One Direction, Ed Sheeran and a host of other stars are to raise money to fight Ebola with a 30th anniversary version of the Band Aid charity single Do They Know It’s Christmas? Bob Geldof announced on Monday.
It will the fourth incarnation of the song, which became one of the world’s biggest-selling singles ever after its release in 1984 to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia.
Ebola “is a particularly pernicious illness because it renders humans untouchable and that is sickening,” Geldof said at a London press conference with Midge Ure, who helped organized the first Band Aid with the Irish singer.
“Mothers can’t comfort their children in their dying hours. Lovers can’t cradle each other. Wives can’t hold their husbands’ hands. People are chased down the streets because of it — and it could come our way,” Geldof said.
The rocker-turned-activist said he had been spurred into action not out of nostalgia, but by a telephone call from the UN three weeks ago, concerned about not having the necessary funds to combat the epidemic.
The Ebola outbreak in west Africa has claimed almost 5,000 lives, according to the WHO — almost all in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone — while the number of infected cases registered worldwide has soared to more than 13,000.
Other artists already signed up for the single include U2 frontman Bono — who sang on the original recording — Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Bastille, Elbow, Ellie Goulding, Emeli Sande, Foals, Paloma Faith, Queen drummer Roger Taylor, Sinead O’Connor and Underworld.
The Band Aid organizers were also reported to be in talks with British superstar Adele.
The vocals are to be recorded on Saturday at Sarm Studios in west London, just as on the original recording.
The sleeve artwork will be done by British artist Tracey Emin and the single will be available for download on Monday, with physical copies three weeks later.
The track will cost £0.99 (US$1.60) to download or £4 to buy as a physical record.
Fundraising was underway yesterday with fundraising site Prizeo offering fans a chance to win a “day in the studio” as the single is recorded, in exchange for donations of between US$5 and US$50,000.
Geldof said he thought the British government would agree to drop the tax on sales, and called on people to buy it rather than watching it for free on the Internet.
“It’s a record none of us want to make and I wish it wasn’t necessary,” Ultravox frontman Ure said.
The lyrics have been tweaked to reflect lush, economically developing west Africa this year, rather than the barren Ethiopia depicted 30 years ago.
Geldof also said there would be French, German and US versions featuring artists from those countries.
However, there will not be a giant “Live Aid” concert, because there was no “political logic” to doing one, he said.
Geldof slammed certain countries for not doing enough to contribute to the level of Britain, France and the US.
The Dubliner said the United Arab Emirates’ small donation to Ebola was a “disgrace,” swore over China’s contribution and said Australia “isn’t doing great.”
“If these countries claim global leadership, then they must accept the responsibility of those things,” the 63-year-old said.
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