Bono wins the battle over Band Aid's most famous line

Rock rivalry broke out after the updated recording of Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas" yesterday, when the producers were forced to decide which artist should sing one of the song's most famous lines.

Rock rivalry broke out after the updated recording of Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas" yesterday, when the producers were forced to decide which artist should sing one of the song's most famous lines.

The U2 star Bono and Justin Hawkins, lead singer of The Darkness, both recorded versions of the lyric: "Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you." Bono, who sang the line in the original 1984 track, had his recording used in the final cut.

But speaking after the charity single was re-recorded to mark the 20th anniversary of Band Aid, Hawkins claimed that his version was superior. Hawkins said: "I did it better than him. So his management kicked up a stink and it obviously means a lot to him."

Bono, who recorded the line in advance, was unable to attend the main recording but visitedthe studio to sing the line again after technical problems with the pre-recording.

A spokeswoman for the event denied that there had been a row over who should sing the line and dismissed Hawkins' comment as a jokey aside.