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Feed The Tape

Band Aid

Article from One Two Testing, February 1985

how they made music for Ethiopia


Geldof might have got them together, but someone had to tape the session. Jon Lewin talks to Stuart Bruce, Band Aid engineer.


Sarm West studios, home of Trevor Horn's mighty hit-machine, is located in a deconsecrated (I assume) chapel. How apt, I thought when I visited Sarm four days after the event, that the current demi-gods of British pop should have chosen this secular cathedral of the charts in which to work their miracles for the starving men, women, and children in Ethiopia.

I went to Sarm to talk to the engineer on the Band-Aid session, Stuart Bruce, about the difficulties of dealing with the cream of modern musicians: didn't any of them turn sour on him?

"People couldn't have been nicer if they'd tried. In all the time that I was here — from 8am, Sunday through to 9am Monday — I did not hear one cross word; absolutely everybody was on their best behaviour."

Twenty-five hours seems rather a short time for recording a hit single, particularly when you were dealing with so many people?

"When Midge came down on Sunday morning, about 9 o'clock, he brought a 24 track master from his own studio that he and his engineer had put together — it already had most of the backing down, what with the synths, drum-machine, guide vocal, plus one or two bits of Sting's vocal that they'd done beforehand. This meant that our job was to record all the vocals, and finish off with a couple of overdubs — particularly Phil Collins' drums."

If the master tape and the boss — if Midge was 'the boss' — didn't turn up until nine, why were you in at eight?

"Midge and Bob Geldof were the bosses — they knew what they wanted from everyone, the arrangements etcetera... I came in early because I knew that we were going to have to record in 48 track, and the machines needed linking; that, and all the other bits and pieces needed for setting up the studio."

Were there any technical difficulties involved in recording so many people?

"The main problem was that of space; not only were there two 24 track recorders in the control room, but three camera crews — Whistle Test, the Tube, and Phonogram — plus lots of others floating in and out. Recording the choir was simple: just a pair of mikes (Neumann U87s) in front of the lot of them. Of course, we couldn't provide headphones for everybody, so the monitoring was provided through the speakers at the other end of the studio — which means there's rather more... er... 'ambience' on those tracks. The fact that the press were in between the choir and the monitors might have helped...

Did the cameramen make much noise?

"Well, the TV people were great about recording — as soon as the red light goes on, they know what to do, obviously.

The press photographers are rather more dedicated to getting their pictures. Now and again, you'd find a strange muffled 'shadow' moving across the stereo pair of mikes, and you'd find it was some photographer walking in front of them, trying to look up Boy George's dress! But it wasn't a real problem. You can see it on the video, when Phil Collins is playing drums: he'll turn round to play a tom-tom and there'll be a cameraman in the way; even in the control-room, I'd reach for a fader, and instantly there'd be a TV camera pointing up my nose."

Wasn't that annoying?

"No, not at all."

There must have been certain logistical problems, trying to keep the talent in order...

"Phonogram did most of the organising, because they're the ones who are looking after the record; but Jill Sinclair did lots of the work, making sure people were happy..."

Jill Sinclair manages Sarm West, and is married (?) to Mr Horn.

"...and Elaine from the kitchens deserves a credit, because she was the one who got Simon Le Bon to bring me a sandwich. And it's not everyone who can say they've been waited on by Simon Le Bon."

How did you go about the serious bits — what order did you record in?

"We started off around noon, with Tony Hadley doing a piece of solo vocal. As everyone said at the time, it took a lot of courage to go out there first with all the competition watching you. Especially when you have to stand there for 15 minutes while microphone problems are sorted out.

"After Tony, the order went: choir vocal, Paul Young's three lines, Boy George's three lines — that was the intro — then into the verses. It went... er... George Michael, Simon Le Bon, Tony Hadley, Bono, then the small choir of P. Young, Midge, Bono, and George Michael. After that came the bridge, with Francis Rossi's two bits, and Paul Young with Marilyn and Glenn Gregory. Then we recorded the big choir parts at the end. That's when Trevor Horn dropped by, and offered his services for a 12" mix. We spent a further 40 minutes adding extra vocals — Trevor split the choir into three parts, and conducted them over Johnny Fingers playing piano. This was done without the backing track. I think Trevor intends to turn it into a round — like 'Frere Jacques'."

