Features
Band Aid To Fight Ebola
Bob Geldof and Midge Ure are organizing the re-recording of the Band Aid single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” to raise funds to battle the Ebola outbreak in west Africa.
Photo: Greg Allen / GregAllenPhotos.com
"Bringing Human Rights Home Concert," Barclays Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.
It’s the fourth time the track has been recorded since Geldof and Ure wrote it in 1984 to raise money for the famine in Ethiopia.
The original, which featured the voices of George Michael, Bono, Duran Duran and Bananarama, sold 3.7 million copies and raised £8 million ($12.7 million) for famine relief. It was re-recorded in 1989 and the most recent reincarnation was in 2004, featuring Jamelia, Ms. Dynamite, Will Young, Dizzee Rascal and instrumentals from Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood. The 2004 cash went to war-torn Darfur in Sudan.
Names being tossed around as possible contributors this time include One Direction, Adele, Ed Sheeran, Bastille, Ellie Goulding, Emeli Sandé, Olly Murs, Coldplay, and Bono. Ure told BBC News: “We don’t know who exactly is turning up yet. We will decide on the day. It’s the contribution that is important, not what you sing.”
The recording will take place Nov. 15-16 with a view to making the download available on the Nov. 17. The release date for the single hasn’t been scheduled but it’s likely it will be out in time for the record to emulate all three previous Band Aid versions and top the Christmas charts.