Band Aid 20
Band Aid 20 was the 2004 incarnation of the charity group Band Aid. The group, which included Daniel Bedingfield, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Bono of U2, and Paul McCartney, re-recorded the 1984 song "Do They Know It's Christmas?", written by Band Aid organizers Bob Geldof and Midge Ure.
The song was recorded on 14 November 2004, to benefit Sudan's troubled Darfur region, and was released that same month. The single became the UK's biggest seller of 2004 as well as the Christmas Number 1.[1]
Bono, Paul McCartney and George Michael were the only artists from the original Band Aid who had been asked back to lend their voices to Band Aid 20. There was a reported dispute over the line 'Tonight thank God it's them, instead of you', which Bono sang on the original version. Justin Hawkins, of The Darkness, laid down a version of the line, but Bono insisted on re-recording his version, which was eventually used on the record.
A special documentary titled Band Aid 20: Justice, Not Charity which went behind-the-scenes of the new recording was broadcast by BBC One on 6 December 2004.
The Band Aid 20 single was actually doubled when it was first played simultaneously on The Chris Moyles Show (on BBC Radio 1) and the breakfast shows on Virgin and Capital radio, at 8am on 16 November 2004. The video was first broadcast in the UK simultaneously over multiple channels, including the five UK terrestrial channels, at 5.55pm on 18 November 2004, with an introduction by Madonna.
One of the new ways to buy the song, by downloading it from the internet, hit a problem when Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store initially refused to supply it, due to their fixed-pricing policy. A partial solution was reached after a few days, enabling UK users to download the song at the standard iTunes price, with Apple donating an extra amount (equivalent to the price difference) to the Band Aid Trust.
The single sold 72,000 copies in the first 24 hours when it was released on 29 November 2004, and went straight in at No. 1 in the UK charts on 5 December 2004. The CD version sold over 200,000 copies in the first week. and became the fastest-selling single of the year. It stayed at No. 1 for Christmas and the week after, all in all holding onto the top spot for four weeks, just one week shorter than the original had done in 1984.
Because of its popularity, it was able to sell more copies than all the other British Top 20 songs combined. The first day, the cd registered 80,000 sales and then 200,000 sales by day four. Also, the song was number eight on the downloads chart online. The charity single had immense support from companies. The mobile entertainment provider, WebTV, allowed customers to play and purchase the song and music video on their mobile phones. The song could also be purchased with a bundle of tracks including both the original 1984 version and the 2004 version of Do They Know It’s Christmas?. This deal gave the charity single more exposure to the public and more appealing to purchase. The entertainment store, HMV, also worked to give the charity project more popularity by opening its stores at an earlier time to give customers more time to buy the single. Staff at HMV also wore Band Aid 20 shirts that said, “Have you bought your Copy Yet?” Another large promotion for the single was when Prime Minister Tony Blair was seen picking up a copy of the charity single at an HMV store in Edinburgh.
Band Aid 20's efforts met with mixed criticism. The BBC said the new generation of singers, who differed greatly from those that appeared on the 1984 original, endeavored to fit their talents into a 20-year old template resulting in an "anonymous" record.[2] The Guardian said the appearance of female singers was successful.[3]
British artist Damien Hirst designed an intimidating cover for the Band Aid 20 single, featuring the grim reaper and a starving African child. However, this was later dropped after fears that it might scare children. The single was released on 29 November 2004, with all money raised going toward famine relief in the Darfur region of Sudan.
Artists featured on the track included:
Bono, Fran Healy (Travis), Daniel Bedingfield, Natasha Bedingfield, Sugababes, Busted, Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Chris Martin, Dido, Dizzee Rascal, Ms. Dynamite, Estelle, Jamelia, Justin Hawkins, Keane, Beverley Knight, Lemar, Will Young, Shaznay Lewis, Katie Melua, Róisín Murphy, Feeder, Snow Patrol, Rachel Stevens, Joss Stone and Robbie Williams.
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