Ahead of a date at The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, the Scottish musician talks about getting back on the road at the age of 71 and the impact of Band Aid. On November 25 1984, a number of British pop and rock stars gathered to record a charity single in aid of the Ethiopian famine appeal. The list was an impressive one: U2’s Bono, the late George Michael, Phil Collins, Sting, Duran Duran, Bananarama, Boy George and many more.
The group was brought together by fellow musicians Sir Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, who had no idea the impact the song being recorded – Do They Know It’s Christmas? – would go on to have. Now, 40 years later, it has raised charitable millions, become a Christmas staple through generations and has also resonated in popular culture, enjoying a resurgence after a star turn on BBC sitcom Gavin And Stacey, where the character Smithy sang it in his battered Volvo estate. “What was meant to be a six-month project, to see it coming up for 40 years is petrifying.
It’s beyond what anyone could have dreamt back then,” Ure reflects. The song has been recorded on three separate occasions, Band Aid (1984), Band Aid 20 (2004) and Band Aid 30 (2014) and to celebrate the upcoming milestone, a Band Aid 2024 Ultimate Mix has been created by producer Trevor Horn, who has blended the voices of separate generations into one song. “When Bob and I met up and talked about how we could generate some income, a record was the only way, it was the only thing we wer.
