December 2024 marks the 40th Anniversary of the charity single, “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” a well-known Christmas song written by Sir Bob Geldof (Boomtown Rats) and Midge Ure (Ultravox). To celebrate it, its producers have recorded a new version of the single. Along with it has come renewed critiques of this song.

The 1984 single prominently featured a who’s who of famous (mostly) British New Wave musicians of that era during the height of MTV. I remember anxiously waiting for the premiere of the music video on MTV in December 1984. Watching it for the first time, I was stunned. The song began with Paul Young singing, “It’s Christmas time, there’s no need to be afraid. At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade.” Next, Boy George (Culture Club) sings, “and in our world of plenty, we can spread a smile of joy. Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time.” The video pans to Phil Collins (Genesis) playing the drums. How amazing was that? George Michael (Wham) appears and sings “But say a prayer, pray for the other ones. At Christmas time” followed by Simon le Bon (Duran Duran) adding, “It’s hard, but when you’re having fun. There’s a world outside your window.” Sting (The Police) joins on the line, “and it’s a world of dread and fear.” Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet appears and sings “where the only water flowing is, the bitter sting of tears.” Next, Bono of U2 joins, “and the Christmas bells that ring there, are the clanging chimes of doom.” He alone sings the following line, “Well, tonight thank God it's them instead of you.” In the first minute and a half of the song, I’ve already seen and heard 8 of my favorite artists. I was mesmerized.

During the chorus, I see Paul Weller (The Jam and The Style Council), Midge Ure (Ultravox), Gary Kemp (Spandau Ballet) and John Taylor (Duran Duran) together along with Glenn Gregory (Heaven 17). Just wow. It was really unbelievable that so many of my favorite artists were in a studio at the same time. By the way, I recognized all of these stars immediately -- remember we did not have the internet back then. The remaining lyrics are:

And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time

The greatest gift

they'll get this year is life (Oooh)

Where nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow

Do they know it's Christmas time at all?

Here's to you

Raise a glass for everyone

Here's to them

Underneath that burning sun

Do they know it's Christmas time at all?

Most of the rest of the song is the refrain:

Feed the world

Let them know it's Christmas time again

As an Asian American teenager living in San Francisco, I was unequipped to evaluate the song critically. It seemed reasonable that a song whose proceeds would benefit youth so far away from me was a good thing. Mostly, it was dizzying to see my New Wave idols participating on a charity project together. If they were all there, it must be for a good cause.

Now that I’m an adult and a sociologist, the lyrics are pretty cringey. The writers want to convey that somewhere in “Africa” there are “others” who are suffering, so much so that they live in shade and full of fear. They also live in a land where there is “no rain nor rivers flow” so that they are unable to appreciate that it’s Christmas, hence the refrain, “Do they know it’s Christmas time.” It reinforces the place of Africa as a monolithic “other” and promotes the UK musicians as white saviors. Moreover, it portrays the continent of Africa as a land of uncivilized people who aren’t aware of Christmas.

Notably, the clearest critiques come from individuals from the continent of Africa. In a December 3, 2024 editorial in The Guardian, Fuse ODG, a British-Ghanaian Afrobeats musician, writes that while the musicians were “well meaning, [but] it has done more harm than good. We in the diaspora are taking back control of the narrative.” He argues that it depicted the entire African continent as a “war-torn, starving place.” Furthermore, the song has contributed to “Africa’s 'high-risk' reputation in global markets, shaped by negative portrayals, has led to higher interest rates on sovereign debt, costing the continent an estimated 3.2 billion pounds ($4 billion) annually.”

Bob Geldof has defended the song vigorously, saying that they have provided close to $200 million in aid since the first release of the single. Even if elements of the lyrics have not aged well, he argues that the song was important for laying the groundwork for these discussions. Of course, some have questioned where the money went and if it further enriched the very dictators responsible for some of the violence.

NYU assistant professor of media, culture and communication and Kenyan native j. Wahutu explained to me that, “This song is roundly disliked in Ethiopia, Kenya and even as far as Ghana and Nigeria. Taking aside the plain racism evident in the song, Geldof forgot that Ethiopia is home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. We generally hate the song, and many on the continent (at least the Anglophone countries) cannot stand it.”

Looking back, the song seduced me through its musicians and its catchy bridge and refrain. As a teenager, I did not know about the colonial legacies of the British Empire, nor would I have understood that Africa was not a single monolithic place. I admire the motivations of the musicians behind the track in 1984, but I also find its critiques highly persuasive.

Certainly, as an Asian American, I would not enjoy a song that describes Asia with stereotypical tropes. Still, I cannot deny that the song brings me back to high school and the thrill of seeing my favorite pop stars in one place. The song exemplifies the power of a successful pop song -- it can activate warm individual memories and promote dangerous and racist images, all at the same time.

Grace Kao

Grace Kao is an IBM professor of sociology and professor of ethnicity, race and migration at Yale University. The views expressed here are the writer’s own. -- Ed.