Why is Band Aid considered controversial?

Charity supergroup Band Aid introduced one of the most famous Christmas songs ever to hit the charts in 1984, raising millions in the process.

Since Do They Know It's Christmas? made its debut 40 years ago, the Band Aid concept has been wheeled back out again at regular intervals to try to recreate some of its fundraising magic.

In November 2024, a 40th anniversary version was released, starring the likes of Bono, Ed Sheeran, Harry Styles and Robbie Williams in a mash-up of previous recordings. However, it hit headlines for the wrong reasons when Sheeran said that he would not want to have been featured again if he had been asked, as his views had changed on the fundraiser.

Band Aid's controversies as Ed Sheeran speaks out

Band Aid 40 uses the track's previous recordings in a newly-packaged version, but Ed Sheeran said after the 2024 single announcement that he would not have wanted to be included again if he had been asked.

He explained in an Instagram story: "My approval wasn't sought on this new Band Aid 40 release and had I had the choice I would have respectfully declined the use of my vocals.

"A decade on and my understanding of the narrative associated with this has changed, eloquently explained by @fuseodg. This is just my personal stance, I'm hoping it's a forward-looking one. Love to all x."

Responding to the comments in an interview with The Sunday Times, Band Aid mastermind Bob Geldof said: "This little pop song has kept millions of people alive. Why would Band Aid scrap feeding thousands of children dependent on us for a meal?”

He added: "Why not keep doing that? Because of an abstract wealthy-world argument, regardless of its legitimacy? No abstract theory regardless of how sincerely held should impede or distract from that hideous, concrete real-world reality. There are 600 million hungry people in the world – 300 million are in Africa. We wish it were other but it is not.

"We can help some of them. That’s what we will continue to do."

Sheeran referenced Ghanaian-English musician Fuse ODG, who he had previously collaborated with. Fuse ODG had posted to say that he had turned down Band Aid 30 as he felt those sorts of fundraisers "perpetuate damaging stereotypes" about Africa. He added: "By showcasing dehumanising imagery, these initiatives fuel pity rather than partnership, discouraging meaningful engagement.

"My mission has been to reclaim the narrative, empowering Africans to tell their own stories, redefine their identity, and position Africa as a thriving hub for investment and tourism.

"Today, the diaspora drives the largest flow of funds back into the continent, not Band Aid or foreign aid proving that Africa's solutions and progress lies in its own hands."

Explaining more about the issues with Band Aid on the day of the 40th anniversary single's release, Fuse ODG spoke to BBC Breakfast about how he felt the whole continent's identity had been affected by images from the fundraiser.

He said: "In that act of kindness, in the process of trying to help a crisis we created another identity crisis. As a child who's now grown up in that era of images that Band Aid and initiatives like it have put up - Africa's a place of famine, place of poverty, disease filled - it took away our collective sense of pride and identity."

Fuse ODG also pointed out issues with the song's lyrics for the previous version in 2014, which he turned down taking part in.

He said: "There's a lyric that says, 'No peace and joy in West Africa this Christmas' but there's going to be peace and joy in West Africa. Ebola is only in three countries: Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia."

Fuse ODG and Sheeran aren't the only musicians to have criticised Band Aid. Morrissey previously called it "diabolical" and told Time Out after its first incarnation: "The whole implication was to save these people in Ethiopia, but who were they asking to save them? Some 13-year-old girl in Wigan!

"People like Thatcher and the royals could solve the Ethiopian problem within ten seconds. But Band Aid shied away from saying that — for heaven's sake, it was almost directly aimed at unemployed people."

Other lyrics that have frequently come in for criticism include "do they know it's Christmas time at all", particularly as large numbers of the population in the countries targeted for fundraising are Christian, while others are Muslim so would not be celebrating Christmas anyway.

Bono, who sang the lyric "Well, tonight thank God it’s them instead of you" on two versions of the song has reportedly said that he "hated" singing it.

Writers have also criticised the song — in 2014, Bim Adewunmi wrote in The Guardian that it felt "patronising and uncomfortable", while in 2022 Ije Teunissen-Oligboh wrote for The Independent: "The discomfort I felt as a child watching the single’s music video alongside my predominantly white friends in school assemblies was unnecessary and avoidable."

Band Aid (1984)

The original and best version brought together a cast of music superstars headed up by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, with the aim of raising money towards helping starving children in Ethiopia.

Geldof's only criteria for choosing artists to take part was how famous they were, so as to maximise the attention the track got — and his line-up reads like a who's who of 80s music.

Do They Know It's Christmas? was a huge success, going straight to number one and becoming the fastest and biggest selling single ever in the UK at the time. Its music video won a Grammy and it spawned the 1985 fundraising concert Live Aid.

Most importantly, it achieved its aim of raising lots of money for charity totalling more than $24m (£18,850,560) and $150m (£117,816,000) combined with Live Aid.

