive viewing. Forget the daily diet of doom – you'd tune in to see how pissed they were. And if we must suffer never-ending food programmes, at least let the chef have a fag planted in the corner of their mouth (Marco Pierre White is the only living cook I know to have done this). Then we could watch transfixed as the inch of ash hanging precariously from the tip threatened to drop into whatever they were preparing. It would be even more compelling if they were helping themselves to liberal amounts of alcohol like the late Keith Floyd. Sadly, because everything's now so carefully choreographed, there's no danger of anything spontaneous and, therefore, interesting happening. Gone is the era when a group of young musicians like the Sex Pistols could appear on live TV and turn the air blue. When challenged to say something outrageous by host Bill Grundy, guitarist Steve Jones responded by calling him a 'Dirty bastard' and a 'fucker'. It caused outrage, but the nine-year-old me was delighted. It just couldn't happen now. Neither the producers nor the band's management would allow it. We need TV programmes fronted by louche characters with several days' beard growth who look like they've come straight from a nightclub I like to imagine that, in the unlikely event I'm ever invited on to Today, I'd say something that would have the punters choking on their cornflakes: 'Sorry, Emma… [prolonged sniffing] Feeling a bit liverish. I'm afraid I had a couple of grams of Bolivia's finest washed down with a bottle of Jack D. Never a good idea on a school night.' Raffish laughter. But in reality, I'd be utterly craven. Anyway, I've switched to Radio 3. As for comedy, fuhgeddaboudit! I recently watched the first episode of Tina Fey's Four Seasons and nearly wept at the banality. Anything from yesteryear seems to have to carry a health warning. Can you imagine a new series of Little Britain making it past the morality police? Neither can I. Comedy from the 1970s and 1980s? Don't even go there. There is some hope: The White Lotus – a satire about the entitled rich – has produced some sublime moments. But it's a drama. We need more real-life characters in the media: rakish individuals and loose cannons, preferably those with charm, intellect and wit. Give John Lydon, aka Johnny Rotten, his own show. He may have mellowed with age, but he could be relied on to ignore the script. This isn't a rallying cry for bad behaviour for its own sake – or an argument against common courtesy, which is already in decline – but rather a call to loosen the fetters that mean, in today's world, it's easier and safer to say nothing at all. Our fear of opprobrium means public debate is the poorest quality I can ever remember. Rather than reasoned discourse, we have facile comments or pure vitriol. So come on, commissioning editors, instead of rendering us insensible with unmitigated twaddle, bring back cerebral discussion programmes whose participants aren't censored. Invite bon viveurs, intellectuals, raconteurs and wits. Mix it up occasionally with a disreputable character or two, supply the guests with a heavily laden drinks trolley and something contentious to debate, and you'd have an explosive cocktail – as well as the makings of brilliant television. Sadly, Oliver Reed died while filming Gladiator. He met some off-duty sailors in a bar and challenged them to a drinking match but fell ill and collapsed with a heart attack. My God, what an epic way to go. Of course, I could never say that to my younger colleague because the age of giants is over, and the unexceptionable are now in charge.
The Irish Sun
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
80s pop icon looks unrecognisable on RyanAir flight… can you tell who it is?
