Nigel Planer: Today's woke warriors would have tried to stop 'colonialist' Band Aid hit from 1984
Daily MailIt raised £17 million for famine relief and kick-started a global charity machine that generated tens, if not hundreds, of millions of pounds more. Actor Nigel Planer was at the recording of the 1984 Band Aid No 1 in character as Neil, the depressed hippie he played on BBC comedy The Young Ones. But he says that although the song was made with 'very good intentions', he believes the concept would not stand up to today's more woke standards The comedian, who started a degree in African and Asian studies at Sussex University before dropping out to pursue an acting career, said that on the day of the recording he 'chickened out' at the last minute and declined to appear on the single or its video. At that time, Robtel Neajai Pailey, a Liberian-born academic at London's School of Oriental and African Studies, called the lyrics 'patronising' and said the track 'reeks of the white saviour complex'. Nigel Planer, who started a degree in African and Asian studies at Sussex University before dropping out to pursue an acting career, said that on the day of the recording he 'chickened out' at the last minute and declined to appear on the single or its video Bob Geldof, who was later knighted for his charity work, teamed up with Midge Ure to create the track after seeing harrowing BBC reports of the escalating crisis in Ethiopia.
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