"Do They Know it's Christmas? (40th Anniversary)" - Band Aid
Single
U2 Related Content:
- "Do They Know it's Christmas?" (Single Version) - Band Aid (with Bono and Adam) (03:54)
- "Do They Know it's Christmas?" (Single Version) - Band Aid 20 (including Bono) (05:07)
- "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (2014 Version) - Band Aid 30 (featuring Bono) (03:50)
- "Do They Know it's Christmas?" (2024 Ultimate Mix) - Band Aid / Band Aid 20 / Band Aid 30 (04:58)
- "Do They Know it's Christmas?" (Live from London, Jul. 13, 1985 - Live Aid - Audio) - Band Aid (04:29)
- "Do They Know it's Christmas?" (2024 Ultimate Mix - Single Version) - Band Aid (03:54)
- "Do They Know it's Christmas?" (2024 Ultimate Mix - Extended Version) - Band Aid (09:22)
Background Information
Announced on November 13, 2024, this single celebrates the 40th anniversary of the release of the original “Do They Know it’s Christmas?”. The single will be released on digital platforms on November 25, 2024 (Forty years to the day from the day the original was recorded.) Physical versions of the single on CD and black vinyl will follow on November 29, 2024.
The main single features five tracks, including the 1984, 2004 and 2024 versions of the single, each recorded by different musicians. Additionally a live version from the Live Aid performance at Wembley Stadium in July 1985 is also included. Bono is a participant in all of these versions, and Adam Clayton played bass on the original. All have been released before. A fifth version of the song, called the “Ultimate Mix” will feature a mix of the three studio versions of the song. These have been blended and mixed together so you hear vocalists from all three recordings. At one point we will hear a young Bono mixed with an older Bono vocal in the song. The new mix is by Trevor Horn, producer of the original single. The artwork on the cover is by Peter Blake, who also provided the artwork for the original single.
Two additional standalone singles were also released, each featuring one remix of The Ultimate mix. One single includes a much longer extended version of the song at 9:22 in length. The other single features a shortened single version of the song at 3:54, which cuts out the Bowie spoken piece at the end, as well as the BBC voice over mid-song.
The press release shares, “In the latest version, listeners will hear a dynamic layering of voices across time, as original recordings from 1984 blend with contributions from artists featured in the Band Aid 20 and Band Aid 30 versions, released in 2004 and 2014. Stars like Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran, Chris Martin, and the Sugababes join the iconic voices of the past, creating a musical time capsule that spans four decades. In a particularly moving moment, the line ‘Well tonight thank God it’s them, instead of you‘—originally sung by a young Bono—will now feature the original recording blended with a new performance by his older self, connecting past and present in a remarkable way.”
Two videos were released to support the new 2024 mix, a version at 03:55, which uses the single version of the song, and a longer version of the song at 07:17, which includes some behind the scenes footage and uses the extended version of the song. (The Extended version contains all three of Bono’s lines, and can be heard in the video, the shorter versions of the song only contain two versions of Bono’s lines.)