Inspired by the continuing strife in Darfur, Sudan, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure organized a 20th anniversary sequel to the original with an updated cast of current stars. On hand for the new version are Chris Martin of Coldplay, Robbie Williams, Dido, Fran Healey of Travis, vocal group Sugababes, rapper Ms. Dynamite, Joss Stone, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, Dizzee Rascal and a bunch of other current English pop/rock stars, along with a reprise from Bono of his "thank God it's them instead of you" line, and a repeat visit from Sir Paul McCartney, who limits himself to bass this time. Thom Yorke of Radiohead is credited with piano and Damon Albarn of Blur is alleged to have "gotten tea" for everyone else. Madonna doesn't appear on the song but gives a spoken-word intro to the video, which was given a simultaneous premiere on all five of England's "terrestrial" channels, what Americans call broadcast stations as opposed to cable and satellite channels. Availability appears to be limited to Great Britain and Australia at the moment; I've been able to track down no plans for an American or worldwide release. (UPDATE: Nor did such a thing ever happen. I've linked the cover art to an Amazon page that has copies available through third-party vendors.) The CD single is scheduled to contain the original 1984 version as well as the Live Aid performance of the song. Download sales are available from the British divisions of most of the players in that business except iTunes, which originally balked at charging twice the going rate for a single song but ended up posting the song at its normal price and paying Band Aid 20 the difference out of its own pocket. As for the performance, it's not remarkably different from the original, except for the retro-70s double guitars of The Darkness in the breaks and Dizzee Rascal's raps inserted into the bridge. Of the latter, my first reaction was, "Why is Ali G on this song?" My guess is that folks will want this in proportion to how they feel about the current wave of British popsters, with a few completists mixed in who actually have the 1989 version as well as the "Live Aid" DVD.
"Do They Know It's Christmas," Band Aid 20 (Mercury/Universal)
Inspired by the continuing strife in Darfur, Sudan, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure organized a 20th anniversary sequel to the original with an updated cast of current stars. On hand for the new version are Chris Martin of Coldplay, Robbie Williams, Dido, Fran Healey of Travis, vocal group Sugababes, rapper Ms. Dynamite, Joss Stone, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, Dizzee Rascal and a bunch of other current English pop/rock stars, along with a reprise from Bono of his "thank God it's them instead of you" line, and a repeat visit from Sir Paul McCartney, who limits himself to bass this time. Thom Yorke of Radiohead is credited with piano and Damon Albarn of Blur is alleged to have "gotten tea" for everyone else. Madonna doesn't appear on the song but gives a spoken-word intro to the video, which was given a simultaneous premiere on all five of England's "terrestrial" channels, what Americans call broadcast stations as opposed to cable and satellite channels. Availability appears to be limited to Great Britain and Australia at the moment; I've been able to track down no plans for an American or worldwide release. (UPDATE: Nor did such a thing ever happen. I've linked the cover art to an Amazon page that has copies available through third-party vendors.) The CD single is scheduled to contain the original 1984 version as well as the Live Aid performance of the song. Download sales are available from the British divisions of most of the players in that business except iTunes, which originally balked at charging twice the going rate for a single song but ended up posting the song at its normal price and paying Band Aid 20 the difference out of its own pocket. As for the performance, it's not remarkably different from the original, except for the retro-70s double guitars of The Darkness in the breaks and Dizzee Rascal's raps inserted into the bridge. Of the latter, my first reaction was, "Why is Ali G on this song?" My guess is that folks will want this in proportion to how they feel about the current wave of British popsters, with a few completists mixed in who actually have the 1989 version as well as the "Live Aid" DVD.
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