A LEGENDARY music artist has been spotted catching a no frills flight - despite penning an almighty Christmas classic. The iconic star was seen casually on board a RyanAir plane - with no first class in sight. Advertisement 5 Midge Ure was spotted on a RyanAir flight Credit: Instagram 5 Midge and co on the day Do They Know It's Christmas? was recorded in 1984 Credit: Getty Born in suburban Glasgow in 1953, Midge Ure OBE rocketed to the top of the charts as one of the singers on 1984's Band Aid anthem Do They Know It's Christmas?. He joined a line-up of stars including The 71-year-old told his followers on social media: "Dublin bound. The yellow and blue gives it away. Ahh the glamour." Fans commented: "Midge-san's style is perfect, but his eyes are serious." Advertisement Read more A second applauded: "Keeping it real Mid-ge." A third joked: "The high life." "No Concorde then," quizzed a fourth. Another praised: "Master." Advertisement Most read in Celebrity Live Blog He found fame in a host of bands aside from Ultravox and their epic hit Vienna, including Rich Kids, Slik and Thin Lizzy. formed the group, which aimed to highlight the plight of the famine in Ethiopia. Bob Geldof and Midge Ure return with a new version of their charity classic, Do They Know It's Christmas The classic shot to the number one spot back in 1984 and became the fastest-selling single in UK chart history . To date, the Band Aid Charitable Trust has raised more than £150million for people in need and officially turned 40 years old in 2024. Advertisement Midge went on to have a highly successful career after Band Aid but hasn't been without his struggles. He's been open The star wrote: "I got close to being kicked out of our home. It must have been boring for Sheridan to have me staggering around at 2am trying to get into bed. "It caused a rift and she asked me to stop. I did but started again - I abused her trust and couldn't see that I was in danger of losing my family and my life." Advertisement The Scot was previously married to the late I'm A Celeb star Annabel Giles, who died at the age of 64, in 2023. The When Annabel was 25, she ran off from her husband-to-be the day before their wedding - to pursue a relationship with Ultravox singer Midge. Annabel and Midge married on the Caribbean island of Montserrat in 1985. Advertisement Their daughter Molly was born two years later, and the family lived in a listed Georgian mansion by the Thames in But the marriage was not to last, with Annabel and Midge separating in 1989 - although they remained good friends. Last year, the 5 Midge performing in Auckland in 2020 Credit: Getty Advertisement 5 Ultravox star Midge in 1982 Credit: Getty 5 Bob Geldof, Paul Epworth and Midge recorded Band Aid 30 in 2014 Credit: Getty
Irish Independent
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
‘They are c***s' - Bob Geldof hits out against Elon Musk and cuts to US aid at St Anne's Park gig
Geldof said the Trump administration 'declared a war on the weakest, poorest, most vulnerable people on our planet. They are c***s'. He was speaking at the Rewind Festival at St Anne's Park with The Boomtown Rats. During the gig, Geldof invited onstage his long-time friend, Midge Ure, co-writer of the Band Aid hit, Do They Know It's Christmas? Geldof and Ure organised Live Aid in 1984 to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia and raised hundreds of millions of dollars. "We only wrote one song together, but it turned out to be the biggest selling record in British history,' Geldof told the crowd. Geldof then hit out against Elon Musk, who left the Trump administration and his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) this week, a brand new agency that was tasked with overhauling US government spending. 'A couple of Irish singers have been going around the world this week, Bruce in London, Bono in LA and us here, and all of us have said the same thing, that the strongest nation in the world, the most powerful man on the planet, and the richest ever human being in the history of the world, on the first of February 2025 declared a war on the weakest, poorest, most vulnerable people on our planet. They are c***s. "When that f******g hedge-trimming, catatonic f*****g ketamine fuelled Musk decided that he would cut US aid, food, medicine, since that moment he was wielding his hedge-trimmer 300,000 of the poorest people in the world have died because of that f**k.' President Donald Trump ordered a spending freeze on the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in January, and has been operating at sharply reduced capacity since. It was reported that food rations that could supply 3.5 million people for a month are mouldering in warehouses around the world because of the US aid cuts and risk becoming unusable. Food rations that could supply 3.5 million people for a month are mouldering in warehouses around the world because of U.S. aid cuts and risk becoming unusable, according to five people familiar with the situation. The food stocks have been stuck inside four U.S. government warehouses since the Trump administration's decision in January to cut global aid programmes, according to three people who previously worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development and two sources from other aid organisations. ADVERTISEMENT Some stocks that are due to expire as early as July are likely to be destroyed, either by incineration, using them as animal feed or disposing of them in other ways, two of the sources said. The warehouses, which are run by USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), contain between 60,000 to 66,000 metric tonnes of food, sourced from American farmers and manufacturers, the five people said. An undated inventory list for the warehouses - which are located in Djibouti, South Africa, Dubai and Houston - stated that they contained more than 66,000 tonnes of commodities, including high-energy biscuits, vegetable oil and fortified grains. Meanwhile, two weeks ago singer Bruce Springsteen told the crowd at his Manchester gig that Trump was running a 'corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.' Trump responded by calling the Boss a 'dried-out prune of a rocker'. Also speaking this month, U2 frontman Bono, who has long campaigned for debt relief, aid and better trade for Africa, said Trump and Musk, the world's richest man, are squandering the potential of millions of people by making huge cuts to US foreign aid spending, "with glee it would appear". It was unwise policy as well as "the definition of the absence of love," he said.
