Putting the Charity Back into Charity Singles: Charity Singles in Britain 1984–1995

Abstract

The development of the charity single as a response to crisis is usually exemplified by the release of the Band Aid single ‘Do They Know it's Christmas’ in December 1984 and the Live Aid concerts in London and New York in July 1985. This article will explore the subsequent development of the charity single genre in Britain as a response to perceived crisis in the domestic context. The 1980s saw a series of events that were reacted to as domestic disasters, notably relating to football at Bradford, and Hillsborough, the Zeebrugge Ferry disaster and the Hungerford and Dunblane shootings. Whilst these events played out various anxieties over regionality, class, and the role of the police and press, they all precipitated one similar response—the charity single. In the process the charity single, as a recognisable form, was consolidated through the 1980s in terms of cover design, related promotional culture and music video as well as in lyrical and musical structure. In this article I will argue that, taken together, the heterogeneity of charity singles reinforces the ways in which Thatcherism was able to use ‘common sense’ popular culture to undermine the post-war consensus. Collectivity and universality were countered with individual responsibility and individual solutions to social challenges.

Keywords:

• Thatcherism
• Charity
• Pop Music
• The Eighties
• Live Aid

Notes

Lucy Robinson is a lecturer in Modern British History at the University of Sussex.

 [1] I would like to thank Owen Emmerson and Michael Whitehead, Madeline Bell, Anne Orwin, Hugh Pihlens, John Mckie, Rick Scott, SOAS Special Collections, Special Collections at the University of Sussex, Hamish Campbell-Legg, and (especially) Oscar Quine for their research assistance.

 [2] Jim Sernoe has pointed out the problems with reading chart success as popularity—the relationship between levels of sales, revenue from sales and chart position fluctuates on a weekly basis. However, the amount of time a song spent in the chance is a useful indicator of both awareness and fundraising. Sernoe, ‘Now We're on the Top, Top of the Pops’, 642; Hesbacher, Robert, and Berger, ‘Record Roulette’.

 [3] Laing, ‘Making Popular Music’, 187.

 [4] For example in November 2011, following a summer of urban unrest and public sector cuts '80s troubadour Billy Bragg took part in the Left Field in Motion Tour.

 [5] For example, Cross, ‘Crass and the Anarcho-punk Movement 1977–1985’; Glasper, The Day the Country Died.

 [6] Street, Rebel Rock, 2.

 [7] See Robinson, ‘Sometimes I Like to Stay in and Watch TV’, 1–37.

 [8] Shapely, ‘Charity, Status and Leadership’, 157.

 [9] Mandler, The Uses of Charity, 2.

[10] Andersson, ‘Pop-Culture Icons as Agents of Change? ’; Dixon, Katrina, ‘Charity and the Charts’. The Scotsman (21 September 2001); Garofalo, Rockin' the Boat; Regan, ‘Live Aid? ’; Denselow, When the Music's Over.

[11] Black, A Cause for Our Times, 82.

[12] Hillmore, The Greatest Show on Earth.

[13] Regan, ‘Live Aid ’, 71.

[14] Street, ‘Celebrity Politicians’, 448.

[15] Ibid., 438.

[16] Garofalo, Rockin' the Boat, 15–36; Garofalo, ‘Who Is the World? ’, 324–44.

[17] Garofalo, Rockin' the Boat, 115.

[18] Shapely, ‘Charity, Status and Leadership’, 158.

[19] Arulampalam et al., ‘Donations for Overseas Development’, 13.

[20] Reid, Jim, ‘Starvation’. Record Mirror (1985).

[21] Davis, ‘Feeding the World a Line? ’, 99.

[22] Unless stated otherwise chart data in the article is compiled from The Official Charts and www.chartstats.com, with the assistance of Oscar.

[23] Back, ‘Voices of Hate, Sounds of Hybridity’, 127–49; Garofalo, Rockin' the Boat, 71.

