Ep. - 1487 - THE STORY BEHIND: DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS AND LAST CHRISTMAS
Reality Life with Kate Casey
Kate Casey
4.4 • 7K Ratings
🗓️ 20 December 2025
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Every December, the same two songs return — playing in stores, homes, airports, and holiday parties around the world. Do They Know It’s Christmas? and Last Christmas have become so deeply embedded in our global celebration of the season that it feels like they’ve always been there. But they haven’t.
In this episode, Kate takes a deep dive into the remarkable back stories behind two of the most iconic Christmas songs ever recorded, both released within days of each other in December 1984 — and both created under dramatically different circumstances.
Reality Life with Kate Casey
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The amazing Kate Casey. |
| 0:04.0 | Welcome back for another episode of Reality Life with Kate Casey, and I have such a great special episode for you today, especially if you love all things music. |
| 0:12.3 | I have to tell you two outstanding documentaries. If you have not already watched, this is going to be an absolute must watch for the holidays. |
| 0:20.1 | The first one is the BGs. |
| 0:22.3 | How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? |
| 0:23.9 | This was made in 2020 and you can watch it on HBO. |
| 0:28.2 | I interviewed the executive producer. |
| 0:30.2 | It is, again, an absolute must watch. |
| 0:32.8 | It is essential because it is the definitive BGs documentary. |
| 0:36.3 | It focuses on their early pop success, |
| 0:39.2 | reinvention during the disco era, so you know Saturday Night Fever, backlash against disco and its |
| 0:45.0 | impact on the group, the brother's personal bond and losses, it's emotional, reflective, and |
| 0:51.1 | music rich, and it's got extensive archival footage in interviews with |
| 0:55.5 | Barry Gibb and major artists influenced by them, including Justin Timberlake. Still to this day, |
| 1:01.6 | Barry Gibb is on my list of an absolute want of someone to interview. So I am telling you, |
| 1:08.8 | you are going to love this documentary and be singing those songs for days. |
| 1:14.0 | BGs, how can you mend a broken heart on HBO? |
| 1:17.6 | The other one is Dolly Parton, Here I Am. |
| 1:20.6 | Now, it originally aired on Netflix, but I think you can find it on Apple TV Plus and Amazon Prime. |
| 1:25.7 | Again, an absolute must watch. It is the most comprehensive |
| 1:29.7 | modern portrait of Dolly from Appalachian roots to global icon, songwriting genius, and so |
| 1:36.8 | business savvy, gender norms, philanthropy, cultural impact. It's got it all. It is warm, |
... |
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