Bob Geldof responds to Ed Sheeran’s Band Aid comments: “This little pop song has kept millions of people alive”

Sheeran said he would not have given permission for his vocals to be included on a new 'Ultimate Mix' of the charity single if he had been asked

Bob Geldof has responded to Ed Sheeran’s recent comments about Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’, asserting that it has “kept millions of people alive”.

The former Boomtown Rats frontman conceived of the original 1984 charity single alongside Ultravox’s Midge Ure, seeking to raise money for the Ethiopian famine. The track has been remade numerous times since, with a 40th anniversary ‘Ultimate Mix’ being overseen this month by producer Trevor Horn.

Sheeran lent his vocals to the 2014 incarnation of the song, but earlier this week he revealed that despite being included in the new version, he had not been asked for his permission, and if he had been, he would have respectfully declined.

“A decade on and my understanding of the narrative associated with this has changed, eloquently explained by @fuseodg,” Sheeran wrote in an Instagram Story on Tuesday (November 19). “This is just my personal stance, I’m hoping it’s a forward-looking one. Love to all x.”

Now, Geldof has had his say on Sheeran’s stance on the song, strongly defending its legacy.

“This little pop song has kept millions of people alive,” he told the Sunday Times. “Why would Band Aid scrap feeding thousands of children dependent on us for a meal? Why not keep doing that? Because of an abstract wealthy-world argument, regardless of its legitimacy?”

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“No abstract theory regardless of how sincerely held should impede or distract from that hideous, concrete real-world reality,” he added. “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.”

A source close to Band Aid told NME earlier this week that Geldof had reached out personally to Sheeran on the matter. “Bob’s put a call in to Ed,” they said. “He thinks he’s a great bloke and a major talent. They’ll work it out.”

Sheeran referenced Ghanaian-English artist Fuse ODG’s stance on ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’, the 2014 version of which he declined to be a part of.

In his reasoning, Fuse explained how the efforts to raise money for Africa also led to “perpetuat[ing] damaging stereotypes” on the continent. “I refused to participate in Band Aid because I recognised the harm initiatives like it inflict on Africa,” he said.

“While they may generate sympathy and donations, they perpetuate damaging stereotypes that stifle Africa’s economic growth, tourism, and investment, ultimately costing the continent trillions and destroying its dignity, pride and identity.”

The original Band Aid single was recorded on one day in November 1984 and became the fastest-selling single in UK chart history, until Elton John’s ‘Candle In The Wind 1997’. Its success led to the ‘We Are The World’ single by USA For Africa the following year, and inspired Live Aid and Comic Relief.