[24] This would be in line with the relative lack of success of other black performed charity records in aid of causes related specifically to the black community, such as Winjama's Place in the Sun in aid of victims of the Jamaican Hurricane Appeal in 1988 and number of releases in aid of sickle cell anaemia. Clayden, ‘The Madness Story’.

[25] 2 Tone Records.

[26] Arnold, ‘Constrained Crusaders? ’, 189.

[27] War on Want, ‘This Misery is Man-Made’; War on Want, ‘War on Want Week’; War on Want, ‘Women's Work Together’.

[28] War on Want, ‘Ways to Turn Water into Wine’; War on Want, Classical Aid; War on Want, War on Want Games.

[29] Crewe and Searing, ‘Ideological Change in the British Conservative Party’, 362–84.

[30] Kidd, ‘Philanthropy and the Social History Paradigm’, 180.

[31] The two areas where Thatcherism was most successful in its retrenchment of the Welfare State were public housing and pension reform. Pierson, ‘The New Politics of the Welfare State’.

[32] Hall, ‘Authoritarian Populism:’; Seldon, ‘Consensus’.

[33] ‘Report of the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales for the Year 1985’, 35–6; Atkinson et al., ‘Charitable Giving for Overseas Development’, 11.

[34] ‘Report of the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales for the Year 1985 ’, 6.

[35] Daunton, Charity, Self-Interest and Welfare in the English Past, 1; Prochaska, The Voluntary Impulse, xiii.

[36] Waddington, Charity and the London Hospitals, 1850–1898, 5, 9, 159.

[37] Moore, Ribbon Culture, 11–12.

[38] Regan, ‘Live Aid’, 11, 28.

[39] Dire Straights, Your Latest Trick (1985).

[40] GOSH continues to inspire charity singles. Recent recordings include one by the X Factor finalists in 2009 and the song Love to Look at You by Essex band Torn Asunder in 2007.

[41] The European Team—Sport Alive (1985, failed to chart), Dance Aid—Give, Give, Give (1986, failed to chart) Hear n' Aid—Smoke on the Water (1986, highest chart position 26).

[42] SAW or Pete Waterman productions included Lananeeneenoonoo—Help! (1989, highest position 3), Cher, Chrissie Hynde and Neneh Cherry—Love Can Build a Bridge (1995, highest position 1), Ferry Aid—Let it Be (1987, highest position 1), The Christians, Holly Johnson, Paul McCartney and Gerry Marsden—Ferry Across the Mersey (1989, highest position 1) Band Aid II—Do They Know it's Christmas (1989, highest position 1), Big Fun, Sonia and Gary Barnacle, You've Got a friend (1990, highest position 14), Dance Aid—Give, Give, Give, Mick and Pat—Let's All Chant (1988, highest position 11).

[43] Fast, ‘Who Is the World? ’, 328.

[44] Street, Rebel Rock, 153.

[45] Bailie, Stuart, ‘Cole Chillin’. New Musical Express 1, no. 12 (1990): 27.

[46] Garofalo, ‘Who is the World?’; Davis, ‘Feeding the World a Line? ’.

[47] Arulampalam et al., ‘Donations for Overseas Development’, 15; Prochaska, The Voluntary Impulse, 15.

[48] Frith and Street, ‘Rock against Racism and Red Wedge’, 334.

[49] Email correspondence Madeline Bell (20 June 2011).

[50] Thornton, Kate, ‘Blur 10, Oasis 9’. Daily Mirror (21 August 1995): 11;Pride, ‘UK Hitmakers Contribute to Bosnian Charity Album’.

[51] White, Reginald, ‘Birth of a Shrine.’ Daily Mirror (1989): 3.

[52] Regan, ‘Live Aid’.

[53] Rock Against Repatriation's cover of Rod Stewart's Sailing (1990), Artists Against Apartheid's Sun City (1985), or British AAA singles Steel City (Move on Up) by the Hillsboro' Crew (1986) and The Special AKA's Nelson Mandela (1984).

