Comic Relief mastermind Kevin Cahill has teamed up with music producer Paul Mitchell to create a charity to rival Band Aid.
He is well-known for having created For One Night Only, where Ed Sheeran sang to a small crowd who had to hand in their phones in at the door, with the funds going towards charity.
Now, they are working on Fest Aid, which will raise money for good causes and hopes to get the world’s biggest rock and pop acts to submit live recordings from their tours and festival spots, which can then be turned into records.
Paul told The Sun: ‘Kevin basically masterminded the whole Comic Relief thing and is the founder of Sport Relief.’
‘He told me about [For One Night Only] and that’s what gave me the idea of doing the concert record,’ he added.
Paul said he believes a number of artists will be up for supporting Fest Aid as they often don’t have enough time to get to the studio to specifically record something for charity.Â
Comic Relief mastermind Kevin Cahill has teamed up with music producer Paul Mitchell to create a charity to rival Band Aid; Harry Style, Niall Horan and Zayne Mallik recording for Band Aid in 2014 with One Direction
The new charity Fest Aid, which will raise money for a number of good causes, hopes to get the world’s biggest rock and pop acts to submit live recordings from their tours and festival spots, which can then be turned into records;Â Band Aid 1984
Fest Aid will create unique albums of live tracks, which means the artists only have to submit music they have already performed and recorded.
He explained: ‘All these big acts go on tour and play Glastonbury and all that, and everything gets recorded, the artist owns that recording unless they license it to the BBC or whoever it might be.
‘So I had this idea that if, say, Coldplay were to play Glastonbury, all we’d have to say to them is give us one track from your live recording.’
The exciting news comes ahead of festival season, with the line-up for Glastonbury Festival already having been revealed.Â
Its headline acts include The 1975 and Olivia Rodrigo and moments after they were announced, fans who had already purchased tickets took to social media in their droves to complain about the line-up.
Branding it the ‘worst one ever’, they claimed that the globally recognised event had ‘gone so far downhill’ in comparison to previous years.
Fans who didn’t manage to bag entry during the November sale admitted they no longer minded about missing out following the announcement.
British pop-rock group the 1975 and the US pop-punk songwriter Olivia are both first-time headliners.
Fest Aid will create unique albums of live tracks, which means the artists only have to submit music they have already performed and recorded; Band Aid 1984Â
After creating For One Night Only where superstar Ed Sheeran performed to a small crowd who had to had their phones in at the door to raise money for charity, the pair had the new idea
The poster was shared by the official Glastonbury X page this morning with the caption: ‘Here is the first Glastonbury Festival 2025 line-up poster.’
It added: ‘Many more acts and attractions still to be announced.’
The band, led by Matty Healy, have been revealed as the top billing for the Friday night on the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm.
Pop princess Olivia, who performed on the Other Stage in 2022, will serve as the headline act on the closing night of the event.
Canadian singer-songwriter Neil will fill the Saturday night slot, which will also see performances from Charli XCX, Raye and Doechii.
Neil previously accidentally announced he would be playing at the event on January 1 when he declared he would be ‘withdrawing’ from the festival – despite it never being confirmed in the first place.
He cited that it was due to the fact the event was under the BBC’s ‘corporate control’. The Somerset-based festival has worked closely with its exclusive broadcast partner since 1997.
Neil later admitted had received bad information and confirmed he would once again perform, announcing it was ‘back on his itinerary’.
Sir Rod Stewart was already confirmed for the coveted teatime legends slot on the Sunday.
It comes after Glastonbury Festival revealed the line-up for this year’s event
This year’s festival will feature two first time headliners, British pop-rock group the 1975 and the US pop-punk songwriter Olivia Rodrigo (pictured)
The Matty Healy (pictured) led band have been revealed as the top billing for the Friday night on the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm
Rod, who turned 80 in January, said he was ‘more than able to pleasure and titillate’ at his age.
The Other stage headliners have also been revealed. After her unforgettable Brat Summer – and rivalling Dua Lipa’s headline performance with a DJ set at Glastonbury 2024 – Charli xcx will headline the festival’s second stage on Saturday.
Hot off her Brits success where she bagged a jaw-dropping five gongs, Charli is no doubt likely to draw a huge crowd.
Also on the same stage will be hip hop star Loyle Carner on the Friday, as Essex electronic group The Prodigy close the event on Sunday night with a show that will be their first at the festival since the death of frontman Keith Flint in 2019.
Other acts include Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro, Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, US chart-topper Noah Kahan, English rock band Wolf Alice, British indie rockers Wet Leg and recently reformed US pop group Scissor Sisters.
