A decade ago, Ed Sheeran joined the British and Irish supergroup Band Aid to cover the charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The 2014 iteration of the song — which originally premiered in 1989 and was updated in 2004 — also featured One Direction and Sam Smith, among others. Last week, these same names appeared when Band Aid announced the lineup for the 2024 version. But now, Sheeran claims he was never contacted to extend permission to use his vocals on the recording — and even if he had been, he would have said no.
“My approval wasn’t sought on this new Band Aid 40 release. Had I had the choice I would have respectfully declined the use of my vocals,” the musician wrote on an Instagram Story.
Helmed by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, the 2014 Band Aid 30 was updated to reference the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. Proceeds from the song benefited efforts to battle the virus, but the recording was criticized as being “clumsy, patronizing, and wrong in so many ways,” per the Guardian. Sheeran has also come to see the song in a different light, sharing: “A decade on and my understanding of the narrative associated with this has changed … This is just my personal stance, I’m hoping it’s a forward-looking one. Love to all x.”
Sheeran referenced a lengthy Instagram Story post from Fuse ODG criticizing the Band Aid initiative as being harmful to Africa. The Ghanian-English musician, who revealed that he turned down the offer to participate in the 2014 recording, wrote: “While they may generate sympathy and donations, they perpetuate damaging stereotypes that stifle Africa’s economic growth, tourism, and investment, ultimately costing the continent trillions and destroying its dignity, pride and identity.”
He added: “By showcasing dehumanizing imagery, these initiatives fuel pity rather than partnership, discouraging meaningful engagement. My mission has been to reclaim the narrative, empowering Africans to tell their own stories, redefine their identity and position Africa as a thriving hub for investment and tourism. Today, the diaspora drives the largest funds back into the continent, not Band Aid or foreign aid providing that Africa’s solutions and progress lies in its own hands.”
Despite these criticisms, Geldof has doubled down in his defense of the charity song. “This little pop song has kept hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people alive,” he told The Conversation in a report published this weekend. “In fact, just today Band Aid has given hundreds of thousands of pounds to help those running from the mass slaughter in Sudan and enough cash to feed a further 8,000 children in the same affected areas of Ethiopia as 1984.”
To critics of the song’s lyrics, he added: “These are not ‘colonial tropes’ they are empirical facts … The same argument has been made many times over the years and elicits the same wearisome response. Are you certain it isn’t some ChatGPT scam thing?”
The latest “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” recording makes use of vocal recordings from all three previous versions of the Band Aid single. It’s being called the “Ultimate Mix,” with vocals from Bono, Sting, Boy George, George Michael, Sugababes, Chris Martin, Robbie Williams, and the 2014 crew of Sheeran, Smith, and One Direction-era Harry Styles. Other artists, including Paul McCartney, Phil Collins, Thom Yorke, Paul Weller, and Damon Albarn, appear on the track as instrumentalists.
Many of these artists appear in the trailer for the official Band Aid 40 music video for “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The single is set for release on Nov. 25. It will arrive with the complete video directed by Oliver Murray, who recently shaped new recordings and archival footage into a short documentary for The Beatles’ “Now and Then.”