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Artist News Releases
Carla Bruni steers a French Band Aid, as Yoko Ono and co ‘Imagine’ a new UNICEF sing-along
By Aly Barchi | Published on Monday 24 November 2014
As the ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ gravy train rolls on to the top of the UK singles charts (albeit amidst a climate of criticism and close examination of its ‘message’), in swoops popstar and France’s one-time first lady Carla Bruni(-Sarkozy) to captain a French edition of Band Aid. She and a cast of French artists have created a charity single titled ‘Noël est la’ (or ‘Christmas Is Here’) in order to raise money for the fight against the spread of ebola in West Africa.
Bruni and the likes of Vanessa Paradis, Lou Doillon, Téléphone’s Louis Bertignac, rapper Joey Starr, rock band Shaka Ponk and jazz guitarist/son-of-Jacques Thomas Dutronc are to release the track via Universal’s Mercury Music Group on 1 Dec, with all takings going to Band Aid.
So, that’s the Band Aid franchise, au française. Now, if it’s okay, I’d like to move the ‘charity single’ spotlight on to an entirely separate charity single for a different charity; in this case an all-star cover of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ that’s being released in aid of UNICEF, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the international children’s charity’s Convention On The Rights Of The Child.
The ‘interactive’ single, which co-stars celebrities like Yoko Ono, David Guetta, Katy Perry, Will.i.am, Idris Elba and the actress Courtney Cox, allows ordinary people to add their own voices and videos to a multi-lingual mass sing-along (via an online app), the final Guetta-mixed ‘world version’ of which will be released in the lead-up to New Year’s Eve. Participants can also upload and share their takes on the song on social media, tagging their entries #imagine.
David Guetta says of the campaign: “I’m really excited to be working with UNICEF on this incredible new project. Our ‘world’ version of Imagine will be like no other – I am proud to be a part of this collaboration. We have to get the word out that every voice counts and every child counts too”.
And UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake adds: “The Convention On The Rights Of The Child asked us all to imagine a better world for children – and calls on all of us to make that vision a reality. The #imagine project gives people across the globe a chance to join a global movement for children, lending their ideas, their visions and, not least, their voices to advance the rights of every child, everywhere”.
Info on how to donate to Unicef via The #Imagine Project, and to download the app, is available via imagine.unicef.org. And this is an introductory trailer:
Finally, sticking with the always philanthropic Yoko Ono, she and The Flaming Lips have shared their new spin on Ono and John Lennon’s ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’. It’s taken from a non-charitable Christmas compilation from Amazon Prime, titled ‘All Is Bright’, which is out now, and carries 40 tracks from artists like Beth Orton, Liz Phair, Ladyhawke, Tom Tom Club and… Amanda Palmer.
Anyway this is Yoko and the Lips wishin all the fans at Amazon Prime a very ‘Happy Xmas’:
