We Are The Earth

Label: Columbia Records (US), Phonogram Records (UK), Ministry Of Culture (USSR).

* Recorded: Jan 28-29, 1985.
* Released: Feb 28, 1985.
* Genre: pop, gospel.
* Format: 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl, VHS single.
* Producer: Quincy Jones, Bob Geldof.
* Vocalists: (listed by country)
	+ U.S.A.: Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, Huey Lewis, Debbie Harry, Robert "Kool" Bell.
	+ U.K.: David Bowie, George Michael, Midge Ure, Annie Lennox, Phil Collins, John Lydon, Sarah Dallin, Keren Woodward.
	+ Ireland: Bob Geldof.
	+ West Germany: Nena, Marian Gold.
	+ East Germany: Dieter Hertrampf.
	+ U.S.S.R.: Eduard Khil, Zoya Pravdina\* (Russian version only).
	+ India: Kishore Kumar.
	+ Israel: Ofra Haza.
	+ Italy: Luciano Pavarotti.
	+ Sweden: Benny Andersson.

*We Are The Earth* is a charity and propaganda song recorded by the supergroup United Singers Of Earth (USE) in 1985. It was largely co-written by Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, and Bob Geldof in response to the sudden invasion and following disastrous World War Three that raged across much of Earth, beginning in late 1984. The purpose of the song was to raise money to help those affected by the war, but also to spread a message "about global unity and perseverance in the face of this world-changing event".

## History

The project was largely the brainchild of The Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof and his wife Paula Yates. Geldof, a resident of Dublin, Ireland, did not personally witness the invasion first hand, although he did watch live broadcasts of the battles in London and Belfast, and would later visit both war-ravaged cities in November, once travel and order had been restored. Geldof and Yates were deeply moved by what they saw, and also personally knew a number of people who were killed during the initial attack. By mid-November, they and their close friend, Ultravox frontman Midge Ure, decided to get together the top (surviving) names left in the British music industry and record a special song in time for Christmas aimed at raising funds to support victims of the ongoing war, as well as help raise national morale across the grieving nation.

Around the same time, American entertainer and social activist Harry Belafonte was looking to do a similar project in the USA. Belafonte reached out to music industry giant Quincy Jones, who eagerly snapped up the proposal. The mid-80's were a notorious slump for the music industry, with a severe decline in everything from new releases to concert attendances (due in large part to the devastation of major centers like Los Angeles and London, the deaths of many big names in the industry, and the subsequent global economic depression), an idea like Belafonte's was seen as a much needed break.

It was also Jones who, through his various contacts in the UK, learned about Geldof's project and hit upon the idea of an international collaboration between America and Britain. Through a series of phone calls, it was eventually decided that their song would have the strongest impact if the message was not just about raising money to help those affected by the war, but also made as a global show of unity and solidarity among different nations of Earth, as represented of course by the singers.

Thus, together, they announced the creation of United Singers Of Earth (USE) by early December 1984, and set about the task of writing the song and contacting and inviting a number of international stars and music personalities around the globe. Of course, the vastly expanded scale of the production meant that it would be too late to get a song out by Christmas (as was originally intended), but USE was still determined to have the song complete by the end of January. Issues of timing and logistics meant that the majority of the final participants were American or British, although USE was able to secure the participation of representatives of seven other countries, including the USSR, as well as both East and West Germany.

Securing the participation of the USSR proved to be the most difficult. On one hand, the invasion had done much to ease USA/USSR relations somewhat that, just the year before, had teetered on the brink of all-out nuclear war. The Soviet Ministry Of Culture was also fully invested in using music as one way of raising public morale. On the other hand, tensions still lingered, and Soviet authorities were also doubtful on the project's aims, and whether such resources could be better allocated elsewhere. In the end, however, the Ministry Of Culture did permit one singer to participate, famed baritone and People's Artist Of Russia Award recipient Eduard Khil, thereby ensuring that one of the largest countries in the world (and the one doing much of the fighting) would be represented in a song meant to inspire global unity.

Besides issues concerning government permission, the inclusion of singers from around the world created additional logistical problems for USE - not least of all arranging and funding transportation. Although commercial flights and shipping were largely resumed by December after months of disruption, the backlog of passenger and cargo traffic during that time meant that securing passage for all the singers to appear in one location was difficult and expensive.

Finally, there was the fact that several of the stars were not fluent in English, and had to be coached through their lines - attentive listeners will be able to note which of the lines in the final song were sung by native English speakers and which weren't.

After all the difficulty in bringing all the different elements together, USE finally came together and recorded the song over several sessions spanning two days between Jan 28 and 29, 1985. The recording was done at the CBS Studio Building in New York City (as Columbia's preferred studio facilities in Los Angeles were all either destroyed or abandoned during the Battle Of Los Angeles).

In addition to the English language version of the song, Khil recorded a separate Russian language version (with reworked lyrics) for release in the USSR. This alternate version was sung as a duet between himself and his wife, Zoya Pravdina (who had traveled with him to the USA). This was done partly as it was felt that this version of the song would be easier to get the approval of censors in the Eastern Bloc nations, as well as to circumvent any critique of the fact that Khil had the fewest lines in the original song due to not being fluent in English.

## See also:

* World War III in popular music
* We Are The Earth Tour (1985-86)
* The Concert For Bangladesh (1971)
* Concerts For Kampuchea (1979)
* Live Aid 4 Earth (1985)
* Mid-80's Music Slump aka "The Year Music Died"