I will buy it, I bought the first and played it 100s of times,we had discussions on it in school and as it had the best pop stars of the time on it my generation were suddenly acutely aware of the word beyond the west because of it.
Now is a better time than any to use celebrity to raise awareness of issues and threats facing the world, we lap up anything with a celebrity label..in the jungle,in a house,just doing stuff for 7 days, family fortunes, the chase.. anything.
Why then is it seen so unusual that a single for charity by celebs is seen more unusual now than it was then? Why is viewed with more cynicism than it was then?
Whatever people think of Bob he has done something, he was successful the first time and fair play to him that despite his personal grief he is able to inspire others to look further than their own back door.

I can't be bothered finding his exact quote regarding Adele because I'm on my phone. Soz. The rest, yes, is opinion which I'm as entitled to state as those lining up to lick Geldof's bumhole are but what can I say? No, I can't provide links to "prove" that he's a self serving narcissist. No more than I can send you a link to "prove" that the bird I saw at the park yesterday was a duck. I just know what a duck looks, walks, and quacks like.

Ebola is infectious and there currently is no cure.

Bob Geldof is not not partly responsible for anyones attitude, personal, cultural,societal and educational standards are. Nor is he responsible in any way for the political constructs in Africa.

I duck looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck...
By this logic if a man looks like his trying to help, arranges the help and delivers the help is he not helping?..

It is not hugely infectious, not like influenza for example, it does not spread easily and if the nations where it had first took hold had decent infrastructure, it would have been easily contained. There is no real question about that.

He is not personally responsible for the political problems in Africa but as a very prominent figure constantly bleating about the continent, he absolutely IS responsible for the attitudes that he is helping to spread. Attitudes that contribute to those political problems.

If he is not responsible then he is nothing more than a bull in a china shop. Which is probably pretty accurate. I'm sure he has no idea that his vanity projects also cause harm. I don't suppose he particularly cares.

The duck isn't a duck if it's actually an onion with eyes and a beak drawn on it.

Well thank you for stating the obvious.
He is not a 'prominent' figure though is he? and I suspect in the African political arena he is a virtual unknown. But don't let that colour your view.
They need aid, he helps raise awareness of this and we see the efforts already made in the news, I'm sorry I'm as cynical as the next person but I can't see why nothing is better than something if you have the influence and the means in this instance to make a difference.

Bob Geldof isn't a prominent figure when it comes to Western attitudes towards Africa? Over the last 30 years he's surely one of the MOST prominent figures... Certainly in Europe. The point isn't him being prominent in Africa itself but rather that African countries will never pull themselves out of 3rd world status while the rest of the world looks upon them as hot, dirty, starving, infected little hell-holes and Geldof and his ilk, no matter how well meaning (although it should be evident that I personally am very dubious of his motives) absolutely hammer that image home. It's in the very lyrics of the song and it's all over every speech he makes. "We must help them! We must help these poor creatures in their filthy hovel with our money. Give me the money so that I can help them!", he cries, with his eyes suitably teary and his hands literally wringing.

This does not help Africa or Africans. It never has. The money raised might help a few people in the short term but it doesn't matter a jot if the deeper issues are being constantly worsened by the messages and images used to "encourage" us.

So its your rather biased opinion then, but its doesn't stop you stating that rather pompously imo :D: I think when people are looking at Geldof and not understanding that he has, at least, many and varied motives when he makes his "impassioned speeches" they can't possibly be taking into account the amount of money he has made from Band Aud.

it also doesn't stop you repeating the Adele story even though Geldof has denied it. You have no more insight that anyone else but you are portraying your opinion as factual when it is anything but.

At least Bob Geldof gets off his butt and does something instead of mouthing off behind a computer,his intentions are honourable,who cares what cause or country they are helping,that fact they are helping is a good thing surely.

Biased? Why would they be Biased? Not convinced you know what the word means... I have no personal, financial or any other connection to Bob Geldof or Africa. There is nothing for me to bit biased about. Feel free to suggest where my bias lies, though.

I don't like to preface my opinions with "in my opinion" or "I might be wrong but...". It's a cop out. Of course I believe my opinions to be factual, otherwise I wouldn't hold them as my opinion? Do you not believe your own opinions to be true? That most be a very confusing way to exist.

You make the assumption that I haven't contributed thousands to various charities both personally and through fundraising (which I have) and also that I don't happily "mouth off" about things like this even when not behind a computer (which, rest assured, I do).

You have also managed to completely ignore the entire part where I said that it is entirely my belief (and the belief of many others) that overall he does NOT help. He guides them one step forward whilst kicking them two steps back. He helps one person today at the expense of ten more tomorrow. If you don't believe that, that's fine, but you're arguing against a point that I've never made. You're right, his motivations wouldn't matter if the net result was positive. I don't believe it is.

Did anyone see Sunday Morning Live with Sian Williams last Sunday (16th)? There was a Liberian woman on it who give a very clear indication what she thought of Bob Geldof and of Live Aid/Band Aid in general. I can't find a YouTube clip, but it's still on BBC IPlayer if anyone's interested.

