Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas? 40th anniversary mix to combine old and young voices

The original 1984 version including artists such as Sting, Boy George, George Michael, and Bono. Credit: PA

A new "ultimate" mix of Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? is set to be released on the song's 40th anniversary and will feature both original and newer voices from different versions of the single.

The track will feature vocals from the original 1984 Band Aid version, such as George Michael, Sting and Boy George.

These will be accompanied by other voices from Band Aid 20 (2004) and Band Aid 30 (2014), including Harry Styles, Chris Martin, the Sugababes, and Ed Sheeran.

The song will also feature vocals from U2's young Bono from 1984 alongside his current older self.

The singers will be backed by the Band Aid house band consisting of Paul McCartney, Sting, Duran Duran's John Taylor, Phil Collins, Queen's Roger Taylor, Danny Goffey, Radiohead's Thom Yorke, Paul Weller, Damon Albarn, Midge Ure, Johnny Greenwood, Gary Kemp and Justin Hawkins.

Additionally, there will be a new video featuring David Bowie introducing the song's stars, along with Michael Buerk’s BBC News report on the song.

Trevor Horn will produce the "ultimate" mix. He has worked with the likes of Grace Jones and Sir Rod Stewart.

Sir Peter Blake, 93, the artist who designed the original 1984 Band Aid cover art, has returned to create a sleeve for the new mix.

The original Band Aid single saw artists, led by Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof and Ultravox’s Midge Ure, help raise money for charities working with starving children in Ethiopia.

Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1985. Credit: PA

Do They Know It's Christmas? reached the UK's number one spot in 1984 and became Britain's fastest-selling single ever, selling a million copies in its first week.

It remained at number one for five weeks and went on to sell more than three million copies.

Do They Know It's Christmas? was then released three other times with different generations of music artists laying their vocals over the decades.

Produced by Stock Aitken and Waterman, 1989's Band Aid II featured just two of the artists from the song's first version.

Band Aid 20 and Band Aid 30 were released in honour of the song's 20th and 30th anniversaries.

The proceeds from Band Aid 20 were used to support the Darfur region of Sudan, while the funds raised by Band Aid 30 were directed towards addressing the 2014 Ebola crisis.

All versions of the song entered the UK singles chart at number one.

Do They Know It’s Christmas? – 2024 Ultimate Mix, will premiere on UK breakfast radio and streaming on November 25, the 40th anniversary of the original 1984 song. It will also be released physically on CD and vinyl on November 29.

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