REM's 'Everybody Hurts' has been selected by Simon Cowell as his charity single to raise money for the Haiti earthquake appeal. Prime Minister Gordon Brown encouraged Cowell to release a Live Aid-style single to raise money for the country, and acts rumoured to have been approached to appear on the...
REM‘s ‘Everybody Hurts’ has been selected by Simon Cowell as his charity single to raise money for the Haiti earthquake appeal.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown encouraged Cowell to release a Live Aid-style single to raise money for the country, and acts rumoured to have been approached to appear on the new version of the track include Paul McCartney, Coldplay, Take That and George Michael.
REM‘s manager Bertis Downs told The Sun that the band are waiving all royalties for the song, which is raising money for the Helping Haiti fund and the Disasters Emergency Committee.
“We are deeply touched the song has been chosen for this Haiti campaign,” Downs said. “It means a lot that the song the guys wrote all those years ago will be used for such an important appeal.”
The single is set to be rush-released later this month.
Meanwhile, acts including Damon Albarn, Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay and Pet Shop Boys are auctioning items on eBay to raise money for Oxfam’s Haiti Appeal.