With so many different singers, you must have had lots of problems with EQ and effects, and so on?

"None. We recorded all the vocals completely flat, witli no adjustments at all — the only adjustment we made was in the height of the mike stand. It was quite a revelation listening to all those familiar voices devoid of effects — very interesting."

Come on Stuart, which of them really can't sing?

"They all performed very well, no fuss, no bother. The maximum number of takes we did for any part was seven, which isn't many."

You mentioned Phil Collins' drums... "Poor Phil spent most of the day sitting in the control room being told we weren't quite ready for him. After every take, he'd pipe up 'drums?' and someone would reply 'not yet, Phil, after this next one'! We did the drums in two takes."

Were you at all pushed for time?

"We finished overdubs at 10pm — my first opportunity to go to the loo. The first break for Midge and his engineer too. And for Bob. We started mixing at 11, and carried on through until about 6am, by which time we had just about finished the A-side. Another half hour break, and we began on the B-side. Because the Solid State Logic desk is computerised, it was easy to do an instrumental mix of the backing track.

On top of that we laid down a whole bunch of Christmas messages from everyone; someone had been collecting these on a portable during the day, and we had several sent in by those who couldn't make it, like Bowie, McCartney, Big Country, Frankie. That was fun, as some of them were a little the worse for wear."

Band-Aid plastered, eh?

"The B-side had to be finished by 9am, as that when the cutting time had been booked at Utopia; so come the time, I picked up the master, and leapt in a cab. The record will be in the shops in four days time, eight after it was recorded."

Is it true that everyone gave their services free? Surely someone...

"Even down to Ampex, who supplied the master-tape. Studio time, cutting time, everything was free. People even started donating things — we had an Overwater bass turn up; that helped to start the ball rolling for an auction we're planning..."

More of that later. What was it like working with so much young pop aristocracy, all those glittering stars?

"Well, I'd met some of them before — Duran and Spandau — but it wasn't awe-inspiring as you might expect, it was too friendly for that, too informal. It was fun. And fun in a good cause."

The Picture



1. A bass player. 2. A drummer. 3. An organiser. 4. Mostly a sax player. 5. Another bassist. 6. Ditto. 7. A young singer. 8. An older singer. 9. Ditto. 10. Ditto. 11. Another drummer. 12. A singess. 13. Yet another bassist. 14. Another singess. 15. A hatter and singer. 16. At last a guitarist. 17. The singer. 18. An artist, a true star. 19. A grin. 20. Yet another singer. 21. A machinist. 22. A drummer again. 23. Another guitarist. 24. These drummers. 25. A largely undefinable person. 26. A singess. 27. Ditto. 29. A bassist. 30. And at last a keyboard player. 31. Another guitarist and hatter. 32. More drums. 33. A bassist. 34. A three-chord guitarist. 35. Another keyboardist. 36. And another one. 37. And another bassist. 38. And lastly, another three-chord guitarist.

This, we are assured, is a roomful of the biggest pop stars you'll ever see in one room. What an opportunity, thinks One Two in an exclusive survey, to see what the most popular instrument is amongst them. Answer? Vocals (11 votes). That's not an instrument, you all scream. Try telling that to the Musicians' Union. Second came bass with seven votes, putting the plonker right up there at the top of the, er, real instruments. Third equal are drums and guitar with five votes each, then keyboards with three votes. What does this prove? If you want to become very rich, take up bass.


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Publisher: One Two Testing - IPC Magazines Ltd, Northern & Shell Ltd.

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One Two Testing - Feb 1985

Feature by Jon Lewin

Previous article in this issue:

> A Hire Plane


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