10 November,2014:Â One Direction, Ed Sheeran and Elbow are among the acts who will take part in a fourth version of the Band Aid charity single, Do They Know It’s Christmas.
Announcing the project, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure said the song’s lyrics would be changed to reflect the Ebola crisis.
The original was released in 1984. It sold 3.7 million copies and raised £8m for famine relief in Ethiopia.
The new version will be recorded this Saturday and should be available for download on Monday morning.
A physical version of the song will be released three weeks later and will feature cover artwork designed by artist Tracey Emin.
The record is being produced by Paul Epworth, who has masterminded hits by the likes of Adele and One Direction.
The download will cost 99p, while the CD single will retail for £4. The song will not be made available on Spotify and other music streaming services until January.
Geldof and Ure, who masterminded the first version, said the project was nothing to do with nostalgia.
“We should gather the pop crowd together to do our thing,” said Geldof at a press conference on Monday.
He added that decisions about which artist will sing which lines are not going to be taken until Saturday’s recording session in London, while both musicians advocated purchasing the physical format.
So far, confirmed artists include U2’s Bono, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Emeli Sande, Underworld, Sinead O’Connor, Paloma Faith, Foals and Bastille, who have given up two arena dates to record their contribution.
Geldof and Ure said that other musicians would be added in due course.
Versions will also be recorded in France, Germany and the US. “Think Daft Punk. Think Johnny Hallyday,” said Geldof.
Geldof said that changes to the lyrics include “burning suns”, due to the fertile landscape of West Africa compared to drought-stricken Ethiopia of 1984.
The money raised will go towards the fight against Ebola in numerous West African countries, which Geldof called a “filthy little virus” which renders its victims “untouchable”.
He said the disease was taking hold in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia “because they’re extremely poor which is radically unacceptable”, adding: “It makes me sick and makes me angry.”
In a reference to the fight against poverty which spurred on previous Band Aid campaigns, Geldof added: “Let’s put this beast to bed once and for all.”
He praised the British people’s capacity to “constantly reach out”, and made an impassioned call for this to put a stop to the spread of the Ebola virus.
Ure said: “Thirty years ago people wanted to help and wanted to make a difference. We want that again.”
The original track featured the voices of George Michael, Bono, Duran Duran and Bananarama, among others.
The single was the catalyst for the cross-continent Live Aid concerts in London and Philadelphia, which raised more than £40m.
The 1989 incarnation of Band Aid was produced by the Stock, Aitken and Waterman stable, largely featuring their artists such as Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Sonia.
Band Aid 20, marking 20 years of the record, included the likes of Coldplay, Dizzee Rascal, Ms Dynamite, Will Young and Robbie Williams.
Bono, Sir Paul McCartney and George Michael returned for the collaboration, which was released to raise money for Sudan’s troubled Darfur region.
Source:BBC
