Why Adele was Right to Ignore Bob Geldof and Band Aid

The Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | November 18, 2014 | Bryony Gordon

[Cecily]

I have so many problems with the latest Band Aid single that I don’t really know where to begin, but begin we must so let’s get going with the fact that two-thirds of the line-up are unrecognisable to anyone over the age of 30 – not least Bono, who in the group photo looks as if he’d rather be anywhere else than at the feet of a YouTube Vlogger (Zoella) and slightly to the left of a bloke who once lost The X Factor (Olly Murs).

Still, that’s not really a bearing on the single as such – it’s more a sign of how out-of-touch I am with popular culture, that when I looked at the picture my thoughts were 'gosh, it looks like a school photo on mufti day!’, followed by 'thank goodness for One Direction – making elderly women feel young since 2010’.

My real problem is Geldof’s insistence on shaming Adele for not appearing on the track. “Adele is doing nothing,” said Geldof at the weekend. “She’s not answering the phone… she’s not writing. She’s not recording. She doesn’t want to be bothered by anyone. She won’t pick up the phone to her manager. She’s bringing up a family, you know.”

This is as condescending as the song itself – do Africans know it’s Christmas? Given that over 500 million people living there are Christians, we must presume the answer to that is yes – and worse, it is a form of bullying that has sneeringly been dressed up as do-gooding.

[Bucky14]

Best live shows I have ever seen. If you listen the the Electric Live Folklore cd, you can hear me yelling. Taped at the Wang Center in Boston. The Alarm was really under rated. Got thrown into the U2 sound alike bands. Back in the day I saw U2, The Alarm and Big Country. The Alarm blew them all away. Bono then stole Mike Peters fringy leather jacket.