Band Aid recordings combined to mark charity single’s 40th birthday

Harry Styles, George Michael, Sinead O’Connor and Ed Sheeran are among the stars whose vocals will feature in a new “ultimate mix” of Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas?

The song will feature on a forthcoming compilation marking 40 years since the original charity single was released, organisers Bob Geldof, Midge Ure and Trevor Horn said.

The original single by the charity supergroup was released in 1984 to raise money for anti-famine efforts in Ethiopia.

Since then, the song has been re-recorded three times to mark the fifth, 20th and 30th anniversaries, with some of the most popular artists from each era taking part.

For the new remixed version of Do They Know It’s Christmas, producer Horn went back to the original recordings and blended the voices from the different generations into one whole.

The resulting version features vocals from Sting, Ed Sheeran, Boy George, Sugababes, Sam Smith, Bono and Chris Martin.

Vocals previously recorded by George Michael, who died in 2016, and Sinead O’Connor, who died in 2023, will also feature.

The line-up is rounded off by Harry Styles, Rita Ora, Guy Garvey, Seal, Robbie Williams, Kool and the Gang and Underworld.

The vocalists will sing to the music played by a band including Sir Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Roger Taylor, Thom Yorke, Paul Weller, Damon Albarn, Johnny Greenwood, Gary Kemp and Justin Hawkins.

The new “ultimate mix” will premiere on British radio stations on the morning of 25 November 2024, the 40th anniversary of the original song being recorded.

It will then be available to stream and buy on digital platforms, ahead of the full compilation album’s release on 29 November.

A new video by Oliver Murray, who created the video for The Beatles’ 2023 single Now And Then, will accompany the song, featuring archive footage of David Bowie introducing the song’s stars and Michael Buerk’s famous BBC news report on the song.

The project was founded by Geldof and Ure in 1984, and the original single sold more than two million copies, and raised around £8m.

All versions of the song reached number one in the UK singles chart.

A 1985 concert, Live Aid, and another in 2005, Live 8, saw many of the artists and bands join forces to continue raising money for the project.

In the last four decades, it’s thought the Band Aid Charitable Trust has raised more than £140m in total.

The money has gone towards long-term development projects and emergency aid. The 2014 version, for example, raised money for the Ebola crisis.

However, later versions of Do They Know It’s Christmas? received criticism, as some listeners suggested the lyrics were increasingly outdated and patronising.

Some artists such as Adele were reported to have chosen to donate to charity instead of taking part.

The decision to combine previously recorded versions of the single cleverly sidesteps similar risks, while still raising money and marking the charity’s 40th anniversary.