The re-recording of Band Aid's classic hit by a Who's Who of contemporary stars was broadcast for the first time today.
The likes of Coldplay's Chris Martin, Dido and Robbie Williams are heard on the track, whose original featured George Michael, U2 and Duran Duran. Radio Five Live's Nicky Campbell, who played the Band Aid 20 record this morning, said it had "a more melancholic, soulful feel than the original".
The new version of Do They Know It's Christmas? does not have jingle bells ringing through it and is a little longer than the original, made 20 years ago. Mercury Prize winner Dizzee Rascal raps near the end, and Joss Stone's voice also rings out. Callers to the radio show said the song made them cry but others said it was "terrible". Music journalist Robin Eggar said: "When I heard it on the radio, it reduced me to tears. Musically, it is very different from the original."
The single will go on sale on November 29, with all proceeds going to famine relief in the Darfur region of Sudan."It sounds gaudy, but I guess there is a legacy," said Bob Geldof, who wrote Do They Know It's Christmas? in 1984 with Midge Ure for a superstar group they called Band Aid.
The original record raised millions of dollars for those starving in Ethiopia. Geldof, who also planned the 1985 Live Aid concerts and has been knighted for his activism, said he hoped the new recording would spur Britain's government to use its 2005 stints heading the European Union and the G-8 group of wealthy nations to improve life for those in poor countries. "The reality is that only politics created this dilemma and only politics can resolve it," he said.
Among those who participated in the 1984 recording were Boy George, George Michael, Sting, Phil Collins, Bono and the members of Duran Duran, Bananarama and Spandau Ballet.
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