Date: 11 December 2004
Originally published in: The Star (UK)
Written by: David Dunn and Graham Walker
It was good enough then and – for thousands of fans last night – it’s good enough now. If Christmas is a time for recollection then Hallam FM Arena was the place to be, along with the sound of a noisy celebration.
Some of the pop stars on the bill of Here & Now 2004 are more in the public eye than others, notably Midge Ure, playing songs from former band Ultravox but grabbing global headlines with the re-recorded and chart-topping Do They Know It’s Christmas?
Kim Wilde is better known to the younger generation as a gardener but for a few lively minutes last night the mum-of-two was back in pop and looking good on it.
The man unceremoniously dumped by Kajagoogoo – the inimitable Limahl – strutted his stuff ahead of a return from the original Bucks Fizz line-up, still making their minds up 23 years after winning Eurovision.
Tunes by Belinda Carlisle, a returnee to the 80s parade, may be more likely to crop up on adverts now but for plenty of fellas last night she made Heaven a Place On Earth.
Climax of the three-hour show came when Ure called back the stars to sing with him the charity record, which is raising money to combat deaths by poverty, HIV and Aids in Africa.
Kim Wilde, Belinda Carlisle, Nik Kershaw, Bucks Fizz, Limahl and Sheffield’s own Living in a Box joined the Ultravox singer at Hallam FM Arena to perform Do They Know It’s Christmas?
Ure, who wrote it with Bob Geldof, urged fans to keep it there for Christmas and into the New Year. “Every record sold is a life saved”, he said.
