Now Ethiopias PM says Band Aid 40 could do more harm than good after Ed Sheeran and others criticised it for fuelling pity rather than partnership
Ethiopias prime minister has warned that a new version of Band Aids Do They Know Its Christmas? could do more harm than good - after Ed Sheeran and other critics laid into the charity single.
Ethiopias prime minister has warned that a new version of Band Aids Do They Know Its Christmas? could do more harm than good - after Ed Sheeran and other critics laid into the charity single.
Abiy Ahmed has intervened in the controversy over the 40th anniversary rerelease of the track which its co-writer Bob Geldof has been forced to defend.
The song, which first topped the charts in 1984, has been accused of fuelling pity rather than partnership while promoting harmful stereotypes about Africa.
Sheeran revealed last week his unhappiness about his vocals being used in a new rerecording which is being officially released this week.
He said he would have respectfully declined permission for re-use of his contribution to the 30th anniversary production from 2014 - while other critics have included Lily Allen and Damon Albarn.
And now his stance appears to have been backed by Mr Ahmed, who was elected as Ethiopias PM in 2018 and won the Nobel Peace Prize the following year.
It was the devastating famine in Ethiopia which inspired Geldof to launch Band Aid in 1984, writing Do They Know Its Christmas? alongside Ultravox frontman Midge Ure and then organising the fundraising Live Aid concerts staged in July 1985.
But the countrys leader has condemned the anniversary rerelease for focusing memories again on Ethiopias dark days when more than 1million people starved.
Ethiopias prime minister Abiy Ahmed has spoken out about his frustration atthe new Band Aid 40th anniversary rerelease of charity single Do They Know Its Christmas? this week
Bob Geldof, who co-wrote the song with Midge Ure, has been defending the charity initiative
Ed Sheeran (left), pictured with Ghanaian-British rapper Fuse ODG, has talked of his regrets on being part of the Band Aid 30 recording a decade ago
Mr Ahmed told the Times: It is frustrating to see our nations ancient history, culture, diversity and beauty reduced to doom and gloom.
He accepted that the original 1984 single was well meaning at the time but blamed it for perpetuating what he called reductionist and dehumanising narratives.
Mr Ahmed added: I would say that their humanitarian commitment is admirable and to be appreciated but a good cause that has not evolved with the times might end up doing more harm than good.
He called for Ethiopia to be celebrated instead as one of the worlds fastest-growing economies, a popular traveller destination for its ancient sites and home to Africas largest hydropower project.
He said: The song is not a great soundtrack for the investment we need. Famine does not define who we are as a nation or a continent.
Even England has experienced a period of famine in its history.
Sheeran revealed how his concerns about the song followed points made by his friend Fuse ODG, a London-born Ghanaian-English rapper.
Fuse ODG - real name Nana Richard Abiona - spoke out last week, as he released a response called We Know Its Christmas and urged the BBC not to promote the song.
Popstar Ed Sheeran (pictured right) has spoken out against a new rerelease of the single, having featured on a 2014 recording of the track co-written by Sir Bob Geldof (left) - they are pictured here arriving at the studio to work on the Band Aid 30 version in November 2014
Sheeran posted on Instagram on Sunday: My approval wasnt sought on this new Band Aid 40 release and had I had the choice I would have respectfully declined the use of my vocals
Do They Know Its Christmas? was co-written by Midge Ure (left) and Bob Geldof (right) - the pair are seen here at the recording of the Band Aid 30 version in London in November 2014
He told ITVs Good Morning Britain that treating the 1984 famine in Ethiopia - which originally inspired Band Aid - as an Africa-wide issue would be similar to labelling all of Europe war-stricken due to the conflict in Ukraine.
It comes after Sheeran revealed he would have respectfully declined permission for use of his vocals on the charity hit, while other critics have included Lily Allen and Damon Albarn.
Sheeran, 33, originally featured on the 2014 version of the track alongside the likes of Sting and Harry Styles which aimed to raise money for the Ebola relief efforts.
Yet before todays unveiling of the 2024 Ultimate Mix of the song, he told how he would have denied permission for his voice in the new version had he been asked.
Taking to his Instagram stories on Sunday last week, Sheeran posted: My approval wasnt 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, Im hoping its a forward-looking one. Love to all x.
Fuse ODG himself rejected an offer to take part in the 2014 version of Do They Know Its Christmas? on which Sheeran featured.
The rapper wrote on his Facebook page last week: Ten years ago today, I said NO to Bob Geldofs Band Aid - Do They Know Its Christmas project due to the fact its a campaign that dehumanises Africans and destroys our pride and identity in the name of charity.
