I remember going to see The Concert For Bangladesh in early 1972at the Dorval Cinema in suburban Montreal. That movie (and the triple vinyl disc album of the same name) was my introduction to pop music as a fundraiser for a good cause, though there might have been earlier efforts I was unaware of.

Yesterday saw the release of the latest musical fundraiser “Do They Know It’s Christmas” by Band Aid 30. It is a reworking of the song used to raise awareness of and money for the victims of the 1984 famine in Ethiopia. Once again Bob Geldof has assembled an all-star cast of musicians, employing their celebrity to help combat the spread of Ebola in West Africa and provide some comfort for the victims.

The original Band Aid was a collection of mostly British pop stars brought together in 1984 by Geldof, who at the time was leader of a band called the Boomtown Rats. He had been disturbed by the television images of the famine, and with Midge Ure of the band Ultravox dashed off a song, called some friends, and put out a single to try and raise some money for famine relief. Everyone volunteered their efforts; the song was a hit and raised millions of dollars as well as awareness of the humanitarian crisis.

Other music communities also responded with all-star performances, disparate artists uniting for a common goal. American performers came together to record “We Are The World” under the moniker USA for Africa. Canadian musicians, calling themselves Northern Lights, recorded “Tears Are Not Enough.” Christian singers calling themselves The C.A.U.S.E (Christians United to Save The Earth) released “Do Something Now.” All were successful in providing aid to those in need. The Live Aid concerts (and simulcast) in July 1985 raised millions of dollars more.

So much has changed over the years, especially the speed at which things happen. The Concert for Bangladesh was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City in August 1971. The album was released in December and the movie the following year. Although there were initial problems with the money making its way to help the victims of the civil war in Bangladesh, which was the whole point of the exercise, the eventual total topped $10 million.

The 1984 Band Aid single and the various other efforts of the time made it to consumers’ hands much quicker (and the money was also distributed to the work much faster). But there was still a time lag as the records still had to be manufactured and made available for sale.

Not so today. The musicians assembled by Bob Geldof this year recorded in London on the weekend. The song was released Monday and had already sold half a million download copies by lunchtime. When I looked at the video on YouTube, only 74,000 people had watched it. Four hours later I looked again and it was 350,000 and four hours after that 650,000. My guess is that by the time you read this it will be well over a million.

The cause has changed; the enemy now is Ebola, not famine. But the situation is the same: people are in need and the music community is stepping up to help out.
Buying a single isn’t much, but it’s better than nothing. Because right now the prospects for Christmas in West Africa are pretty bleak.