Charlotte Foster
Music

Sir Bob Geldof reveals new version of iconic Christmas song

Sir Bob Geldof has shared the details of the 2024 reprise of the iconic song Do They Know It's Christmas?, revealing why the new version of the song will be the last. 

Do They Know It's Christmas? was first released in 1984, and was sparked by Bob Geldof being disturbed by a news report on the famine in Ethiopia. 

He enlisted big names such as Bono, Boy George, Sting and George Michael to join in on the song to raise awareness and money for the famine.

"I was sickened by it. I mean, that is really it," Geldof told A Current Affair.

"I sat down and turned on the TV, and here was this devastating thing that put, you know, my pathetic, puny personal problems in a horrifying perspective."

Since then, three more versions of the charity song have been made, in 2004, 2014 and now, in 2024 to mark the 40th anniversary of the original track. 

Instead of recruiting new artists, this time Bob Geldof has remixed famous renditions from previous versions to combine the greatest voices of our time.

Despite each iteration of the song having its own unique charm and voice, Geldof says it will be the last hurrah for the iconic Christmas tune.

"I personally think, it's the definitive one and there will be no more," Geldof said.

"The world has never been more fragile in my life, and I'm old, and I don't think people can take on board any more horror. They cannot absorb any more, but it's happening."

Image credits: A Current Affair 

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music, Bob Geldof, Do They Know Its Christmas, reprise