Spandau Ballet’s Tony Hadley and the song’s producer, Trevor Horn, defended the intentions behind the charity single

In 1984, the Boomtown Rats’ Bob Geldof and Ultravox’s Midge Ure wrote a catchy, well-intentioned, deeply problematic Christmas song about the need to help other people during the holiday season. A massive group of primarily young British stars — including Bono,

Singer-songwriter Bob Geldof defended the Band Aid song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" after singer Ed Sheeran distanced himself from the track's re-release. Geldof said that the song "allows us to have a cultural dialogue" about aid in Africa,

"Over the course of 40 years, hundreds of thousands of people — probably millions — are alive because of a little pop song," Geldof said on CNN

Bob Geldof has said he will chat to Ed Sheeran following his criticism of the charity Band Aid single Do They Know It’s Christmas?. To mark the song’s 40th anniversary, a remix has been created which blends the voices of artists who have featured on previous editions including Harry Styles,

Bob Geldof has defended the Band Aid 40 charity single release following backlash from several artists. Singer Ed Sheeran said he had changed his stance on charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?