Benedict Cumberbatch reads Rik Mayall's letter of complaint about Band Aid
What the Young Ones star wrote to Bob Geldof
Rik Mayall was so annoyed at being left out of Band Aid that he wrote a letter of complaint to Bob Geldof.
And here’s Benedict Cumberbatch reading the correspondence, in which the comic explained how he tried to get into the recording of Do They Know It's Christmas? In 1984.
This letter was performed at a fundraising edition of the Letters Live stage show at Koko in Camden, North London, last year but only now released on YouTube.
The correspondence appeared in Mayall’s 2005 autobiography Bigger Than Hitler, Better Than Christ, so the idea he actually sent it may be best taken with a pinch of salt…
Published: 9 Apr 2025
