Bob Geldof and his band of celebrity do-gooders, have come under fire for the new charity single, a remake of 1984 single Do They Know It’s Christmas, made to help raise money to combat Ebola.
The song, released on Monday, has already sold over 250,000 copies and features musicians such as One Direction, Bono, and Ed Sheeran.
Other artists, however, refused to partake in the single because of the way in which the lyrics and the video portrayed Africa.
MOBO award winning Afrobeats musician Fuse ODG, who was approached by Geldof to partake in the single, was initially exited to join the project, however upon receiving the lyrics to the song which had lines such as, “Where a kiss of love can kill you and there’s death in every tear”, and “There is no peace and joy in west Africa this Christmas”, Fuse became concerned.
“I was sceptical because of the lyrics and the videos of the previous charity singles, and I worried that this would play into the constant negative portrayal of the continent of Africa in the west. Geldof and I spoke at length about this and he agreed with me on many levels, assuring me that we could use it as an opportunity to showcase the positives of Africa,” he wrote in article for the Guardian.
“However, on receiving the proposed lyrics on Thursday – two days before the recording was due to take place in London – I was shocked and appalled by their content. The message of the Band Aid 30 song absolutely did not reflect what Africa is truly about and I started to question whether this was something I wanted to be a part of.”
Other Africans were also angered by the song’s portrayal of the continent, on which only 3 nations are severely affected by the virus. In addition the video for the song shows an image of someone carrying the dead body of a family member, which, rather than inducing compassion seems to rob them, and Africans in general, of their dignity. While the single is, of course, supposed to be well meaning, it instead ends up being demeaning, evoking a feeling of helplessness rather than hope.
Geldof himself, who is thought to have some kind of obsession with ‘saving’ Africa, has refused to acknowledge any criticism of the song. In an interview with Sky News Geldof was read a quote written by journalist Ian Burell who said of the single “this trite song will raise a comparative pittance, ignores Africans, and has a logo implying the virus struck the entire continent, patronising and perpetuating myths again. Band Aid should have learned its lessons and stayed silent.”
Geldoff responded for the second time during that interview “that’s b*******”.
