LadBaby collaborate with Martin Lewis to create Band Aid song for Christmas

Steve Hopkins

‘We have to do whatever it takes to build a future where all of us can afford to go to sleep with a full stomach’

LadBaby are teaming up with Martin Lewis to rework Band Aid’s Christmas hit Do ‘They Know It’s Christmas’ to raise money to fight poverty

LadBaby, which is made up of Mark Hoyle and his wife Roxanne, are collaborating with the 50-year-old Money Saving Expert to record the single, titled Food Aid. The track will also feature other musical collaborators, but they’re yet to be announced.

The song will raise money to fight food hunger and poverty, with profits being evenly split between The Trussell Trust, a charity which works to end the need for food banks in the UK, and the Band Aid Trust.

There's an announcement just out by LadBaby, who've had the last four Christmas number 1s, do give it a watch… all the way to the end:- https://t.co/2Tvfg3SLUc

— Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) December 11, 2022

LadBaby’s latest single, which could be their fifth Xmas number one, marks history as the YouTubers are the first act to be allowed to rework Band Aid’s iconic ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’.

The song was re-written with permission from Bob Geldof, Midge Ure and the Band Aid Trust – as Ladbaby teamed up with Grammy Award-winning Amy Wadge, who has collaborated with Ed Sheeran, to rewrite the festive song.

LadBaby’s Mark and Roxanne said: “We never intended to release a 5th Christmas single but as ambassadors of the Trussell Trust we were not prepared to sit back and do nothing in a year when people are struggling more than ever.

“The Trussell Trust, which supports more than 1,300 food bank centres, has told us that the cost of living emergency has created a ‘tsunami of need’, as people struggle to survive amidst the soaring costs of living. With need outstripping donations for the first time in its history, we need to help ensure that food banks keep going this winter.

“Working households, families and disabled people are all really struggling.”

Mark and Roxanne said they approached Geldof, Ure and the Band Aid Trust a few months ago to seek permission to rework the track and were “truly honoured when they said ‘yes!’.”

They continued: “We knew we needed to enlist an icon to launch this year’s campaign, and we’re so excited to announce that the people’s champion and fellow supporter of the Trussell Trust Martin Lewis is joining us on this year’s track. An exciting variety of yet to be announced musical collaborators will also be announced in due course!

“We have to do whatever it takes to build a future where all of us can afford to go to sleep with a full stomach. We hope everyone can support us as much as they can!”

Martin Lewis said he thought the group has “confused me with someone else” when they approach him over the track, saying: “The nearest I’ve ever got to thinking about a Christmas number one is going to the loo on Boxing Day after too much orange juice the day before. Yet once I knew they were serious, and it was for the Trussell Trust, a hugely important charity I’ve a history with, I decided to give it a go, and do it with gusto.”

Lewis said it has been a “tough year for many”, explaining: “Prices have rocketed. Advice charities and food banks are swamped. Deficit budgeting is becoming more common – meaning even after everything has been cut to the bone – people still have less income than expenditure. It’s going to be a tough winter, and things aren’t likely to ease much in 2023. So the need to help and support people struggling across the UK is profound. Hopefully this Ladbaby song and their lyrics will raise some cash and awareness.”

LadBaby, who first topped the Christmas charts with ‘We Built This City in 2018’, will release Food Aid on December 16.

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