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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
Ben Beaumont-Thomas

Band Aid 40 fails to reach UK Top 40 in opening week

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The original Band Aid lineup in 1984.
The original Band Aid lineup in 1984. Photograph: Brian Aris

The 40th anniversary version of Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? has failed to enter this week’s Top 40, reaching No 45.

The new version of the song was made up of performances spliced together from three previous versions, in an arrangement by producer Trevor Horn. But despite featuring the unusual A-list juxtaposition of George Michael, Sinead O’Connor, Chris Martin, One Direction and more, the new version has not yet matched the success of its predecessors, which each went straight to No 1 in 1984, 2004 and 2014.

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