Mike Stock has slammed Bob Geldof for leaving Band Aid II out of the new ‘Ultimate Mix’ edition of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’.
A new mix of the charity single was released on Monday (25.11.24) to mark the 40th anniversary of the original version and features voices from the 1984, 2004 and 2014 versions of the track although Stock – who produced the 1989 chart-topper with Stock Aitken Waterman collaborators Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman – is unimpressed by the snub.
Explaining why Band Aid II doesn’t feature in the ‘Ultimate Mix’, Geldof told Radio X: “We asked Pete Waterman where the tapes (for Band Aid II) were and he went ‘I don’t know’. (Then) Stock – what’s Stock’s actual name? Mike Stock got a bit miffed and said, ‘I could have found them’.”
The Boomtown Rats frontman added: “We would have put it in, but these are the three Band Aid official singles.
“They very brilliantly and beautifully and wonderfully went off and it went to Number One and gave us some money.”
Stock took to social media to hit back at Geldof reducing the second version of the single – which featured Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Bananarama – to a “footnote”.
The 72-year-old music producer wrote on X: “The thing is Sir Bob, while you were outside being feted, lauded and fawned over by the press and TV media, I was the one inside putting the whole thing together.
“You can imagine my surprise to learn that all the effort involved in bringing Band Aid 2 to the attention of the world is now being dismissed and reduced to the level of ‘unofficial’. A mere footnote in the history of Band Aid.
“This is at variance with the general view of the record buyers who supported the cause at the time and loved the record. A feeling which persists to this day. As well as unnecessary diminution in the integrity of the charitable trust. I mean, why on earth did all those artists turn up?”
Stock suggested that the decision to omit Band Aid II could harm the latest version of the single as many of the acts featured on the record “are still relevant today”.
He wrote: “It also reflects badly on the commercial potential of the 2024 version to leave out the artists who were involved in ‘Band Aid 2’. Many of whom are still relevant today.
“All in all a bit of a mistake if the aim is to maximise appeal in order to raise the most money for the cause. Instead of which decisions appear to have been made on a different basis. People have speculated about this.”