Band Aid 30
Uk supergroup
Band Aid 30 is the 2014 incarnation of the charity supergroup Band Aid. The group was announced on 10 November 2014 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, with Geldof stating that he took the step after the United Nations had contacted him, saying help was urgently needed to prevent the 2014 Ebola crisis in Western Africa spreading throughout the world. As in previous incarnations, the group covered the track "Do They Know It's Christmas?", written in 1984 by Geldof and Ure, this time to raise money towards the Ebola crisis in Western Africa. The track re-tweaked lyrics to reflect the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa, and all proceeds went towards battling what Geldof described as a "particularly pernicious illness because it renders humans untouchable and that is sickening".
The song was recorded by some of the biggest-selling current British and Irish pop acts, including One Direction, Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sandé, Ellie Goulding and Rita Ora. Bastille and Guy Garvey of Mercury prize-winning band Elbow were also on board, along with Chris Martin (Coldplay) and Bono (U2)—the third time he has contributed to a Band Aid recording.
For the first time, different language versions were recorded, a French one titled "Noël est là" and a German one titled "Do They Know It's Christmas? (2014) [Deutsche Version]" with respective artists.
Recording
The song was recorded on 15 November 2014, with all contributions going towards battling the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa. Due to her filming commitments on The Voice UK, Rita Ora recorded her lines first thing in the morning, and was not present for the whole group chorus (although the video cuts to her singing alone along with them).
The public source identifies “Band Aid 30” as uk supergroup. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Band and supergroup.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Band Aid 30”, the useful work is to connect “uk supergroup” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q18543159. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2014 and 1984.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Band Aid 30”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Band Aid 30 primary sources, Band Aid 30 archive and Band research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Band Aid 30”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Band Aid 30” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.