LONDON (Reuters) – An “ultimate mix” of “Do They Know It’s Christmas” is set for release later this month to celebrate 40 years since the festive charity hit’s recording.
Rockers Bob Geldof, Midge Ure and producer Trevor Horn said the latest version will feature vocals from Sting, Ed Sheeran, Rita Ora and the late George Michael and Sinead O’Connor among other major music names.
The song was originally recorded by the Band Aid supergroup of music stars assembled by Geldof and Ure in 1984 to raise money to fight famine in Ethiopia. Two other versions followed for its 20th and 30th anniversaries in 2004 and 2014, featuring other groups of singers and musicians.
“Horn has taken these recordings and, through extraordinary music production techniques, blended all the voices of those separate generations into one seamless whole,” a press release announcing the song’s release said on Wednesday.
The latest “ultimate mix” version of the song will premiere on British breakfast time radio on November 25, marking 40 years since the original was recorded. A video will also be released.
Listeners will hear “a young Sting sing alongside a young Ed Sheeran. A young Boy George with a young Sam Smith. A young George Michael beside a young Harry Styles” singing “against the Band Aid houseband of Paul McCartney, Sting, Phil Collins, Roger Taylor, Thom Yorke Paul Weller and Damon Albarn among others.”
(Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Peter Graff)
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