Bono and Bob Geldof in 2004. PHOTO/COURTESY
Bob Geldof, Midge Ure and Trevor Horn have announced details of the Band Aid Compilation, brand new ‘2024 Ultimate Mix’ and accompanying video release, commemorating 40 years of Band Aid.
The latest incarnation of Do They Know It’s Christmas? premiered simultaneously across UK breakfast time radio on November 25, the 40th anniversary of the recording of the original song. It is available to stream on all digital platforms. According to a statement issued by Universal Music Canada, “Do They Know It’s Christmas? – 2024 Ultimate Mix” is available to buy now digitally and physically on the Band Aid Compilation 1CD and 12. Vinyl was released on November 29.
Do They Know It’s Christmas? was recorded on three separate occasions over three separate generations—Band Aid (1984), Band Aid 20 (2004) and Band Aid 30 (2014). What began life as a humble Christmas pop song went on to launch the greatest series of events in pop history. Do They Know It’s Christmas? ultimately corralled the political structures of its time to its own focused ends by assembling a roll call of talent that in effect describes the arc of British rock ‘n roll over these past 40 years. In celebration of this monumental “instrument of change,” producer Trevor Horn has taken these recordings and, through extraordinary music production techniques, blended all the voices of those separate generations into one seamless whole.