[54] Garofalo, Rockin' the Boat, 3, 64.

[55] Page, Betty, ‘Admirable Nelson’. New Musical Express (1990: 32–3; Denselow, When the Music's Over, 131; ‘Afrika for Africa’. New Musical Express (7 April 1990: 5.

[56] Garofalo, Rockin' the Boat, 26.

[57] Interview with Anne Orwin (9 January 2011), unpublished.

[58] See, for example, Ferry Aid—Let it Be (1987)'; Ferry Cross the Mersey for the Hillsborough Disaster Fund (1989); Status Quo's 1988 song for Sport Aid; George Michael and Elton John, Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (1991); Rock Against Repatriation, Sailing (1990); Sarah Brightman and Paul Miles-Kingston, Pie Jesu (1985); Ian and Belinda, Who Wants to Live Forever (1989); Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody (1991).

[59] Dixon, ‘Charity and the Charts’; Garofalo, Rockin' the Boat, 27.

[60] White, ‘Birth of a Shrine’.

[61] Pringle, Gill, ‘Charity Disc Dust-Up’. Daily Mirror (12 November 1987): 13.

[62] Neil, Spencer, ‘Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me’. The Observer (1901– 2003) (1996): C3.

[63] Pride, ‘UK Hitmakers Contribute to Bosnian Charity Album’.

[64] Sky, Rick, ‘Wheels of Ire’. Daily Mirror (24 May 1994): 15.

[65] Hull et al., The Music Business and Recording Industry, 219; Sky, Rick, ‘What's Going Wrong? Fans Won't Rock for Rwanda Charity’. Daily Mirror (16 November 1994): 23.

[66] ‘Our History’, Charity Commission, Charity Projects.

[67] Moore, Ribbon Culture, 39.

[68] Interview with Rick Scott (26 July 2011), unpublished.

[69] Taylor, ‘Charity Balls’.

[70] Later Comic Relief singles continued to extend the comedy/musician clash, introducing Absolutely Fabulous's Patsy and Eddie to the Pet Shop Boys in 1994 and Pop Idol runner-up Gareth Gates to the Kumars in 2003.

[71] Devlin, Martina, ‘Putting on the Style for Rhys’. Press Association (1994); Summers, ‘Dimmer Forced to Pull the Plug on Teesbeat’.

[72] Shelley, Jim, ‘Sperm Warfare’. New Musical Express (4 March 1989): 10–11.

[73] ‘James Aid Higgins Trust’. New Musical Express (1990): 5.

[74] Pringle, Gill, ‘Elton Blast Stars' Snub.’ Daily Mirror (20 December 1988): 11.

[75] ‘No Aid for Aids Bash’. New Musical Express (26 May 1990): 4.

[76] ‘Music/Selling His Soul, with Good Cause’. The Independent (22 April 1993).

[77] Simon, Napier-Bell, ‘Just for the Record’. The Guardian (1959–2003) (1993): A5.

[78] Antonowicz, Anton, ‘We Are the Champions’. Daily Mirror (16 December 1991): 9.

[79] See Robinson, Gay Men and the Left in Post-war Britain, Chapter 6.

[80] ‘Stars Sing to Help Fund for Victims’. The Times (31 August 1987); ‘Sinitta Aid for Rambo Victims’. Daily Mirror (31 August 1987); ‘Benefit for Families of Hungerford Massacre Victims’. United Press International (31 August 1987).

[81] White, ‘Birth of a Shrine’.

[82] Email communication, Ray Laidlaw, (25 July 2011).

[83] War on Want, ‘Welcome to Council Aid—Letter to Local Councils’.

[84] Interview with Anne Orwin (9 January 2011), unpublished.

[85] ‘Music/Selling His Soul, with Good Cause’. Hibbert, Tom ‘Compassion Plays—Night and Day’. Mail on Sunday (23 January 1994).

[86] Interview with John Mckie. (22 July 2011), unpublished.