Bob Geldof calls 'Do They Know It's Christmas' an 'instrument of change' amid criticism

Musician and political activist Bob Geldof has heard the criticisms. That Band Aid allegedly perpetuates stereotypes. The “white savior” controversy. The pop stars who no longer want to be associated with his mission of raising funds to fight hunger in Africa.

Now, like he has with everyone who has doubted his ideas or intentions the past 40-plus years, he shrugs it off.

“I’m always up for a scrap,” he says with a wry grin. “I like to be intellectually challenged and engaged.”

Not only the frontman of Irish rockers the Boomtown Rats ("I Don't Like Mondays") and an indefatigable activist, Geldof, 73, is also the de facto commander and, with Ultravox’s Midge Ure, co-creator of Band Aid. The ragtag assembly of British and Irish musicians commissioned by the pair convened in 1984 to educate the masses about famine in Ethiopia and simultaneously created a touchpoint in pop culture.

Their little pop song that could, the anthemic “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” remains a holiday staple that has raised more than $178 million for the Band Aid Charitable Trust, which assists with poverty in Africa.

“This record is an instrument of change,” Geldof says in a video chat from the U.K. “In 40 years, sensibilities change. But those wouldn’t see the light of day if it wasn’t for this record. This record gives you agency, a way to change the world a little bit … Any contradictory opinion gives me political leverage. Now it’s not just a pop song, it’s in the cultural arena.”

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Bob Geldof reminisces about recording with Band Aid

A new anniversary edition of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” called “Band Aid – 2024 Ultimate Mix” arrived last week. The slightly restructured song combines vocals from the original lineup – Sting, George Michael, Simon Le Bon, Boy George – with artists who participated in a 2014 update, including Ed Sheeran (who recently rebuked the song as dehumanizing Africans and said he wished he hadn't sung on the song), Sam Smith, Harry Styles, Robbie Williams and Chris Martin. U2 maestro Bono is the only artist to appear on all three versions of the charity single.

“He’s a very clever man,” Geldof says of his longtime friend, who, as a teenager used to patronize Dublin bars to watch the Boomtown Rats perform. “He’s motivated by his faith and I’m motivated by my lack thereof.”

In the mid-2000s, Geldof utilized the history of Band Aid and the access to political leaders it spawned to help Bono co-found (with Bobby Shriver) the ONE campaign, an advocacy group that tackles poverty, inequality and disease prevention in Africa.

But while Geldof is perpetually looking forward and consistently seeking new ways to combat the ongoing famine crisis, he is also willing to reminisce for a few minutes about that dreary London morning in November 1984 when he feared the only artists who would show up to record would be his Boomtown Rats and Ure’s Ultravox.

“I said to Midge, ‘Who’s coming?’ And it was Duran Duran flying in from Germany, Spandau Ballet coming in from Japan. Sting was strolling down the street with a newspaper under his arm and said, ‘What’s going on?’ Boy George, I had to get him out of bed in New York and make him take the Concorde and he arrived at 6 a.m. Paul Young was there in a dirty T-shirt with spots on his face,” Geldof recalls. “These guys really made an effort, which is why journalism is critical in this age of post-truth, to show you the reality. I just wrote a tune and asked people I’ve known for 10 years to come along.”

Bob Geldof maintains his simple message: 'Feed the world'

A few months after Band Aid burst to the top of the U.K. singles chart – where it remained for five weeks – and climbed to No. 13 on Billboard’s Hot 100, the collective genius of Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones used its success as a blueprint to create USA for Africa and “We are the World.”

Since Geldof had experience with herding musicians for charity, he flew to Los Angeles the night of that legendary recording to give the assembly a pep talk.

“ ‘We are the World’ was the Mount Rushmore of 20^th century talent. This doofus from Ireland walks in and there’s Ray Charles and Willie Nelson, and we have Simon Le Bon,” Geldof says with a laugh. “Quincy had everything laid out, with everyone reading sheet music. Half of our lot couldn’t even read, never mind sheet music! But the difference is key. ‘We are the World’ was done with clear knowledge about what the (hell) this was all about.”

While “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” pops to the forefront of culture every holiday season, for Geldof, giving aid is a vocation.

“We will continue every day with Band Aid. It’s a daily thing for us,” he says. “Next year is 40 years since Live Aid (the massive live complement to Band Aid also spearheaded by Geldof) and we can use that to raise the world’s awareness again.”

Geldof’s ongoing message is simple: “Feed the world,” he says, echoing the refrain of his famed pop hymn. “It’s Christmas and in our culture, we’re more alert to the ‘other’ this time of year. We’re more keenly aware to the dude asleep on the street or the old woman down the road. Even if we pause momentarily to think of the other, that’s a profound human act. If this record in any way moves you, then please, endlessly stream it because we need endless streams to just make $10.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bob Geldof defends Band Aid, vows to continue to fight poverty