Daily Mail
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
80s pop icon looks unrecognisable as he's pictured at Wembley stadium - but can you guess who it is?
An 80s pop icon looked unrecognisable as he headed back to Wembley Stadium for Live Aid: The Musical's cast recording on Thursday, 40 years after the iconic concert. The musician was a key organiser of the original two-venue benefit, held on July 13 1985, which intended to raise relief funds for the Ethiopian famine that claimed approximately 300,000 to 1.2 million lives. Almost 40 years after 72,000 fans converged on the venue for an epic string of performances from some of the biggest stars of the decade, this singer posed for photos on its hallowed turf. Hailing from the outskirts of Greater Glasgow, the musician journeyed around several groups in the 70s and early 80s but found real success as the second lead singer of a revived band in 1979. They had a major hit with Vienna in 1981, which went on to become the fifth highest selling single in the UK that year. He juggled his key roles in three big bands, before co-writing and producing Do They Know It's Christmas for Band Aid in 1984 and bagging a solo number one single with If I Was a year later. Can you guess who the new wave icon is? It is none other than Ultravox, Thin Lizzy and Visage star Midge Ure. Echoing that legendary summer's day in 1985, the sun beat down on Wembley as he and fellow Live Aid organiser Bob Geldof recalled fond memories of the fundraising event. Launched at London's Old Vic in 2024, jukebox musical Just For One Day: The Live Aid Musical details the events leading up to the two concerts, while featuring a series of fictionalised dramatic sub-plots. Following a recent two month run at Toronto's Mirvish Theatre, it will open at London's Shaftesbury Theatre from May 15 for a further eight weeks, in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of Live Aid. Watched by an estimated 1.9billion people across the world, the two concerts raised an astonishing £150m in total for famine relief. Just seven-months after the release of Band Aid charity single Do They Know It's Christmas?, Geldof and Ure brought together some of the biggest artists of the 1980s for two huge concerts at Wembley Stadium and Philadelphia's John F. Kennedy Stadium. David Bowie, Sir Paul McCartney, Status Quo, Sir Elton John and Queen led a lengthy roster of performers in London, while Black Sabbath, Joan Baez, Run D.M.C and The Beach Boys joined a host of stars in Philadelphia. Ahead of the anniversary, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer have announced plans to broadcast Live Aid at 40, revealing the behind-the-scenes story of the 1985 concert that brought the idea of charity to a new generation. Geldof (pictured, left) wore a Breton shirt and jeans for his visit to the stadium, while Ure (right) sported a thick roll-neck sweater, despite the weather pushing thirty degrees The event proved the pinnacle of Midge's lofty career, which kicked off with a 1976 number one single, Forever And Ever, while playing in the band Slik. He then had a brief stint in new wave group Rich Kids before forming Visage in 1978 with Rusty Egan and lead vocalist Steve Strange. The band enjoyed a string of hits, including Fade To Grey, and successful albums Visage and The Anvil before tensions caused them to go their separate ways. He then joined Thin Lizzy in 1979 before regrouping Ultravox later that year as its singer, songwriter and guitarist. As Vienna topped the charts in 1981, Midge was also juggling his roles in Visage and Thin Lizzy. They went on to land four top 10 albums and a top three single in Dancing With Tears In My Eyes, before their greatest hits record was released and certified triple platinum. Once he focussed on his solo career, Midge had a number one single with If I Was in 1985 and a number two album in the same year with The Gift. After overseeing Live 8 in 2005, Midge was awarded an OBE. He married his first wife, TV presenter Annabel Giles, in 1985 and they had one daughter Molly Lorenne before divorcing in 1989. In 2003, he tied the knot with his second wife, actress Sheridan Forbes. The duo live in Bath and have three daughters. Last year, Midge paid tribute to his friend and Ultravox bandmate Chris Cross: 'We worked together, we played together, made music and directed videos together. 'We were instant friends as well as Ultravox comrades. Even after years apart we managed to pick up where we left off like the years in between never existed. You were the glue that held the band together. 'You were the logic in the madness and the madness in our lives. It was great to know and grow with you. You are loved and missed old friend.'
