Food Aid

Album: Single release only (2022)
Charted: 1
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Songfacts®:

  • Following their parodies of '80s hits "We Built This City," "I Love Rock And Roll" and "Don't Stop Believin', " LadBaby go for the big one with their take on Band Aid's iconic "Do They Know It's Christmas?" In doing so, they became the first act allowed to recreate the classic charity single.
  • Released in the wake of a cost-of-living crisis for British low-income families, LadBaby's version changes the emphasis of Band Aid's original version. Rather than feeding the world this Christmas, Mark Hoyle (aka LadBaby) and his wife Roxanne entreat the listener to feed the UK. Naturally, they insert their usual reference to port-stuffed pastry as they ask us to "pray for a sausage roll" (instead of George Michael's "pray for the other ones" on the original).
  • Finance expert and campaigner Martin Lewis joins Mark and Roxanne Hoyle on the song.
  • Mark and Roxanne Hoyle collaborated with songwriter Amy Wadge on the lyrics. Wadge is best known for her work with Ed Sheeran ("Thinking Out Loud," "Perfect") and Sam Ryder ("Space Man").
  • All the profits from "Food Aid" go to hunger and poverty charities in the UK. They are evenly split between food bank charity The Trussell Trust and the charity set up off the back of the original Band Aid release, the Band Aid Trust.

    "We never intended to release a fifth Christmas single," said the Hoyles, "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."
  • "Food Aid" debuted at #1 on the UK singles chart, marking LadBaby's fifth Christmas chart-topper. In doing so they broke a UK chart record previously held by The Beatles, who had four Christmas #1s: "I Want To Hold Your Hand" in 1963, "I Feel Fine" in 1964, "Day Tripper" in 1965 and "Hello Goodbye" in 1967.

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