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And Finally Artist News Releases
LadBaby rework Do They Know It’s Christmas for fifth festive number one attempt
By Andy Malt | Published on Monday 12 December 2022
When LadBaby – aka Mark and Roxanne Hoyle – teamed up with Ed Sheeran and Elton John last year, I think it’s safe to say that a lot of people assumed that was the end of their run of Christmas number one singles. I mean, how do you top that? Well, they’re back, and this time they’re teaming up with financial expert Martin Lewis. So, er… yeah.
Oh, alright, they’re doing a bit more than just collaborating with everyone’s favourite money saving expert. They’re actually going to release a reworked version of Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ with an all-star cast of singers performing under the name Food Aid.
We don’t yet know who will be joining LadBaby on the track, but we do know that they collaborated with songwriter Amy Wadge – best known for her work with Ed Sheeran – on the new lyrics.
The new version also has the blessing of the song’s original writers, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure. The proceeds from the release will be split 50/50 between food bank charity The Trussell Trust and the charity set up off the back of the original Band Aid release, the Band Aid Trust.
“We never intended to release a fifth Christmas single”, say the Hoyles, “but as ambassadors of the Trussell Trust we were not prepared to sit back and do nothing in a year when people are struggling more than ever”.
“The Trussell Trust, which supports more than 1300 food bank centres, has told us that the cost of living emergency has created a ‘tsunami of need’, as people struggle to survive amidst the soaring costs of living”, they go on. “With need outstripping donations for the first time in its history, we need to help ensure that food banks keep going this winter. Working households, families and disabled people are all really struggling”.
“So, a few months ago we approached Bob Geldof and Midge Ure and the Band Aid Trust to ask permission to rework the most iconic Christmas track of all time ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’” they explain. ”And we were truly honoured when they said yes! So today we are announcing Food Aid to raise as much money as we possibly can for the Trussell Trust and the Band Aid Trust”.
As for how Lewis came to be involved, they add: “We knew we needed to enlist an icon to launch this year’s campaign, and we’re so excited to announce that the people’s champion, and fellow supporter of the Trussell Trust, Martin Lewis is joining us on this year’s track”.
“An exciting variety of yet to be announced musical collaborators will also be announced in due course”, they go on. “We have to do whatever it takes to build a future where all of us can afford to go to sleep with a full stomach. We hope everyone can support us as much as they can!”
Lewis also comments: “When Mark and Roxanne contacted me out of the blue to ask if I’d join them in Food Aid I thought they’d confused me with someone else. The nearest I’ve ever got to thinking about a Christmas number one is going to the loo on Boxing Day after too much orange juice the day before. Yet once I knew they were serious, and it was for the Trussell Trust, a hugely important charity I’ve a history with, I decided to give it a go and do it with gusto”.
Are we just going to ignore the joke he included there and carry on without mentioning it? Yes, I think that’s for the best. He continues: “This has been a tough year for many, prices have rocketed. Advice charities and food banks are swamped”.
“Deficit budgeting is becoming more common – meaning even after everything has been cut to the bone – people still have less income than expenditure”, he adds. “It’s going to be a tough winter, and things aren’t likely to ease much in 2023. So the need to help and support people struggling across the UK is profound. Hopefully this LadBaby song and their lyrics will raise some cash and awareness”.
The new version of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ is set for release on 16 Dec – when the Christmas number one chart race will begin. It’s not clear if the cast of vocalists on the track will be revealed before then or not. I’m going to call one thing now though – Mark Hoyle will take the Bono line and it will have been changed to have something to do with sausage rolls.
