Mike Stock hits back at Bob Geldof for leaving out ‘Band Aid 2’ from new ‘Ultimate Mix’ of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’

nme.com:

new mix of the charity Christmas song ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ is produced by Trevor Horn and celebrates the 40th anniversary of the original 1984 version.

In the 2024 edition, all of the voices from three versions of the track –recorded in 1984, 2004 and 2014 – are intertwined.Some huge names are featured on the new version, Sting, Boy George, Sam Smith, Harry Styles, Chris Martin, Seal, Sinéad O’Connor, Rita Ora, Robbie Williams, Kool and the Gang, Underworld and more.

It also includes contributions from musicians who are no longer with us, including David Bowie and George Michael – who starred in the 1984 version – and Liam Payne, who was in the 2014 edition.Since its release, however, Mike Stock has taken to X/Twitter to criticise Bob Geldof for leaving out ‘Band Aid 2’ when creating the 2024 edition.Released in 1989, the second version of the track was created by Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman, and included vocals from Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Cliff Richards, Wet Wet Wet, Bros, Bananarama and more.

It went on to top the charts for three weeks and became the ninth best-selling song of that year.Explaining why he didn’t include ‘Band Aid 2’ in the ‘Ultimate Mix’ version, Bob Geldof said on Radio X: “We asked Pete Waterman where the tapes [for Band Aid II] were and he went ‘I don’t know’. [Then] Stock – what’s Stock’s actual name?