URE A GENIUS
Geldof says Midge’s magic gave Band Aid single its lasting legacy
Sir Bob Geldof has hailed Midge Ure for turning Do They Know It’s Christmas? into a classic after admitting he originally wasn’t impressed.
Scot Midge took on the production of the Band Aid charity single which celebrates its 40th successful year next year. Geldof said: “I’m much more impressed now than when we wrote it. I thought, ‘ It’ll do’. He did a fantastic job. “Who knew that 40 years later, it would be number one. I’m really glad we did it.”
But he said he and Midge had no plans for the 40th anniversary.
Speaking on BBC Radio, he said: “I don’t know what we could do that’s special. It’s not a happy song. It’s part of Christmas.
“And it’s on every compilation. So will there be anything special?,
“It’s not our intention. It’s kind of weird for us. It’s 40 years on – maybe others will do it. It will not be the worst thing in the world.
“What was the last one? We had a young Sam Smith, a young Ed Sheeran, a very young Rita Ora, One Direction, so really if you took the history of this song you could go through the dictionary of British pop from early 80s through to now and everyone would be there.”
Band Aid 30 was the 2014 incarnation of the supergroup Band Aid. Announced by Geldof and Ure, the aim was to aid 2014 Ebola outbreak victims in Africa and prevent the disease’s spread.
The group covered Do They Know It’s Christmas? and the song was re-recorded by some of the biggest-selling current British and Irish pop acts, including 1D, Smith Sheeran, Emeli Sande, Ellie Goulding, Ora and Bastille, along with Chris Martin and Bono.