Band Aid 40 listeners brand revamped charity single a ‘hot mess’ and claim track is ‘absolutely ruined’ – as creator Bob Geldof breaks down in tears over the ‘work of art’ song

Listeners who listened to the updated Band Aid 40 charity single called it a ‘hot mess’ and claimed the song was ‘absolutely ruined’.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the iconic charity song, there’s a brand new version: Do They Know It’s Christmas? 2024 Ultimate Mix – alongside a special video – was released on Monday.

Do they know it’s Christmas? was recorded on three separate occasions, Band Aid (1984), Band Aid 20 (2004) and Band Aid 30 (2014), featuring snapshots of some of music’s biggest stars, and how they have changed over the decades.

To mark the occasion, producer Trevor Horn created the three recordings and, through extraordinary music production techniques, merged all the voices of those separate generations into one seamless song.

However, the latest offering did not go down well with listeners who heard the first glimpse of the song on BBC Radio 2, with many heading to X to cover the song.

Meanwhile, the song’s creator Bob Geldof broke down in tears as he joined host Zoe Ball on her morning show to listen to the song, calling it a “work of art.”.

Listeners who listened to the updated Band Aid 40 charity single called it a ‘hot mess’ and claimed the song was ‘absolutely ruined’.