The group, which included Daniel Bedingfield, Dido, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Bono of U2, and Paul McCartney, re-recorded the 1984 song "Do They Know It's Christmas?
"[3] A special documentary titled Band Aid 20: Justice, Not Charity, which went behind-the-scenes of the new recording, was broadcast by BBC One on 6 December 2004.
[7] One of the new ways to buy the song, by downloading it from the internet, hit a problem when Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store initially refused to supply it, due to their fixed-pricing policy.
It was the last single ever to sell a million physical copies in the UK[citation needed] as the format largely died out other than as a niche product.
HMV stores opened early to give customers more time to buy the single and staff wore Band Aid 20 shirts that said, "Have you bought your copy yet?".
The BBC said the new generation of singers, who differed greatly from those that appeared on the 1984 original, endeavoured to fit their talents into a 20-year-old template resulting in an "anonymous" record.
[12] British artist Damien Hirst designed an intimidating cover for the Band Aid 20 single, featuring the grim reaper and a starving African child.