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

Band Aid is backmost for Christmas 2024, but not everybody is blessed astir it. Ed Sheeran has denounced the 40th day remix of Do They Know It’s Christmas? for utilizing his vocals without his “permission”. Will supergroup laminitis Bob Geldof respond to a chap superstar distancing himself from the project?

Sheeran recorded vocals for Band Aid 30 backmost successful 2014, alongside One Direction, Sam Smith, Rita Ora and Ellie Goulding. But helium says that, had helium been approached astir this year’s remix, helium would person “respectfully declined” to beryllium portion of the run again.

“A decennary connected and my knowing of the communicative associated with this has changed,” Sheeran said, citing his collaborator Fuse ODG. The Ghanaian-English vocalist and rapper said that Band Aid’s messaging “perpetuate[s] damaging stereotypes that stifle Africa’s economical growth, tourism, and investment”. Fuse ODG was primitively approached to beryllium successful Band Aid 30, but turned Geldof down.

Debate astir the Christmas opus and the connection successful sends has continued to grow, and with it Geldof’s ire. A portion published successful The Conversation past week unpacked the “problematic” bequest of a opus that portrayed Africa arsenic barren and uncivilised – assemblage ideas trotted retired by Victorian imperialists looking to plunder the continent’s resources. Geldof responded with scorn.

“Haha … It’s a popular opus ffs,” helium wrote. “There IS endemic hunger owed to the unforgiving ungraded conditions. Water IS scarce prevention for a scattering of unreliable wells. Rain IS progressively unreliable. Climate alteration affects the poorest archetypal and worst.”

In particular, helium took umbrage astatine the accusation that Band Aid reinforces outdated ideas astir Africa.

“These are not “colonial tropes” they are empirical facts. It is successful information your correspondent’s portion that is the cliched trope. The aforesaid statement has been made galore times implicit the years and elicits the aforesaid wearisome response. Are you definite it isn’t immoderate ChatGPT scam thing?” helium asked.

“’Colonial tropes’ my arse.”

Band Aid began successful 1984, erstwhile the BBC’s visceral sum of the famine successful Ethiopia prompted Geldof, past pb vocalist of the Boomtown Rats, and Ultravox frontman Midge Ure, to enactment unneurotic a ace radical and grounds a foundation single. Geldof and Ure utilized each their contacts, getting contributing vocals from Bono to Boy George, George Michael to Sting. The BBC has announced it’s making a documentary of the making of this infinitesimal successful euphony history.

The opus was written and produced astatine large speed, with signaling and mixing happening implicit a play of conscionable 24 hours. When it was released connected December 7, 1984 it changeable consecutive to No. 1 successful the UK charts and stayed determination for 5 weeks. Within a twelvemonth it had raised a reported £8 cardinal successful assistance for Ethiopia. Geldof went toe-to-toe with Maragaret Thatcher and her Conservative authorities for refusing to waive VAT connected the grounds sales, resulting successful the statement for the authorities to donate the equivalent of the VAT connected Band Aid income to charity.

In 1989, Geldof oversaw Band Aid II, which added caller stars to the premix specified arsenic Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Cliff Richard. It was apical of the UK Singles Chart for 3 weeks.

For the 20th anniversary, Band Aid 20 progressive a re-recording of the azygous with much fashionable euphony stars of the era, including Lemar, Estelle, Daniel and Natasha Bedingfield, Dido, Dizzee Rascal, and the Sugarbabes’ Mutya Buena and Keisha Buchanan. It became the biggest-selling azygous of 2004, spending 4 weeks astatine No. 1.

Band Aid 30, which debuted connected X Factor successful 2014, focused connected the Ebola situation with immoderate updated lyrics. This was the azygous Sheeran made his Band Aid debut on. While it debuted astatine No. 1, it lone spent a week successful apical place.

In caller years, the song’s lyrics person travel nether accrued scrutiny. “Where thing ever grows / No rainfall oregon rivers travel / Do they cognize it's Christmas clip astatine all?” successful peculiar raises eyebrows for portraying the famine arsenic the effect of inhospitable geography. The famine successful Ethiopia, from 1983 to 1985, had much analyzable roots successful equipped struggle and the wider post-colonial bequest crossed the continent.

In 2014, writer Bim Adewunmi called the Band Aid output “patronising and uncomfortable”. “There exists a paternalistic mode of reasoning astir Africa, apt exacerbated by the archetypal (and the second, and the third) Band Aid singles, successful which it indispensable beryllium ‘saved’, and usually from itself,” she wrote.

Last year, writer Indrajit Samarajiva besides condemned the song. “It’s not conscionable that these lyrics haven’t aged well. They were ne'er bully astatine all,” helium said. “They instrumentality an ignorant and assemblage attitude.”

There is besides expanding unease with the benignant of visuals employed by Band Aid to rise consciousness of the scope of the crisis. Fuse ODG was primitively asked to enactment successful Band Aid 30, but declined. In a thoughtful op-ed published successful the Guardian, helium outlined his reservations astir utilizing graphic imagery of the Ebola dead.

“Saying nary to Bob Geldof is 1 of the hardest decisions I person had to marque this year,” her wrote. “However, seeing what looked similar the corpse of an African pistillate being carried retired of her location connected primetime TV erstwhile the video was premiered connected X Factor crystallised my concerns astir this strategy to combat the Ebola crisis.” He explained that the gratuitous usage of specified images denied Ebola victims their dignity.

Fuse besides said helium was “shocked and appalled” by the caller “offensive” lyrics, and was bushed of the messaging successful general. “I, similar galore others, americium sick of the full conception of Africa – a resource-rich continent with unbridled imaginable – ever being seen arsenic diseased, infested and poverty-stricken,” helium said.

Geldof has antecedently fixed these criticisms abbreviated shrift.

In 2014 helium swore doubly connected unrecorded tv during an interrogation with Sky News presenter Jayne Secker, prompting her to extremity the conversation. Secker challenged Geldof to respond to comments that affluent artists should wage their taxes alternatively than inquire the nationalist to donate (”they’re talking bollocks”) and that Band Aid perpetuated “patronising” myths astir Africa (”complete load of bollocks”).

Bob Geldof has been approached for comment.