In celebration of the classic’s four-decade anniversary, a new “ultimate mix” of Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ will be released this month.
Produced by the legendary Trevor Horn, the mix which combines the star-studded vocals from three previous versions of the song, will include the original 1984 track along with the 20th and 30th anniversary editions from 2004 and 201 respectively.
Through the gift of studio magic, the 2024 mix will feature the likes of Harry Styles, Chris Martin, Sam Smith, and Ed Sheeran, who performed on the 2014 version, singing alongside such original 1984 stars Bob Geldof, Boy George, Phil Collins and Sting, in addition to the young and older vocals from U2 frontman Bono from the 1984 and 2014 versions. Late stars George Michael, who died in 2016, and Sinead O’Connor, who passed way in 2023 will posthumously appear on the new track.
Among others, the lead vocalists will be backed by a band made up of Sir Paul McCartney, Queen’s Roger Taylor, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Blur’s Damon Albarn,
On November 25, the ultimate mix will premier on British radio and a compilation LP featuring the 1984 original song as well the Band Aid 20 and Band Aid 30 versions and the new mix will be released on 29 November, the proceeds from which will go to the Band Aid Trust.
To mark the 40th anniversary, Oliver Murray has created a new music video which features the late David Bowie introducing the song and Michael Buerk’s BBC news report on the festive classic.
Bob Geldof, who co-founded Band Aid and co-wrote the original single along with Midge Ure, told The Canadian Press in April that he was working on a supercut for Band Aid 40, stating:
“Maybe put Harry Styles beside a young Bono.” “Just sonically, you mess up these generations all in one take.”
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Mark Kent