Bob Geldof, pictured last Tuesday, has hit back at criticism of his Band Aid charity single
The original 1984 release involved co-writer Bob Geldof alongside the likes of Paul Weller, Robert Kool Bell, Phil Collins and Bono
Bob Geldof has defended and praised the Band Aid efforts - he is pictured here at the recording of the original single Do They Know Its Christmas? in 1984
He has decided to release another version, which demonstrates how much he still has not learned from the points I made clear to him on the negative impact of his project on Africa and its diaspora.
The white saviour complex is an incredibly dangerous thing which is now playing out on an individual and corporate level.
African problems should be solved by Africans. We welcome anyone genuinely trying to support the continent but it needs to be a spirit of collaboration not patronisation.
In 2024, there is no way wed stay quiet and allow other people to continue to tell our story.
He also told his Facebook followers: Tag @BBC to stop the release of their documentary celebrating Band Aid…
And Fuse ODG, 35, took his arguments on to the corporations airwaves this morning, telling BBC Breakfast he was worried about a dangerous identity crisis being imposed on Africa.
After footage of the original 1984 project was shown, he said: Its been touching seeing the efforts put into it initially, the British public and different celebrities coming together to support a good cause.
There was a crisis that needed to be attended to - Ive no problem with that and even just watching it back, Im getting emotional.
Fuse ODG, seen here performing at Kendal Calling Festival in July 2015, previously declined an offer to take part in the Band Aid 30 track recorded and released 10 years ago
London-born Ghanaian musician Fuse ODG has spoken out against the Band Aid charity single Do They Know Its Christmas?, accusing the song of dehumanising African people
Fuse ODG, seen performing at Indigo at the O2 in London in November 2015, has now released a new single in response to Do They Know Its Christmas?, called We Know Its Christmas
But in that act of kindness, in that process of trying to help a crisis, we created another identity crisis.
As a child whos now grown up in this era of images that Band Aid and initiatives like it have put up that Africas a place of famine, a place of poverty, disease-filled - it took away our collective sense of pride and identity.
In the middle of trying to solve a temporary crisis, weve caused another dangerous crisis which is an identity crisis for a whole continent.
Theres such an imbalance in the kind of images being shown. Yes, its great that were raising money to help a crisis, its fantastic, but we need to be very wary about how we execute it.
Its a crisis that happened in one place, but its being used to paint the whole continent.
Geldof last week hit back following a critical article about Do They Know Its Christmas? on the website The Conversation.
That piece said the lyrics of the original release did not paint a full picture of the famine in Ethiopia in the 1980s, adding: They recycled many of the old colonial tropes of Africa as a barren land requiring western salvation.
In this case the famine was primarily the result of mass migration and destitution caused by a war involving Ethiopia and Tigre and a near total disregard for human life by the combatants.
The song was originally created by Sir Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in a bid to raise funds for anti-famine efforts in Ethiopia, and went onto top the charts and raise millions
Harry Styles featured on Band Aids 2014 re-recording, alongside his One Direction bandmates
The 20th anniversary version recorded at Air Studios in Hampstead, north London, in November 2004 included acts such as Ms Dynamite, Natasha Bedingfield and Keane
The article condemned Band Aids influence, saying: Instances of so-called poverty porn have also become commonplace across the charity sector as organisations compete with each other for public attention.
This describes videos wherein the recipients of charity – against the backdrop of sad violin or piano music – are reduced to mere "victims" rather than full humans looking for agency.
Geldof responded by writing: Its a pop song ffs.
There IS endemic hunger due to the unforgiving soil conditions. Water IS scarce save for a scattering of unreliable wells. Rain IS increasingly unreliable.
These are not colonial tropes they are empirical facts... Climate change affects the poorest first and worst.
War exacerbates these conditions. Xmas IS celebrated throughout Ethiopia according to their own calendar i.e. two weeks after our holiday.
This little pop song has kept hundreds of thousands if not millions of people alive.
In fact just today Band Aid has given hundreds of thousands of pounds to help those running from the mass slaughter in Sudan and enough cash to feed a further 8,000 children in the same affected areas of Ethiopia as 1984.
Ed Sheeran has claimed he was not asked for permission from Band Aid 40 organisers to use his vocals on the a new version of the charity single Do They Know It’s Christmas?
Co-writers Midge Ure and Bob Geldof are seen at Air Studios in London in November 2004
Do They Know Its Christmas? has been recorded on three separate occasions - Band Aid (1984), Band Aid 20 (2004) and Band Aid 30 (2014).
The single originally released in 1984 topped the charts for five weeks and was that years Christmas number one.
It became the fastest selling single of all time in the UK, selling 1million copies in the first week alone and ultimately more than 3million overall.
It was followed by huge Live Aid star-studded concerts at Wembley Stadium in London and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadephia in July 1985.
