Singer joins Ed Sheeran in criticising Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ song

Band Aid hit due for anniversary remix ‘dehumanises Africans’, British-Ghanaian Fuse ODG says. He wants artists to speak up about the song

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Ed Sheeran and Fuse ODG have both spoken out about the lyrics of Band Aid’s hit song “Do They Know It’s Christmas”. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:15pm, 21 Nov 2024

British-Ghanaian musician Fuse ODG has urged other artists to follow in the steps of Ed Sheeran and speak up about the 1984 hit “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, which he says perpetuates negative stereotypes of the African continent.

“Everyone’s journey is different … but it would be great that as an artist, you use your platform to effect change,” Fuse ODG, known for hits like “Antenna” and “Dangerous Love”, said in an interview. “I would urge other artists to take the step and speak up.”

The song, one of the most well-known festive tunes of all time, was originally recorded by the Band Aid supergroup of music stars, assembled by rockers Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in 1984 to raise money to fight famine in Ethiopia.

Two versions followed for its 20th and 30th anniversaries in 2004 and 2014, featuring other groups of artists, including Sheeran, One Direction and Rita Ora.

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However, critics say the song’s lyrics paint an unfairly bleak picture of Africa, describing a “world of dread and fear” where “nothing ever grows”.

Defending the song, Geldof has said the money raised “kept hundreds of thousands if not millions alive” and that hunger and water scarcity were real issues and not “colonial tropes”.