The single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” was recorded the day before the 30th anniversary of Band Aid, organized by Bob Geldof in aid of the famine in Ethiopia. One Direction, Bono, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Ed Sheeran, and Sam Smith were among the stars who lent their voices to the cause.
U2 frontman Bono, who has appeared on three of the four versions of 'Do They Know It's Christmas?,' is among the stars set to appear on the eagerly-awaited track.
He said, "I just wish we didn't have to do this. There will come a time when we won't. And it will be great not to see the same old faces.
"What's great about today is it's like 'Star Trek: The Next Generation.'"
Band Aid 30 - Do They Know It's Christmas? (2014) on MUZU.TV
The charity single was aired on Saturday night during the British TV talent show “X-Factor” and within minutes the song had raised over $1.5 million in pre-orders. Band Aid’s Co-Founder Bob Geldof said, “The host of the 'X-Factor' Simon Cowell gave us 5 minutes in his show. In 4 or 5 minutes after we left the studio we collected £1 million (more than $1.5 million).”
The song cost $1.50 and the CD which will be released in three weeks will cost $6.25.
Geldof has spoken of his appreciation of the stars who donated their skills in creating the song. He said he was “blown away” by One Direction’s performance saying, “It's beautiful, seriously. That is the hardest one to do because people know the song so they are worried they're going to mess it up and they didn't at all.
"It was so sad what they did. I never expected that from them.
"Harry Styles wanted to play it back so I did and it's very moving. They are whispering."
The lyrics of the new song were penned by Midge Ure and Emeli Sande, who revealed Bob helped to inspire the various acts before they started recording.
She explained, "Bob gave a really touching speech before we started singing so I think that really got everybody in the mind-frame that we needed to be in to remind us it's fun, but that we're here for a really serious reason."
The lyrics to the new song – which will raise money to fight Ebola – show a few minor tweaks have been made to the original 'Do They Know It's Christmas.'
A new line reads, "Where a kiss of love can kill you – And there's death at every tear."
Another reads, "Well tonight we're reaching out, and touching you."
Geldof (63) has been the guiding force behind the charity single and he's admitted it wasn't easy to get so many big names to record the track.
He reflected, "It's a song, it's a track, but it's an event and the next stage is to turn it into a phenomenon like it was in the '80s. And the only way to do that is to get people to buy the thing.
"Spare me this free economy. Spare me Spotify and YouTube. There's a donate button on YouTube. Hit the donate button. It's a badge of honor to have this on your phone or on your iPod, or whatever the hell you're using. And don't buy one. Buy several. Give them to your mates."
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