Bob Geldof had a group of U.K. music superstars get together for a new recording of the Band Aid anthem “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” recently to help raise money for the fight against Ebola. He claims that it has worked so far, making £1 million in the minutes after it debuted during the U.K. version of The X Factor.
While speaking with the BBC’s Radio 4 after the single’s video premiered, Geldof said that the track went “bonkers” on iTunes. “Within four or five minutes we had a million quid,” he said.
Ed Sheeran, Rita Ora, Ellie Goulding, Sam Smith, One Direction, Emeli Sande and Bono are Just a few of the artists who participated in the new recording.
“We really can stop this... foul little plague,” Geldof said of Ebola, which has killed thousands in West Africa. He said that 100 percent of the proceeds from the single will go to the relief effort.
Up next is a German version. Geldof also said he asked Carla Bruni to translate the song into French for a French recording, notes The Guardian. An American version will also be recorded, but it’s not known who will participate.
Some music fans were wondering where Adele was, since it was widely expected that she would take part in the U.K. version. However, Geldof has said that he never contacted her directly, so it wasn’t a snub.
“I didn’t call Adele at all because I don’t have her number,” Geldof told Sky News. “There is no snub. I am only aware of this this morning, it’s nonsense. Complete nonsense.”
image courtesy of INFphoto.com