Pop stars for a cause: helpful or not?

Image credit to The Guardian

The Ethiopian famine of 1983-1985 affected roughly 7.7 million people, and killed an estimated 1 million. Dr. Miriam Bradley, a senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, explained that there never was a single cause of the crisis, stating “the 1983 to 1985 famine […] was the occasion for an outpouring of western charity spurred by Bob Geldof’s Band Aid. That famine, which killed between 600,000 and 1 million people, was caused by a combination of poverty, drought, poor agricultural policies, and, above all, the use of hunger as a weapon in counterinsurgency” (2). Dr. Bradley asserts that during the time of the famine, there was a secessionist movement within Ethiopia. She says that the Ethiopian government at the time used the famine to fight the movement, specifically in the north of the country. 

Photo of Bob Geldof - Image credit to Britannica

On October 23, 1984, BCC released journalist Michael Buerk's film report on the catastrophic humanitarian crisis, informing and shocking many on what was happening in Ethiopia. This documentary inspired the singer songwriter and political activist Bob Geldof and singer songwriter Midge Ure to organize one of the most historical music events in the world. In London on November 25, 1984, Bob Geldof invited British and Irish influential music artists such as George Michael, Sting, Boy George of Culture Club, and Kylie Minogue, just to name some of the  artists out of 37 stars who joined together to record the hit single Do They Know It's Christmas. These artists formed the super group Band Aid. 

Each musician who was a part of Band Aid did not get any profit after the release of Do They Know It’s Christmas - the point of recording the song was to raise money for people affected by the famine. While the money from selling their single supported famine relief, the biggest impact it created was awareness. The song was instantly a massive success, becoming the No.1 hit in 14 countries. When it was first released it made 8 million pounds within the first year! Before the end of the eighties, the song was such a massive success that it sold 11.7 million copies. 

While Do They Know It’s Christmas was a huge success, it is also a very controversial song. There is often a lot of argument about the lyrics of the song, many discussions explaining that while raising money for a cause is good, the way that the song portrayed all of Africa in a broad and generalizing context was damaging and offensive. The main controversial parts of the song include stereotyped statements of the continent’s climate; the song made it out to be completely barren and helpless, which is not true. The “white saviorism” of the song creates the idea that all of Africa should be pitied, and doesn’t recognize Africa as a diverse continent with many countries and cultures, each different from each other. That being said, the song still created a big positive impact as well, saving potentially millions of lives, but should be taken with a grain of salt. 

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In 1985 - across the pond in the United States - musician, actor, and activist Harry Belafonte was inspired by Do They Know It’s Christmas to do a similar project. He didn’t want to focus just on Ethiopia but rather on all humanitarian crises across Africa. Belafonte reached out to singer songwriter Lionel Richie, who wrote We Are The World with famous singer songwriter Michael Jackson. Quincy Jones agreed to be the producer of the project, making the sound of the song a success. The greatest stars of the 80s in the US were there, including Michael Jackson, Cindy Lauper, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, and Willie Nelson, just to name a few. In all, there were 46 singers who sang in just one night of recording. Just like Band Aid, they created a name for themselves, and they became the group USA for Africa. 

The impact of We Are The World was extremely successful, just like Do They Know It’s Christmas, and according to the USA for Africa Foundation, “the original recording of the song sold over seven million copies and has raised more than $80 million to support humanitarian efforts across Africa” (5). While raising money and awareness, the song also became a huge hit, earning the quadruple platinum status and a spot on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for 4 weeks in a row.

Lionel Richie and Cyndi Lauper-Image credit to Time Magazine

These successful songs went on to inspire more fundraising events for many causes. Some of these events included music festivals like Live Aid, Farm Aid, and Hands Across America, as well as the  recording of That’s What Friends Are For to raise money for AIDS research. While both songs We Are The World and Do They Know It’s Christmas were instrumental in humanitarian relief in the 1980s, famine and other humanitarian crises continue to persist today. By donating to nonprofits and organizations committed to creating long term solutions, we can help other people no matter where in the world they are, get the help they need.In the end, we are the world, and we have to do what we can to share the good things we have with others.