The legendary Modfather, Paul Weller, has spoken about his participation in the 1984 music video for ‘Do They Know Its Christmas?’.

Weller has stated that during the filming he felt awkward, due to the drug use in which he stated was occurring during the event. The singer has made claims that artists among the video’s star-studded roster were taking drugs whilst recording and performing, he claimed that the artists in question were doing the narcotics in the bathrooms.

The music video was filmed in support of the charity single, ‘Do They Know Its Christmas?’ by the supergroup Band-Aid. The group and release were organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in aid of the famine in Ethiopia. The single was released on 25th November 1984 and would go on to win the coveted Christmas number one spot.

The music video was released on 3rd December 1984 and was recorded at the music studio Sarm West Studios located in Notting Hill, London. Those taking part in the release were given specific sections and verses to sing with the chorus sung by the whole group. The group consisted of a line-up of the era’s most popular performers, including Bono, Phill Collins, Boy George, George Michael, Sting and Paul Weller.

The former Jam bassist and vocalist made the accusations during a fan Q&A, Weller revealed: “That was horrible. Everyone was getting off doing blow in the toilets. It probably would have been all right for me in the ’90s but I wasn’t into all that then. I was totally out of my comfort zone.”

Weller related the experience with his own sobriety and has credited his deeper relationship with his music to his decision to stay sober. The singer has stayed sober for 11 years after suffering an addiction to alcohol. “I didn’t give up because of vanity – because the drink was bigger than vanity. Now, when I look back to before I stopped, I just think: ‘Christ, the state of me’. I looked a lot older, a bit puffy, red and just wrong. Since I’ve been sober I get more from music.”

Weller also made headlines recently when the 63-year-old artist scored his sixth number one. The singer’s release, ‘Fat Pop (Volume 1)‘, was released on 14th May 2021 and debuted at number one. The album has sired over 26,000 chart sales and marks five decades of chart success for Weller.