Band Aid star defends song as megamix is releasedBand Aid/PA Media It is 40 years today since the first recording of Band Aid took place in LondonThe 40th anniversary remake of Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas? The original song was inspired by Michael Buerk's reporting on the Ethiopian famine in 1984Liam Payne's vocals remainThe original mix of Do They Know It's Christmas? raised £8m for famine relief in 12 months, while the Band Aid Charitable Trust has raised almost £150m to date. Band Aid recordings combined to mark 40th birthday'We knew Christmas before you' - the Band Aid falloutSheeran wishes he wasn't on the new Band Aid song It also includes a sample of Michael Buerk's harrowing 1984 BBC News report from Korem in Ethiopia, which inspired Sir Bob Geldof to create the song. Band Aid Band Aid 30 also saw contributions from Paloma Faith, Clean Bandit, Bastille, Sinead O'Connor, One Direction, Angelique Kidjo, Ellie Goulding, Olly Murs and Jessie Ware