Bob Geldof has “put a call in” to Ed Sheeran over Band Aid single controversy: “They’ll work it out”

nme.com:

Bob Geldof has apparently “put a call in” to Ed Sheeran over the Band Aid single controversy, with confidence that “they’ll work it out”.Last week, it was revealed that a ‘2024 Ultimate Mix’ version of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ would be arriving later this month in celebration of the original’s 40th anniversary.The new mix of the song, produced by Trevor Horn, brings together all of the voices from three versions of the track, recorded in 1984, 2004 and 2014.However, in an update shared yesterday, Sheeran spoke out about his feature on the track, and said that if he had been asked for permission to use his vocals, he would have declined.

The pop star sang alongside One Direction, Sam Smith, Coldplay and more in the 2014 edition of the charity Christmas single.Now, a source close to Band Aid has told NME: “Bob’s put a call in to Ed.

He thinks he’s a great bloke and a major talent. They’ll work it out.”Representatives for Band Aid have yet to respond as to the overall outcome of Sheeran’s vocal on the track, and if all other artists involved were approached for permission to be featured on the new version.Sheeran explained his stance earlier this week: “A decade on and my understanding of the narrative associated with this has changed, eloquently explained by @fuseodg,” he wrote in an Instagram Story. “This is just my personal stance, I’m hoping it’s a forward-looking one.

Love to all x.”In the update, Sheeran also shared a screenshot of a post made by Fuse ODG – who he mentioned in his statement – who explained why he turned down the offer to contribute to the 2014 version.