Dead artists sing as Band Aid turns 40

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Dead artists sing as Band Aid turns 40
Photo: AP/TT

Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is released anew, with Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran – but also the deceased artists George Michael and Sinead O'Connor, reports BBC.

It has been 40 years since the single was released with the supergroup Bob Geldof put together to raise money for famine-stricken Ethiopia, with some of the biggest pop stars of the time, such as Bono, Boy George, and Sting.

The song has been re-recorded three times – in 1989, 2004, and 2014 – with the top artists of the time.

In the new version, producer Trevor Horn has gone back to both the original version and mixed different generations' voices into a whole. Among others, Sting, Ed Sheeran, Sugababes, Sam Smith, and Bono are featured.

George Michael, who died in 2016, and Sinead O'Connor, who died in 2023, will also be participating.

George Michael participated in the original recording in 1984, while Sinéad O'Connor was in the studio when the latest version was recorded in 2014.

Over the past 40 years, Band Aid's charity fund is believed to have raised more than 140 million pounds in total – nearly 2 billion kronor.

However, the latest version was met with criticism from listeners, who felt that the lyrics are outdated and condescending.

The song will be released on November 25.

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By TTEnglish edition by Sweden Herald, adapted for local and international readers

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