Bob Geldof has apparently “put a call in” to Ed Sheeran over the Band Aid single controversy, with confidence that “they’ll work it out”.
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Last week, it was revealed that a ‘2024 Ultimate Mix’ version of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ would be arriving later this month in celebration of the original’s 40th anniversary.
The new mix of the song, produced by Trevor Horn, brings together all of the voices from three versions of the track, recorded in 1984, 2004 and 2014.
However, in an update shared yesterday, Sheeran spoke out about his feature on the track, and said that if he had been asked for permission to use his vocals, he would have declined. The pop star sang alongside One Direction, Sam Smith, Coldplay and more in the 2014 edition of the charity Christmas single.
Now, a source close to Band Aid has told NME: “Bob’s put a call in to Ed. He thinks he’s a great bloke and a major talent. They’ll work it out.”
Representatives for Band Aid have yet to respond as to the overall outcome of Sheeran’s vocal on the track, and if all other artists involved were approached for permission to be featured on the new version.
Sheeran explained his stance earlier this week: “A decade on and my understanding of the narrative associated with this has changed, eloquently explained by @fuseodg,” he wrote in an Instagram Story. “This is just my personal stance, I’m hoping it’s a forward-looking one. Love to all x.”
In the update, Sheeran also shared a screenshot of a post made by Fuse ODG – who he mentioned in his statement – who explained why he turned down the offer to contribute to the 2014 version.
In his reasoning, he explained how the efforts to raise money for Africa also led to “perpetuat[ing] damaging stereotypes” on the continent. “I refused to participate in Band Aid because I recognised the harm initiatives like it inflict on Africa,” he began.
“While they may generate sympathy and donations, they perpetuate damaging stereotypes that stifle Africa’s economic growth, tourism, and investment, ultimately costing the continent trillions and destroying its dignity, pride and identity.”
The idea for the charity single was masterminded by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, and sought to raise money for the Ethiopian famine. It sold a million copies in its first week and, at the time, was the fastest-selling single in UK chart history.
On Sunday, Geldof bristled against the criticism the single has attracted over time: “This little pop song has kept hundreds of thousands if not millions of people alive,” he told 1News.
“In fact just last week, Band Aid gave hundreds of thousands of pounds to help those running from the mass slaughter in Sudan and enough cash to feed a further 8,000 children in the same affected areas of Ethiopia as 1984.”
“Those exhausted women who weren’t raped and killed and their panicked children and any male over 10 who survived the massacres and those 8,000 Tigrayan children will sleep safer, warmer and cared for tonight because of that miraculous little record. We wish that it were other but it isn’t. “Colonial tropes” my arse.”
