And, of course, today is the day that Band Aid 20's 'Do They Know It's Christmas' hits the record shops, with demand expected to be very high. As retailers stacked the shelves high this weekend Travis' Fran Healy hit out at those nasty critics who have been slagging off the new version of the track, claiming journalists are unfairly comparing the new track with the nostalgic memories they have of the impact of the original Band Aid.
Healy: "When the record came out and went to radio, there was absolute fury it seemed - bile sprayed forth about how awful it is and how terrible it is and blah blah blah... The song was played so many times on the radio, and I bet you every single person who's commented negatively on the record hadn't been listening to the original. They were comparing it to a memory, to all their memories, not just of that song, but of their childhood and their whole history and if you're re-recording a song and basically saying to people 'times have changed, we've moved on', that is hard to take. This is disgraceful. The clear message is that it's not about the song - it never was in the beginning about the song - but it is what makes the song special and unlike any other."
Well said Fran - though, speaking as someone who listened to the original track just yesterday, the new version is a bit shit by comparison. But that's never stopped the masses from buying records before (Girls Aloud is still number one for example), so get out there and buy a copy.
Elsewhere in Band Aid news, and Fran also confirmed he will be going out to Darfur, the region funds from the new record will help: "Someone needs to go out to give the song a little bit of background, to say 'This is why the song is coming out. It's not all about nostalgia. It's not a big nostalgia trip to remember our childhoods in the '80s'. The thing is, out there the folk are so traumatised by war, I don't know what to expect. I hope goodwill and kindness will manage to cut through that horror."