Band Aid is back! Iconic charity single’s 40th Anniversary set to be marked with a new version featuring stars from George Michael and Sting to Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran
As a child of the 80s and a dedicated follower of music, I can’t help but feel a surge of nostalgia and excitement as I read about the upcoming Band Aid reunion for their 40th Anniversary. The thought of hearing a young Sting harmonize with a young Ed Sheeran or a young Boy George duet with a young Sam Smith is almost too much to bear!
40 years after its debut, Band Aid plans to re-emerge with a fresh take on their classic charity single.
In honor of the 40-year anniversary of a song that revolutionized the world, the 2024 Ultimate Mix of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” will drop on the 25th of November, accompanied by a unique video tribute.
The classic song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” has been re-recorded three times: first in 1984 by Band Aid, again in 2004 with Band Aid 20, and most recently in 2014 as Band Aid 30. Each version showcases some of the most prominent musicians of their respective eras, demonstrating how the music industry has evolved over time.
This track is now widely recognized as an iconic piece in pop music history, having been initially produced by Sir Bob Geldof and Midge Ure with the purpose of generating funds for the fight against famine in Ethiopia.
To honor the event, producer Trevor Horn combined the three original recordings using exceptional music production methods, resulting in a single, smooth track that harmoniously features the voices from different generations.
On November 25th, the Band Aid – 2024 Ultimate Mix is set to premiere, featuring a youthful rendition of Sting singing alongside a youthful Ed Sheeran. Additionally, you’ll see a young Boy George performing with a young Sam Smith, and a youthful George Michael sharing the stage with a young Harry Styles.
Pairings like: Young Bono alongside a more experienced Bono, Chris Martin matched with Guy Garvey, The Sugababes and Bananarama, Seal versus Sinead O’Connor, Rita Ora facing off with Robbie Williams, Kool and the Gang against Underworld.
Notable stars such as Paul McCartney, Sting, John Taylor, Phil Collins (from Genesis), Roger Taylor (from Queen), Paul Weller, Damon Albarn, Midge Ure, Johnny Greenwood (Radiohead member), Gary Kemp, and Justin Hawkins are also on the lineup.
On Monday, November 25, the new song will make its debut during UK breakfast radio broadcasts in the morning. Later that day, the music video for the song will be premiered in the evening.
The initial edition of Band Aid featured a collection of popular artists from the 1980s, among them were George Michael, Boy George, Spandau Ballet, and Bananarama.
In 2004, another version of the song was published, showcasing popular acts from the ’00s like Busted, Robbie Williams, Daniel Bedingfield, Snow Patrol, and The Sugababes.
2014 marked the release of the latest Band Aid version, with famous artists like One Direction, Olly Murs, Paloma Faith, and Rita Ora contributing. However, the song’s lyrics were altered to support its aim of generating funds for the Ebola crisis in Africa.
Critics have raised concerns about this action, arguing that the song’s lyrics seem outdated and reinforce harmful stereotypes about African nations, potentially damaging their global reputation.
In a critique, the lead singer of Blur, Damon Albarn, seemed to suggest that providing funds can sometimes lead to creating another issue.
He added: ‘Our perspective and our idea of what helps and our idea [of] what’s wrong and right are not necessarily shared by other cultures.’
Last year, Midge Ure shared that Sir Bob Geldof initially expressed his disapproval about the song, saying “It’s terrible, but it’ll work,” when Midge first played it for him on a small keyboard as they were working on the charity single together.
The lead singer of The Boomtown Rats shared with Ure his opinion that it resembled the main theme of the 1960s British television police show, Z-Cars.
69-year-old Ure mentioned that afterwards, they focused on developing the track which, since its debut in 1984, has managed to accumulate over £200 million in funds for the purpose of combating famine across Africa.
The lead vocalist of Ultravox shared with the How to be 60 podcast that they brainstormed some outlandish ideas for generating income, ultimately deciding to focus on creating music instead.
He added: ‘We spent two hours trying to think of ridiculous ways of trying to raise some money then finally succumbing to the fact we were rubbish at everything except maybe writing a song.
If we compose a Christmas tune, invite our circle of friends to participate, and manage to gather £100,000 in the process, it’s plausible that we could achieve this goal.
Luckily, I had recently completed constructing my studio, so I quickly sent Bob a cassette featuring a small piece I created on a toy keyboard. His response was, “It’s terrible, it reminds me of Z-Cars, but it will work.
Later, he approached my place holding an upside-down right-handed guitar since he’s left-handed, with few strings attached, and began to sing.
I replied “Alright, go ahead”, and I taped our conversation… Then, over the course of four days, I played and arranged all the instruments for the song myself, while he managed to gather many friends to join us. His strong reputation and fanbase were vital at that time.
‘Then of course the whole thing went mad.’
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2024-11-13 12:08