Band Aid 40 to release era-spanning mix of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’
The new track will bring the voices of each Band Aid generation together in one seamless package.
By Nick Reilly
Bob Geldof, Midge Ure and producer Trevor Horn have announced details of Band Aid 40 to mark four decades of the celebrated charity single.
The latest take on Band Aid 40 to release era-spanning mix of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ comes in the form of the 2024 Ultimate Mix, which will premiere simultaneously across UK breakfast time radio on 25th November 2024, the 40th anniversary of the recording of the original song.
It’s set to be a landmark celebration of all that went before, with Horn – a defining producer of the 1980s – blending all the voices of those separate generations into one seamless track.
According to an official release, this means we’ll see “a young Sting sing alongside a young Ed Sheeran. A young Boy George with a young Sam Smith. A young George Michael beside a young Harry Styles. The young Bono with an older Bono, 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.”
They’ll be joined by the Band Aid house band of Paul McCartney, Sting, John Taylor (bass), Phil Collins, Roger Taylor, Danny Goffey (drums), Thom Yorke (piano), Paul Weller, Damon Albarn, Midge Ure, Jonny Greenwood, Gary Kemp and Justin Hawkins (guitar).
This ambition is matched by the clip’s visuals too. Director Oliver Murray, who previously worked with The Beatles on the short film that accompanied last year’s ‘Now And Then’, has been brought on board to capture Horn’s painstaking work. Also onboard once more is Sir Peter Blake, who designed the original track’s original artwork.
The original track 1984 became the UK’s best selling single upon release in 1984 and was only knocked into second place by Elton John’s ‘Something About the Way You Look Tonight’ / ‘Candle in the Wind 1997’ some thirteen years later, where it still remains.
‘Do They Know It’s Christmas? – 2024 Ultimate Mix’ is available to buy now digitally and physically on the Band Aid Compilation 1CD and 12” Vinyl and will be released on November 29.