Bob Geldof explains why Paul McCartney didn’t ‘make the cut’ for Band Aid 30
Bob Geldof has explained why Paul McCartney was not involved in this year’s Band Aid 30 charity single.
McCartney took part in Band Aid 20 in 2004, alongside the likes of Thom Yorke, Bono and Coldplay’s Chris Martin; however, the former Beatle did not feature on this year’s offering, which is raising money to help end the Ebola crisis.
Speaking to The Daily Mirror, Geldof said that McCartney didn’t ‘make the cut’ for the fundraising single. “Macca’s always done stuff. He was in the band in 2004 – him, Radiohead and Damon,” said Geldof. “But look, on this we’ve got from the newest to the hippest to the oldest… and he hasn’t made the cut, what can I tell you?”
Geldof then continued to state that it was of greater importance to focus on including artists who were currently “caning it” in America. “The thing is, there’s only so many lines, so what do you do? At one point Midge Ure was like, ‘We can’t take more’, so you try and make it the girls and the boys, that’s the first thing. Then it’s who’s happening in America – that’s really important as sales are quantifiably more over there,” he said. “Ellie Goulding, Ed Sheeran, One Direction, Coldplay, Sam Smith, U2… all these people are caning it in America.”
As well as the aforementioned artists, people featured in this year’s single also included Paloma Faith, Bastille, Emeli Sande and YouTube bloggers Zoella and Alfie Deyes.
Geldof also reacted to criticism from the likes of Lily Allen and Damon Albarn, who – among others – have questioned the methods of the charity single, with Allen labelling it “smug”.
Responding to the comments, Geldof said that many of the involved artists also donated money to the cause, adding, “Should we take a pop at everybody who is immensely talented and has money?”