Thirty-five years ago, that poverty famine epidemic in Africa was all over the news. By definition, a “famine epidemic” is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several factors, including war, inflation, crop failure, population imbalance, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality.
The news of starvation and severely dangerous living conditions in Ethiopia was brought to the mainstream media worldwide. Like many generations of past artists, musician Bob Geldof of the Irish band The Boomtown Rats decided he wanted to do his best to help. Organizing a star-studded line up of some of the top UK pop artists, Band-Aid was formed and recorded the song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” This song’s success and celebrity filled line-up USA for Africa’s “We are the World” raised a lot of money and awareness, but there was one thing missing: the inclusion of hard rock/metal artists.
While attending a 48-hour charity, Radiothon at the radio station KLOS, Dio members Jimmy Bain and Vivian Campbell noticed that representation from hard rock or heavy metal stars was low. In light of the success of Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and USA for Africa’s “We Are the World,” they forwarded the idea to Ronnie James Dio, also attending the Radiothon, and together decided to create a similar project exclusively built around artists from the hard rock/heavy metal scene. Together the three co-wrote the song “Stars.”
In 1986, “Stars” single was released on vinyl in both 7” and 12” versions. For the 12” version, in addition to “Stars” were rare live tracks Accept, Motorhead, Rush, Kiss, Dio, Y&T, Scorpions, and a studio version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Can You See Me. The back of the record sleeve for the single had the following description:
“On May 20 and 21, 1985, 40 artists from the hard rock music community gathered at A&M Records Studios to participate in the making of a record called “Stars,” as part of a very special project known as Hear’ N Aid. The “Stars” single, coupled with the album, a video documentary on the making of the record, and other ancillary products, will raise money for famine relief efforts in Africa and around the world. 40 artists (including Spinal Tap appearing in character) donated their time and talent over four months to make Hear’ N Aid a reality. “Stars” is a plea for unity in the fight against world hunger.”
The Hear N’ Aid Line-up featured:
Hear N’ Aid raised $1 million within a year, and in 2017, Ronnie’s wife and manager, Wendy Dio estimated the project’s total amount raised to be more than $3 million. As of now, “Stars” has yet to see a re-release that will have the album in CD medium and available across all streaming platforms.
Thirty-five years later, Hear N’ Aid still sounds fantastic. “Stars” is a song that has stood the test of time, and it’s so much fun to hear all exchange of vocals from each vocalist and trying to keep up with each guitar solo as I try and figure out who played what.
Hear N’ Aid brought awareness of the same things USA for Africa and Band-Aid did but did so by appealing to a metal audience. The song itself is a classic Dio song. It sounds like Dio embracing his “children” and letting them know that they, the metal world, is listening and doing their part to offer some relief.
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