Those who watched Michael Buerk’s report on BBC television news on October 23rd 1984, can rarely have heard such a devastating piece of journalistic reportage:
“Dawn, and as the sun breaks through the piercing chill of night, it lights up a biblical famine, now, in the 20th century. This place, say workers here, is the closest thing to hell on Earth.”
That place was a remote part of northern Ethiopia and the powerful opening sentences were accompanied by harrowing images of starving and crying children.
The seven-minute report was subsequently shown by 425 TV stations worldwide, bringing the crisis to global attention. In the four months after the report was broadcast Oxfam alone received a total of £12.5 million in donations.
The emotional expression of Buerk’s words have gone down in the annals of broadcast journalism. His report brought about the setting up of Band Aid and Live Aid, both of which have been a catalyst for raising millions for famine relief.
The story of the musicians coming together is well documented, but not many are aware that Buerk was briefed by a Co Down man, Paddy Coulter, who at the time was on a visit to Oxfam programmes in South Africa.
As the charity’s head of communication, he took the opportunity to contact the reporter. He advised him on the drought that threatened to cause a catastrophic famine in Ethiopia, and facilitated his trip to the country.
John Hobson Coulter, who was born in 1946, grew up in Ballynahinch in mid-Down, the son of Eileen, a teacher, and Percival, a cattle dealer and butcher. He was the elder of twins and educated at Methodist College, Belfast.
In 1964 he went to Oxford to read classics at Queen’s College, and like countless Irishmen before him who have settled in England, became known as “Paddy”.
The Band Aid charity song, Do They Know It’s Christmas?, was released in December 1984, entering the UK singles chart at number one remaining there for five weeks becoming the Christmas number one. Bob Geldof, who had been moved by Buerk’s television report, and Ultravox’s Midge Ure joined with some of the best-known performers to record the song which continued to resonate for decades.
The record led to the build-up 40 years ago to two simultaneous benefit concerts on July 13th, 1985 at Wembley Stadium and at the John F. Kennedy stadium in Philadelphia as part of a marathon transatlantic telethon. The stellar line-up of musicians in London included Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, David Bowie, Sting, Sade, and Queen, while The Who reformed for the event.
In Ireland some banks opened their branches specially for the occasion to allow people to pledge money while RTÉ covered the Live Aid show by involving television and radio personalities as well as others in the public eye.
Geldof is on record as saying that he was particularly proud of the Irish donations and the country’s generous response. By 11pm on the night of the concert, more than £1 million had been raised in Ireland alone, surpassing all expectations.
The BBC has now made three hour-long documentaries about Band Aid, Live Aid, and its successor, Live 8 in 2005 which challenged leaders of the world’s richest countries to address poverty in Africa.
A jukebox musical, Just for One Day, is running at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London, retelling from a modern-day perspective how the story evolved. A percentage of all ticket sales is being donated to the Band Aid Charitable Trust.
As for Paddy Coulter, he became director of the International Broadcasting Trust in London where he lobbied news organisations on a variety of issues.
He produced more than 100 programmes on development and the environment, winning a United Nations Correspondents Association gold award in 1996 for a TV series Under the Blue Flag. He also served as chairman of the international press freedom organisation Article 19.
From 2001 to 2007 Coulter was the Director of Studies for the Reuters Institute journalism programme based at Green Templeton College, Oxford. He mentored mid-career journalists from all over the world, helping inspire, reshape and transform their lives, and was noted for his insight and passion.
An accomplished journalist, he stimulated interest in the reporting of many events, including human rights causes and was a force for life with friends and connections in many countries. He died last November with warm tributes in obituaries paid to his tireless work and achievements.
Although Coulter never claimed the credit for Live Aid, he was instrumental in triggering the process that paved the way for it. He had an appetite for activism and his passionate role in speaking to journalists helped raise awareness of impoverishment, inequality and injustice in many countries.
Had he not contacted Michael Buerk to convince him of the crucial need to report on the Ethiopian famine, the attention of the world may have been focused elsewhere, and what was dubbed as “the greatest show on Earth” might never have happened.
