A new 2024 Ultimate Mix is set for November 29th
Bob Geldof, Midge Ure, and Trevor Horn announce details of the forthcoming Band Aid Compilation featuring a new 2024 Ultimate Mix and accompanying video release, commemorating 40 years of Band Aid.
The latest incarnation of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” is set to be premiered simultaneously across UK breakfast time radio on November 25th, the 40th anniversary of the recording of the original song. It will be available to stream immediately on all digital platforms. “Do They Know It’s Christmas? – 2024 Ultimate Mix” is available to buy digitally and physically on the Band Aid Compilation CD and 12-inch vinyl and will be released on November 29th via UMG.
“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” was recorded on three separate occasions, over three separate generations, Band Aid in 1984, Band Aid 20 in 2004, and Band Aid 30 in 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 focused ends by assembling a roll call of talent that 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.
“Band Aid – 2024 Ultimate Mix” features a young Sting singing alongside a young Ed Sheeran, a young Boy George with a young Sam Smith, a young George Michael beside a young Harry Styles, a young Bono with an older Bono, Chris Martin with Guy Garvey, the Sugababes and Bananarama, Seal, Sinead O’Connor, Rita Ora, Robbie Williams, Kool and the Gang, and Underworld. The voices sing on against the Band Aid house band of Paul McCartney, Sting, John Taylor on bass, Phil Collins, Roger Taylor, Danny Goffey on drums, Thom Yorke on piano, Paul Weller, Damon Albarn, Midge Ure, Johnny Greenwood, Gary Kemp and Justin Hawkins on guitar.
In achieving this extraordinary musical and production feat, Trevor has not just re-imagined ‘the song that changed that world’ but much more importantly has revivified its original emotional sense. To witness \ the great David Bowie introduce this rag-tag of spotty, pretty young pop stars as they ambled down a Notting Hill street or tumbled bleary out of cars that early Sunday morning in late October 1984. To hear the legendary Michael Buerk BBC News report that ignited the whole decades-long struggle. To understand without being hectored or lectured or beaten over the head exactly what was being done, why it was being done and that something profound was about to begin.
Director Oliver Murray was enlisted to try and make visually tangible music that was so powerful on audio. He has achieved the impossible by visualizing Trevor’s painstaking superlative creation work on video. Murray came to prominence last year when he directed the emotional short film that accompanied The Beatles on their last No.1 single and was tasked with repeating his magical skills on the 2024 Ultimate Mix. The video will be unveiled on November 25th, with broadcast details to be announced in the coming days.
“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” is not just the sum of British rock music it also accidentally became a bellwether of most of the British visual arts. Through the years the Band Aid sleeve has been issued with original artwork from Peter Blake, Tracey Emin, Damian Hirst, and Mat Maitland.
Sir Peter Blake was initially asked to design a unique cover for the first Band Aid, creating another classic with a collage of standard Christmas card tropes set against the disgrace of a hungry child. This perfectly exemplified the central theme of the song itself – the cornucopia of our lucky wealthy world and the sharing of those spoils with family over a time of togetherness against an unnecessarily awful world of utter Nothing, fear and hunger. Sucking everyone into this maw of empathy, David Bailey the iconic photographer donated one of his classic photographs for Peters montage.
Now at the age of 93, Peter was once again called to the Band Aid colours just one more time in celebration of this hugely historic song. And once again, using imagery from the past 40 years that sketches the Band Aid history he has given us something utterly beautiful, instantly classic and completely “on point.” The sleeve itself is drenched with visual compassion, understanding, tolerance and from this great gentle old giant of British art – Humanity.
