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EXPLAINED: 3 - The Real Truth

Christmas number one contenders revealed: Will Wicked or Band Aid take top spot?

Last year Wham! claimed the top spot with Last Christmas.

Evening Standard

“Bono took me aside and asked if I was sure I wanted him to sing this line”: Bob Geldof remembers what the U2 singer said to him before he recorded his vocals on Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas?

“I was able to say, this is not soggy liberalism; this is coded anger,” Geldof recalls

MusicRadar

Ed Sheeran, Fuse ODG: do they know they’re dead right about Band Aid? Africa needs more than a singalong

No wonder pop stars and others feel uneasy about the project. However well-intentioned, it now does more harm than good, says author and broadcaster Nels Abbey

The Guardian - UK

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Band Aid 40: Where the original singers are now as Do They Know It's Christmas? returns for 2024

A new refresh of the song, which combines vocals from three past versions, will be released on November 25

Evening Standard

What is Band Aid 40? The charity Christmas single that's causing controversy

Musicians are distancing themselves from the “colonial” Christmas single, but Bob Geldof refuses to change the lyrics

Evening Standard

Ed Sheeran: I wish I wasn’t on 40th-anniversary version of Band Aid

Singer says his ‘understanding of the narrative’ around Do They Know It’s Christmas? has changed since 2014 appearance

The Guardian - UK

“If I had the choice I would have respectfully declined the use of my vocals”: Ed Sheeran says he didn’t want to be on new Band Aid record

His vocals were used without his permission

MusicRadar

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Ed Sheeran didn't give Band Aid 40 'approval' to use his vocals

Ed Sheeran has claimed Bob Geldof and Midge Ure didn't ask for his permission to use his vocals on the '2024 Ultimate Mix' of 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'.

BANG Premier

Ed Sheeran shares statement accusing Band Aid of ‘dehumanising Africans’

Sharing a separate statement by Ghanaian-British star Fuse ODG, the singer-songwriter said his understanding of the narrative around Band Aid’s controversial charity singles had ‘changed’

The Independent UK

Band Aid at 40: how the problematic Christmas hit changed the charity sector

In November 1984, BBC journalist Michael Buerk presented a series of dispatches from the small town of Korem in northern Ethiopia. He described the scenes he encountered as a famine of “biblical proportions” and that aid workers in the region had told him it was “the closest thing to hell…

The Conversation

"Still stands as a rebuke to that period in which it was first heard": Bob Geldof announces new remixed version of Do They Know It’s Christmas for single’s 40th anniversary

But how effective will it be as a fundraiser?

MusicRadar

Band Aid: New version of Do They Know It's Christmas? released for 40th anniversary

The 40th anniversary edition will feature a mix of voices from the three previous editions of the song in 1984, 2004, and 2014

Evening Standard

Band Aid back with new 40th anniversary mix of Do They Know It's Christmas?

Band Aid is back with the '2024 Ultimate Mix' to mark 40 years of the 'song that changed the world'.

BANG Premier

Do They Know It’s Christmas? The pop stars involved in the 2024 version

Organiser Sir Bob Geldof said the song serves as a rebuke to the Eighties notion that ‘greed is good’

The Independent UK

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The Guardian - UK

Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? reissued as all-star mashup – including three generations of Bono

Fortieth-anniversary edition is spliced together by Trevor Horn from previous versions of the song, including snippets of George Michael, Ed Sheeran and more

BANG Premier

Unseen Band Aid footage set to air in Do They Know It's Christmas? documentary

Unseen footage from the very first Band Aid recording session for 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' will air in a new BBC documentary about the 1984 charity single.

Evening Standard

BBC to mark 40th anniversary of Band Aid single Do They Know It’s Christmas?

The chart-topping charity song brought together a number of British rock stars.

The Guardian - UK

Wrangling with Abba, risking jail for the Stone Roses … the lawyer behind pop’s big spats

John Kennedy sparred with the Swedes over Mamma Mia! and took on the Rolling Stones for Richard Ashcroft – he tells us why he’s still arguing with Bob Geldof after 40 years

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Louder

“We hesitated to say yes. The chances of making fools of ourselves were so big”: Live Aid was Queen’s crowning glory. But they nearly turned it down

In the brand new issue of Classic Rock, Queen reveal how one of the greatest live performances in history almost didn’t happen

The Guardian - UK

Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story by Bono audiobook review – unexpected humility

The U2 frontman narrates his own autobiography, using music to look back on his life - Band Aid hubris, iTunes regrets and all

Louder

"Bob walked in and started berating everyone that was eating." How a furious Bob Geldof ruined a posh feast and inadvertently had Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Springsteen and the rest eating chicken and waffles during We Are The World

This is one anecdote that seems to have been left off of Netflix's The Greatest Night In Pop documentary

MusicRadar

“Check your ego at the door”: The story of USA for Africa’s We Are The World (and why Prince and Madonna aren’t on it)

A new Netflix documentary is set to shed light on the making of the US chart’s fastest-selling hit. We look back at the making of song, and ask why two of the biggest stars of the ‘80s weren’t at the party

The Guardian - UK

Who is the only person to sing their own name in Do They Know It’s Christmas? Try our 2023 festive No 1s quiz

Big on Band Aid? Mad for Mad World? As much a savant of sausage rolls as LadBaby? It’s time to put your festive chart knowledge where your mouth is with our quiz

The Guardian - UK

Wham!’s Last Christmas finally reaches Christmas No 1, 39 years after release

‘Mission accomplished!’ says Andrew Ridgeley, while Cher becomes oldest woman to score a UK Top 40 hit

The Independent UK

‘It’s mission accomplished’: Wham! secure Christmas No 1 with ‘Last Christmas’ as Sam Ryder lands No 2

Eighties pop duo landed the top spot on the Christmas charts 39 years after the song’s original release, following a battle between four other heavyweights including Mariah Carey and The Pogues

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