Shopping spree leads Matt Goss to ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’

Matt Goss was but a child, a mere lad as they say in the U.K., when the original, “Do They Know It’s Christmas” charity single and video were released.

That was 1984, an effort made famous by the supergroup known as Band-Aid. The song was a means to raise money and awareness for the famine in Ethiopia. There have been updated versions over the years, including Band Aid II’s version in 1989, to which Matt and Luke Goss both contributed as members of Bros.

Anniversary versions were cut in 2004 and again in 2014. But we have a first in 2020, the new all-digital “Do They Know it’s Christmas,” released at the beginning of December. Goss is back, lured to the project by top English comic actor Keith Lemon (legal name of Leigh Francis), host of the popular ITV game shows “Celebrity Juice” and “Shopping With Keith Lemon.”

Keeping in the spirit of the original song, the new “Christmas” project is for charity. Five international charities, led by UNICEF, are posted at the end of the seven-minute video.

The entire effort is recorded on the artists’ phones, a required skill during COVID lockdown around the world. Goss is joined by such recording stars as Pixie Lott (who recorded the top-selling “Turn It Up” and opens the song), Emma Bunton of the Spice Girls, Billy Ocean, (of “Caribbean Queen”fame ) and U.K. fave Rick Astley.

Lemon is featured throughout, too, including as his nefarious, Care Bare-fashioned character, which is a popular bit in Britain.

Goss and Lemon met a couple of years ago when Goss appeared on Lemon’s “Shopping” show. They browsed for shoes hats, and afterward cracked wise over a beer.

“It’s an amazing show, because he actually breaks down that talk-show host front, where you’re really catering to that six minutes that you get and you’ve got to really cram it all in, and also cater to the host,” Goss said. “But Keith isn’t really that way, and when you do shopping, you actually just hang out, and we did all these things.”

Lemon thought of Goss as he contemplated a new, digital version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas.”

“I was shopping with a man called Richard Madeley, who used to do daytime TV here, and I said to him, ‘Ain’t it weird that they play that song every year on the radio, but there’s not a new version of it every year?’” Lemon said (and Madeley is also on the new song). “I just thought, maybe I could bring some of my friends over and we could do a different version cause in the past it was just like singers, pop stars, and stuff, and I wanted to integrate friends I worked with in theater, television, and music, so I just started collecting.”

The song has bounced in and out of the U.K.’s top-40 charts. It will likely serve as an annual favorite, especially in the U.K.

Goss continues to keep busy as his Vegas stage show is dark. There has been no firm commitment to return his show to an MGM Resorts hotel (he most recently headlined the Mirage), though Caesars Entertainment has shown interest in bringing him back.

Goss has meanwhile been recording a new album set for release next year, possibly as soon as the spring. His new Vegas manager, Michael Licata, routinely extols Goss’s heightened pop sound, likening the project to the hit-making days of George Michael.

Goss is also putting his gift of gab to good use as host of the new podcast “Conversations With Matt Goss,” an evolved version of his Instagram Live chats he started during the shutdown.

And, Goss and Lemon have discussed their own TV partnership. The two interact effectively, with Goss’ cool disposition tempering Lemon’s inherent nuttiness.

“We spoke about doing some sort of travel log, where we get lost, literally, but then find ourselves spiritually,” Lemon said. “We talk about that.”

From Goss, “I’d love to do … there’s very few people that I could actually envisage working with because I definitely want to get into TV and film, but I’d love to do something with Keith. We spoke about it a lot.”

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.