British Acts Gather To Re-record ‘Do They Know Its Christmas’ [VIDEO]

Sir Bob Geldoff and his friends are back and they are again trying to save the world through music.

In 1984 Bob Geldoff of the Boomtown Rats and Midge Ure of Thin Lizzy and Ultravox were inspired by a BBC news report detailing the plight of the people of Ethiopia and the devastating drought and famine they were enduring. The pair quickly wrote "Do They Know It's Christmas?", pulling together an all-world, all-star choir to record the benefit song on November 25, 1984 at Sarm West Studios in Nottingham, England.

The performers gathered included Michael Jackson, Sting, Willie Nelson, Stevie Wonder, George Michael, and members of U2, Kool & the Gang, Culture Club, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Style Council and for some unknown reason, Dan Ackroyd. The song was released within days, selling more than 1 million copies in its first week alone, eventually selling over 11.8 million copies of the single worldwide, with all of the proceeds going toward famine relief.

The song was re-recorded in 1989 by Band Aid II and in 2004 by Band Aid 20, again raising funds for famine relief. The 2004 version of the song sold 1.17 million copies.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original project, and to raise awareness of the Ebola crisis in West Africa, Geldoff has once again gathered an all-star choir to re-record "Do They Know It's Christmas." This time afeaturing some of the biggest-selling British pop acts, including One Direction, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sandé and Ellie Goulding. The bands Bastille and Elbow are also on board, along with Chris Martin and Bono, who made his third trip into the studio to record the song.

All the proceeds of the project are being donated to battle what Geldof described as a "particularly pernicious illness because it renders humans untouchable and that is sickening".