A new 40th anniversary version of Band Aid’s festive hit ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ will see U2’s Bono sing with a younger version of himself and a young George Michael sing with Harry Styles.
The ‘Band Aid Compilation’, which will be released physically on November 29, will feature the new ‘2024 Ultimate Mix’, available to stream from November 25, bringing together the voices of all three official chart-topping versions of the charity single (1984’s ‘Band Aid’, 2004’s ‘Band Aid 20’ and 2014’s ‘Band Aid 30’).
Bono sang the famous line on the 1984 original: “Well tonight thank God it’s them, instead of you.”
The new mix sees Sting sing with a young Ed Sheeran, who featured on Band Aid 30’s 2014 version, plus a mix of artists from the original tune and the two other versions of Bob Geldof and Midge Ure’s Christmas classic with production from Trevor Horn, who has blended all the vocals into one seamless recording.
A young Boy George sings with a young Sam Smith. Chris Martin with Guy Garvey, the Sugababes and Bananarama, Seal and Sinead O’Connor, Rita Ora and Robbie Williams, Kool and the Gang and Underworld.
The singers are backed by the house band of Sir Paul McCartney, Sting, Duran Duran’s John Taylor, Phil Collins, Roger Taylor, Danny Goffey of Supergrass, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, Paul Weller, Damon Albarn, Gary Kemp and Justin Hawkins.
A new video, helmed by the filmmaker behind the short film that accompanied The Beatles’ last song ‘Now And Then’, Oliver Murray, will feature late music legend David Bowie introducing the stars of the song and Michael Buerk’s BBC news report.
A portion of the money raised from sales of the compilation and streams of the ‘2024 Ultimate Mix’ will go to charity.
The original song raised a whopping £8 million for the 1983 to 1985 famine in Ethiopia and shot straight to the top of the charts.
It broke the record for the fastest-selling track of all time in the UK and was number one for five weeks.
Meanwhile, to mark the milestone of the ‘song that changed the world’, it was just announced that unseen footage from the first Band Aid single is set to be aired for the first time.
Zoe Ball will front the BBC Radio 2 documentary ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?: The Song That Changed The World’ on Sunday December 1, including contributes from Bob Geldof, Midge Ure, Bono, Sting and more.
BBC Four and BBC iPlayer will air the 75-minute documentary ‘The Making of Do They Know It’s Christmas?’.
The film has unearthed the original footage shot by director Nigel Dick at SARM Studios in Notting Hill, which has been newly restored and digitised.