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Band Aid 30 stars arrive to record new single for Ebola crisis 1:17
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Boy band One Direction and U2 lead singer Bono join some of the biggest names in British pop and rock music to record a new version of the Band Aid charity song to raise money to combat Ebola in West Africa.
- news.com.au
- 17 Nov 2014
- Entertainment
One Direction are the first act to be heard on the new version of charity single Do They Know It’s Christmas? Source: YouTube
IS THERE any problem in the world that can’t be solved by celebrities?
One Direction, Bono and Chris Martin have joined about 20 other megawatt singing stars to tackle the Ebola epidemic through Band Aid 30.
The mastermind of the initiative, Bob Geldolf, unveiled the 30th-anniversary re-recording of the charity single Do They Know It’s Christmas? on the UK version of The X Factor this morning.
RELATED: Band Aid reboots Do They Know It’s Christmas for Ebola victims
There is a long list of big-name singers on the track, which was recorded at the weekend in London, but the biggest-selling vocalist of the past four years snubbed an invitation to take part.
Soul queen Adele, whose marquee album 21 has sold 30 million copies worldwide, was invited to join the line-up but didn’t even reply.
Not interested … Adele ignored an invitation to take part in the charity single. Picture: AP Photo/Jonathan Short Source: AP
“Adele is doing nothing. She’s not answering the phone … she doesn’t want to be bothered by anyone. She won’t even pick up the phone to her manager. She’s bringing up a family, you know. Some people just don’t want to do it,” Geldolf told The Sun.
Do They Know It's Christmas? (2014)
Blur and Gorrilaz frontman Damon Albarn has similarly elected not to take part, questioning whether Band Aid was an appropriate way to respond to the epidemic.
“There are problems with our idea of charity, especially these things that suddenly balloon out of nothing and then create a media frenzy where some of that essential communication is lost. It starts to feel like it’s a process where if you give money you solve the problem, and really sometimes giving money creates another problem,” he said, according to The Age.
Liam Payne of boy band One Direction. Picture: AFP Photo/Andrew Cowie Source: AFP
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. Picture: AFP Photo/Justin Tallis Source: AFP
Do They Know It’s Christmas? (2014) is actually the fourth time the song has been released, with the track first released in 1984 to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia and re-recorded in 1989 and 2004.
The song has been reworked to support West African nations battling the deadly Ebola crisis.
Geldof said owning the new single would be “a badge of honour” to support efforts against the virus and he urged people to buy it “whether you like it or not”.
One Direction’s Niall Horan said it was a “privilege” to take part.
“Hopefully we’ll get to number one and raise a lot of money for a really good cause,” he said.
British singer Rita Ora arrives at a west London studio to record the new Band Aid 30 single on Sunday. Picture: Andrew Cowie / AFP Source: AFP
British singer Ellie Goulding. Picture: Andrew Cowie / AFP Source: AFP
Singer Jessie Ware. Picture: John Phillips / Getty Source: Getty Images
Geldolph said he had been spurred into action by a call from the United Nations, concerned about not having the funds to combat the epidemic.
“I hate that aspect of it that lovers can’t hold each other in their last moments, that husbands can’t comfort their wives, that parents can’t comfort their children,” the rocker-turned-activist said.
The second and third verses of the song contain new lyrics referring to the risks of cross-infection from comforting Ebola victims.
A spokesperson for Adele said she would supporting Oxfam’s Ebola Appeal with a donation.
Songwriters Midge Ure and Bob Geldof. Picture: John Phillips / Getty Images Source: Getty Images
Bono of U2. Picture: John Phillips / Getty Images Source: Getty Images
Who appears:
One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Rita Ora, Sam Smith, Guy Garvey of Elbow, Paloma Faith, Emeli Sande, Bono of U2, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin, Seal, Ellie Goulding, Sinead O’Connor, Jessie Ware, Olly Murs, Foals, Fuse ODG, Angelique Kidjo, Queen drummer Roger Taylor and Clean Bandit, Zoella, Alfie Deyes and Joe Sugg.
Who doesn’t:
Adele, Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz
Australians will be able to download the song later today. It will retail for $2.19 on iTunes. The money will go to the Band Aid Charitable Trust.
Do They Know It's Christmas? (1984)
Do They Know It's Christmas? (1989)
