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Band Aid 20 was the 2004 incarnation of the charity group Band Aid. The group, which included Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Bono of U2, and Paul McCartney, re-recorded the 1984 song "Do They Know It's Christmas?", written by Band Aid organizers Bob Geldof and Midge Ure.

Recording [link]

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The song was recorded on 14 November 2004, to benefit Sudan's troubled Darfur region, and was released that same month. The single became the UK's biggest seller of 2004 as well as the Christmas Number 1.^[1]

Bono, Paul McCartney and George Michael were the only artists from the original Band Aid who had been asked back to lend their voices to Band Aid 20. There was a reported dispute over the line 'Tonight thank God it's them, instead of you', which Bono sang on the original version. Justin Hawkins, of The Darkness, laid down a version of the line, but Bono insisted on re-recording his version, which was eventually used on the record.

A special documentary titled Band Aid 20: Justice, Not Charity which went behind-the-scenes of the new recording was broadcast by BBC One on 6 December 2004.

Release [link]

The Band Aid 20 single was actually doubled when it was first played simultaneously on The Chris Moyles Show (on BBC Radio 1) and the breakfast shows on Virgin and Capital radio, at 8am on 16 November 2004. The video was first broadcast in the UK simultaneously over multiple channels, including the five UK terrestrial channels, at 5.55pm on 18 November 2004, with an introduction by Madonna.

One of the new ways to buy the song, by downloading it from the internet, hit a problem when Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store initially refused to supply it, due to their fixed-pricing policy. A partial solution was reached after a few days, enabling UK users to download the song at the standard iTunes price, with Apple donating an extra amount (equivalent to the price difference) to the Band Aid Trust.

The single sold 72,000 copies in the first 24 hours when it was released on 29 November 2004, and went straight in at No. 1 in the UK charts on 5 December 2004. The CD version sold over 200,000 copies in the first week, and became the fastest-selling single of the year. It stayed at No. 1 for Christmas and the week after, all in all holding onto the top spot for four weeks, just one week shorter than the original had done in 1984.

Critical reception [link]

Band Aid 20's efforts met with mixed criticism. The BBC said the new generation of singers, who differed greatly from those that appeared on the 1984 original, endeavored to fit their talents into a 20 year old template resulting in an "anonymous" record.^[2] The Guardian said the appearance of female singers was successful.^[3]

Artwork [link]

British artist Damien Hirst designed an intimidating cover for the Band Aid 20 single, featuring the grim reaper and a starving African child. However, this was later dropped after fears that it might scare children. The single was released on 29 November 2004, with all money raised going toward famine relief in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Participants [link]

Organisers and producers:

• Midge Ure – organizer
• Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Travis) and Bob Geldof – producers.
• Damon Albarn (Blur; Gorillaz)

Instruments:

• Ed Graham (The Darkness) – (drums)
• Thom Yorke – (piano) and Jonny Greenwood – (guitar) – (Radiohead)
• Sir Paul McCartney – bass guitar
• Justin Hawkins (The Darkness) – guitar
• Danny Goffey (Supergrass) – guitar

Vocals:

• Bono (U2)
• Daniel Bedingfield
• Natasha Bedingfield
• Vishal Das
• Busted
• Chris Martin (Coldplay)
• Dido – performed separately from a studio in Melbourne
• Dizzee Rascal – the only artist to add lyrics to the song
• Ms Dynamite
• Skye Edwards (Morcheeba)
• Estelle
• Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy)
• Justin Hawkins (The Darkness)
• Jamelia
• Tom Chaplin (Keane)
• Tim Rice-Oxley (Keane)
• Beverley Knight
• Lemar
• Shaznay Lewis (formerly of All Saints)
• Katie Melua
• Róisín Murphy (Moloko)
• Feeder
• Snow Patrol
• Rachel Stevens
• Joss Stone
• Sugababes
• The Thrills
• Turin Brakes
• Robbie Williams – performed separately from a studio in Los Angeles
• Will Young
• Francis Healy (Travis)

Who sings what on each version [link]

References [link]

1. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
2. ^ Chamberlain, Darryl (2004-11-18). "Band Aid 20's low-key style" (in English). BBC News. https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/4015337.stm. Retrieved 2010-02-11. 
3. ^ Davies, Laura Lee (2004-11-21). "20 years on, and girl power drives Bob's Band Aid line-up" (in English). The Guardian. https://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2004/nov/21/popandrock2. Retrieved 2010-02-11.