Great to see it's doing well, for such a good cause, well done to all involved and everyone that donated in one way or another :clap1:

Yeah i saw that.She seemed pissed.I got what she was saying about giving the African artists the limelight instead of western artists(Geldoff and co) taking it.I get her sentiment but i did'nt agree,Only in that i think the Brit artists who are doing the song will generate more attention from the British public(the ones with the money) than unknown(in this country) African artists.She also did'nt like the lyrics as it portrays the people in her country as helpless etc,That's fair enough i suppose.Although i think she was more annoyed at the old lyrics than the new ones that they've used for this version of the song.I kind of understood where she was coming from but i thought her anger was misplaced.Those countries do need to be equipped and capable of dealing with an outbreak like this but while they're not,I can't see help from the west as being a bad thing.I don't particularly like Geldoff but i can't fault him for doing a good thing.

It's obvious what his motivations are, he's not exactly subtle about it.

I'm not saying you have to hide your face but if you do something charitable and then make it all about you then you're obviously not doing it for the right reasons. Band Aid isn't about Africa, it's all about Bob Geldof.

I just bought it. :love:

I really don't get this logic at all, even if you detest the man, find him to be a pain in the arse whatever you still can't deny that he is putting in effort to raise both awareness and money for a cause.

This really, if someone really wanted their cause to be about the thing they're raising money for, they'd let that take center stage and be the main focus, not themselves and their own ego.

Exactly. Have a look at his lifestyle. That doesn't come from being the ex-lead singer of the Boomtown Rats, that comes from being Sir Bob Geldof, philanthropist and saint.

So in what way is this single/effort not taking centre stage? Bob and Midge organised it so of course he is going to appear on shows and stuff to promote it (like any other artists promoting their work) in what other way is he making himself the main focus?

does any of the money even go to ebola? or is it a scam?

I love Band Aid. i remember the first one. :flutter:

I would guess a lot of his fortune comes from the multiple successful song writing and production companies he owned.

People can change their opinions if they are given new information on a topic, its is how opinions work, you foo fooed my post about Geldof denying the Adele story even though it was reported by Sky News, so I expect if he were lying Adele would have something to say about it. It would be better if you did preface your opinions as your own as sometimes your posts come across as more factual than they really are.

Oh yeah, that'll be why he's still on my telly.

Interesting so this woman who I guess lives in the UK is more interested in seeing black representation on the singe rather than actually tackling the disease, chip on shoulder much.

I'm surprised the song is out on itunes this early.. why not compete for Christmas number 1?

So nice to see some old faces on Band Aid 30 : Sinead and U2. :lovedup:

I'm not sure if she lives in the UK.I don't think it was necessarily black representation as much as local artists from the areas affected who can't get in the public eye like Geldoff can.But yeah,She did seem to have abit of a chip on her shoulder imo.The simple fact is that Geldoff can get people to buy this song and he can raise alot of money,Atleast he's using his influence for good.I'm sure the people affected by ebola don't share this womans opinion,I'm pretty sure they're glad of all the help they can get.

Like I said before, charity singles benefit those involved more than the charity they're helping. Why do you think the X-Factor has a charity single every year? It's because it's a bit of good press, a guaranteed No1 single and it leads to a nice little VT which shows off the contestants' softer sides that'll lead to a nice bump in potential votes. Band Aid is no different, every act involved and Bob Geldof all benefit from the publicity and it's an easy No1. Charity Singles are a cynical business and all involved are profiting in some way from a tragedy which is why I never support any of them and instead donate directly to the charities themselves

They need famous artists to help promote it. No one would take notice if thy put unknown singers.

I'm not sure how many people would like to record with artists specially flown in from the affected areas :laugh: is she mad, there is nothing stopping her organising her own single with local artists though

There is some urgency here to get this virus under control and the money is needed asap. I don't think being No. 1 at Christmas was the aim here.

Nigeria, which is very close to the 3 main infected countries, declared its self Ebola free mid October.

If they can do this and they are in West Africa and the most populous country then what does that tell you about urgency?

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/...tober-2014/en/

LOL this tbh :laugh:

You know what would be interesting? Someone should do a huge random word association survey in the streets, thousands of people, just one question...

"I say one thing, you tell me the first thing that pops into your head:

Band Aid"


... Then compare the number of people who say "Bob Geldoff" with the number who say anything at all to do with Ebola, anything at all to do with Africa or world hunger, or even charity.

I bet Ganondorf would get most mentions...

Because you're cynical thoughts about a man you don't know are more substantial than what comes out of the man's own mouth? Ok then.

Oh come on. Really?

Marsh: "You, sir, are an arse."

Joe Bloggs: "I assure you I am not an arse."

Marsh: "Oh! Sorry buddy, I don't know what I was thinking, I have clearly made an error. I mean, you must know yourself better than I know you."


Well Marsh, let me tell you something. I am literally always right. Always. And I'm damn sure that I know myself better than you know me so... You can't really say that I'm not. And I say Bob Geldof is a self serving, tax avoiding hypocrite. Mind = blown?

I'll leave you to this strange fixation you have with insulting a man about things none of us know anything about.

Enjoy yourself.

Tabloids print an exaggerated story like 99% of their trash, Geldof says it's nonsense but he's obviously lying.... because two members of his family died from heroin overdoses...... and you don't like him. Logical.