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Friday, December 26, 2008

Friday Morning Videos: "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

Christmas Day may be past, but I think I can still put this up on the blog, given that 1) the whole 12-day long Christmas season is still with us (hey, it's only Boxing Day today, for heaven's sake), and 2) as I've previously publicly defended this song, not linking to the video itself seems churlish, and 3) it's one of my favorite videos from the 80s, and one of yours too. No, don't try to deny it; you were another white suburban American 16-year-old, just like me, and you too watched this video with enormous curiosity and a certain self-denied embarrassment, hoping to privately straighten out your personal confusion over just who Paul Young was, or over which member of Bananarama was which. Tragically, the video didn't come with subtitles.



Hope everyone had a good Christmas. And, if anyone knows, who is the guy at the back of the chorus who turns and laughs at the camera near the end of the video? I still can't place him.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I'll go out on a limb and guess either Chris Cross (Allen) of the band Ultravox or Midge Ure.

Russell Arben Fox said...

Thanks for the guesses, Quin. I don't think it's Midge; Midge was in the studio working the recording, wasn't he? It could be Chris Cross; checking the photos I can find online, there is some resemblance there.

Unknown said...

You are right. Midge is wearing a grayish shirt with front pockets, and he's in the booth at 1:46 in the recording, singing harmony at 2:06 and putting his headphones on at 2:38.

But I think I've solved your mystery. I pulled a list up of the artists that were involved and eliminated all the females (including Boy George...grin)and artists that I already knew and then ran the remaining ones through google images.

*drumroll*

It's Francis Rossi of "Status Quo". His online pics sport that long hair and sideburns, not to mention his adorable "ham" personality. He also seemed to like to wear a suit or at least a dress shirt and a vest when performing.

Thanks for giving me a mystery to solve while enduring a day in bed with the flu!

Russell Arben Fox said...

Dude, you're awesome. I bet you're right. I clicked on some images of the different participants myself, trying to narrow it down, and I considered Rossi. The resemblance is definitely there. I should have investigated further. Did you find a photo of him with his hair done up in a ponytail, like the fellow in the video has? If so, that would clinch it.

Unknown said...

Is it just me or should the girls from Bananarama have been on a poster for eating disorders?

Check out the following video on youtube to see Rossi in action-

"Status Quo-Hold you Back 1986"

I can find tons of him with a ponytail, but not braided. But that hairline is unmistakable.
In google images check out-
Eileen and Francis Rossi

and his facial features in this 1986 image URL clinches it for me-
www.statusquo.co.uk/history/quo86.jpg

The Dudette :P

Russell Arben Fox said...

Yep, that last photo is a lock. Great work, Ms. Dudette. Many thanks. (If your blogger profile actually had some content behind it, I might not have made the gender mistake...my apologies! But then, has perhaps "dude" become gender-neutral?)

Unknown said...

I answer to a lot of things and get offended by very few. My son calls me "Dude" all the time...because pretty much everybody is "Dude" to him. lol
No worries :-)