Band Aid hit re-released
2004-10-21 10:43
London - British pop and rock stars are planning a new version of charity song Do They Know It's Christmas?, which raised huge sums for African famine relief 20 years ago, a report said on Wednesday.
Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, who wrote the song, originally recorded with a host of 1980s stars under the moniker Band Aid, had approached a series of current star musicians to do a re-recording, they told the Sun newspaper.
Among those billed to appear will be Coldplay, Dido, Robbie Williams, Oasis songwriter Noel Gallagher and glam rockers The Darkness, Ure told the paper.
"It's definitely going to happen. I'm very excited," said Ure, formerly frontman of British group Ultravox.
"This project is not just about raising money. It's about putting the focus back on Africa and the problem of famine which has not gone away.
"The line-up proves that this country is brimming with talent and the big names approached seem very keen," he told the Sun.
The original Band Aid record shot to the top of charts around the world in 1984, raising $15m to relieve famine in Ethiopia.
It was followed the next year by Live Aid, a pair of massive concerts in Britain and the United States masterminded by Irish singer-turned activist Geldof, which raised five times as much again.
The new Band Aid recording is already odds-on favourite to top the charts in Britain during the heavy-selling Christmas week, bookmakers said on Wednesday.