To commensurate the 30th Anniversary of the Band Aid charity single “Do They Know it’s Christmas Time?”, One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Jessie Ware, Robert Plant, Bono, Chris Martin, Sam Smith, Roger Taylor, Ellie Goulding, Seal, Underworld, Sinéad O’Connor, Bastille, Elbow, Rita Ora, Paloma Faith, Clean Bandit, Olly Murs, Jimmy Napes, Emile Sandé, Angélique Kidjo, and Fuse ODG lent their vocal talents to a remastered cover of the 1984 smash.
The original single, which raised $230 million for famine relief in Ethiopia over the last 30 years, has been modernized to bring attention and aid to West Africa’s current Ebola epidemic. According to Sir Bob Geldof, the project’s organizer, the 2014 rerelease raised over $1.56 million in just five minutes.
[Watch] Preview as featured on BBC News:
All proceeds from “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, available on iTunes & Google Play now, will go towards preventing the spread of the Ebola virus that has already claimed the lives of more than 5,000 individuals.
To donate or learn more, visit Band Aid 30 Official Website or follow the hashtag #BandAid30.
As for relief projects closer to the source, African musicians have also released charity singles to abolish Ebola. Among the most recognized is “Africa Stop Ebola”. This studio session is a beautiful yet explicitly honest recording that features the talents of Tiken Jah Fakoly, Amadou & Mariam, Oumou Sangare, Kandia Kora and more. The first verse explains human-to-human transmission of Ebola, which is followed by a message to seek help from a doctor if you are feeling sick.
“Africa is full of sadness/ To see our families die/ Do not touch the sick/ Do not touch the bodies/ Everyone is at risk/ Young and old/ We must act for our families/ Ebola, Ebola/ invisible enemy”
[Watch] Preview as featured on FRANCE 24:
Carlos Chirinos, the song’s co-author and African communications specialist, stated:
“We hope that the song will do two things. First, that it will rebuild people’s trust in the health services in their countries. There’s been a total lack of trust because of all the misinformation and a lot of cases of people going to churches and local healers to try to get Ebola medicine.”
Chirinos went on to explain that the second purpose was to spread hope and to emphasize to the community that this situation can be overcome if the correct precautions are met.
All proceeds from “Africa Stop Ebola”, also available on iTunes now, will be donated to Doctor’s Without Borders.