The 1984 Band Aiders were:

• The Boomtown Rats (Bob Geldof, Pete Briquette, Simon Crowe, Johnny Fingers)

• Ultravox (Midge Ure, Chris Cross)

• U2 (Bono, Adam Clayton)

• Culture Club (Boy George, Jon Moss)

• Kool & the Gang (Robert "Kool" Bell, James "J.T." Taylor, Dennis Thomas)

• Bananarama (Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, Keren Woodward)

• Heaven 17 (Glenn Gregory, Martyn Ware)

• Spandau Ballet (Tony Hadley, Martin Kemp, Gary Kemp, John Keeble, Steve Norman)

• Duran Duran (Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, Andy Taylor, John Taylor, Roger Taylor)

• Status Quo (Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt)

• Phil Collins

• Marilyn

• George Michael

• Sting

• Jody Watley

• Paul Weller

• Paul Young

Band Aid II (1989)

Just five years later, the song resurfaced again, this time with a new musical cast put together by Stock Aitken Waterman.

Bananarama's Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward were the only original stars to return, but Geldof was still attached as he had asked Pete Waterman to make the updated version and was in the studio to watch the recording.

Although the second time around still reached number one, it had more muted success as the year's ninth bestselling song.

The 1989 Band Aiders were:

• Bananarama

• Big Fun

• Bros

• Cathy Dennis

• D Mob

• Jason Donovan

• Kevin Godley

• Glen Goldsmith

• Kylie Minogue

• The Pasadenas

• Chris Rea

• Cliff Richard

• Jimmy Somerville

• Sonia

• Lisa Stansfield

• Technotronic

• Wet Wet Wet

Band Aid 20 (2004)

Band Aid took a break until the Noughties, when it revived the fundraiser for the 20th anniversary.

Geldof and Ure were again behind the revival, which saw the return of Bono who was joined by a huge line-up of stars keen to get in on its success.

Do They Know It's Christmas? reached number one for a third time and while it didn't quite live up to the original's charts takeover, it was the bestselling single of 2004.

The 2004 Band Aiders were:

• Bono

• Chris Martin

• Snow Patrol (Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Mark McClelland, Jonny Quinn

• Ash (Tim Wheeler)

• Busted (Charlie Simpson, Matt Willis, James Bourne)

• Sugababes (Keisha Buchanan, Mutya Buena, Heidi Range)

• The Thrills (Ben Carrigan, Conor Deasy, Kevin Horan, Padraic McMahon, Daniel Ryan)

• Keane (Tom Chaplin, Tim Rice-Oxley

• Morcheeba (Skye Edwards)

• The Divine Comedy (Neil Hannon)

• The Darkness (Justin Hawkins, Dan Hawkins)

• Feeder (Grant Nicholas, Taka Hirose, Mark Richardson

• Turin Brakes (Olly Knights, Gale Paridjanan

• Sparks (Russell Mael)

• Daniel Bedingfield

• Natasha Bedingfield

• Dido

• Dizzee Rascal

• Ms Dynamite

• Estelle

• Fran Healy

• Jamelia

• Beverley Knight

• Lemar

• Shaznay Lewis

• Katie Melua

• Róisín Murphy

• Rachel Stevens

• Joss Stone

• Robbie Williams

• Will Young

Band Aid 30 (2014)

Geldof and Ure decided to send funds from the 30th anniversary release to help victims of the Ebola outbreak.

Despite signing up another starry cast, this time Do They Know It's Christmas? spent just one week at number one before dropping down the charts.

There was also a German musicians release put together by Geldof's friend Campino.

The 2014 Band Aiders were:

• Bono

• Clean Bandit

• Paloma Faith

• Guy Garvey

• Ellie Goulding

• One Direction (Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik)

• Angélique Kidjo

• Chris Martin

• Olly Murs

• Sinead O'Connor

• Rita Ora

• Emeli Sandé

• Seal

• Alfie Deyes

• Joe Sugg

• Zoella

• Ed Sheeran

• Dan Smith (Bastille)

• Sam Smith

• Underworld

• Jessie Ware

Band Aid 40 (2024)

It's been 10 years since the last revival of Band Aid, so of course the fundraiser is returning for a 40th anniversary release that will battle it out for Christmas number one.

This time, there's a twist on the track as it merges all of the previous recordings — which explains posthumous performances from the likes of David Bowie, George Michael and Sinead O'Connor.

Band Aid's latest version will was released on Monday, 25 November.

The 2024 Band Aiders are:

Vocalists:

• Bono

• David Bowie

• Guy Garvey

• Boy George

• Chris Martin

• George Michael

• Kool & The Gang

• Sinead O'Connor

• Rita Ora

• Ed Sheeran

• Sam Smith

• Seal

• Sting

• Harry Styles

• Sugababes

• Underworld

• Robbie Williams

Musicians:

• Damon Albarn

• Phil Collins

• Danny Goffey

• Jonny Greenwood

• Justin Hawkins

• Gary Kemp

• Paul McCartney

• John Taylor

• Roger Taylor

• Midge Ure

• Paul Weller

• Thom Yorke