"Glee" donating 100 percent of proceeds of "..

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In the spirit of the holiday season, "Glee" will donate 100 percent of the net monies from the sales of their version of Band Aid's 1984 hit "Do They Know It's Christmas?" to The Band Aid Trust (www.bandaid.org.uk).

The Band Aid Trust, a registered British charity since 1985, has raised in excess of 190 million dollars to support projects designed to make a lasting difference in Ethiopia, Somalia and surrounding countries in East Africa. When asked about "Glee" covering "Do They Know It's Christmas?," Bob Geldof said in a press release: "The reverberations of this little song continue down the long 26 years since Midge Ure and I wrote it. It could not be more timely now that Glee with its vast global audience of young people re-introduce it to a whole new constituency who are probably unaware of the great tragedy unfolding amongst the hungry, poor and dying of Somalia as a result of drought and a bitter and pointless civil war. This song was made specifically with that intent. Band Aid would like to thank from the bottom of its heart all the producers and actors of Glee who have gone beyond their normal brief of entertainment and entered into the spirit and understanding of that recording and its artists 26 years ago and its many subsequent iterations, by opening their web-site to the topic of poverty and the poor and linking it through to the Band Aid and the ONE campaign sites. This is entertainment with purpose. This is putting what you do and who you are to a focused concern and in so doing alter the lives of many thousands of otherwise voiceless people. This is beyond acting or singing or producing, lighting or directing. This is engaging. Out of the blue, what an unlooked for and exhilarating Christmas present not just for the hungry, hurt and poor but for all of us at Band Aid, ONE and the many many artists of Live Aid and Live 8. Glee ... thanks." Glee's version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" appears on "Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2" and can be seen on a special "Glee" Christmas episode which airs on Tuesday, December 13 on FOX.

The original version is one of my favorite Christmas songs, and I wish more people would cover it.

Here's the original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5cX_ncZLls

Here's the "Glee" version, without Bono's sneering sarcasm: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXuY9GjOSO4

"Glee" donating 100 percent of proceeds of "Do They Know It's Christmas?"