Do They Know It's Christmas?
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"Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a
charity song A charity record or charity single is a song released by musicians with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity. George Harrison's "Bangla Desh (song), Bangla Desh" single in 1971 is commonly acknowledged as the fir ...
written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the
1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia A widespread famine affected Ethiopia from 1983 to 1985. The worst famine to hit the country in a century, it affected 7.75 million people (out of Ethiopia's 38–40 million) and left approximately 300,000 to 1.2 million dead. 2.5  ...
. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of popular British and Irish musical acts at the time. It was recorded in a single day at
Sarm West Studios Sarm Studios is an independent recording studio in London. Originally founded in east London in 1973, the studio's original location was renamed Sarm East Studios in 1982 when Jill Sinclair and Trevor Horn purchased Basing Street Studios from Isl ...
in
Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road Ma ...
, London, in November 1984. "Do They Know It's Christmas" was released in the United Kingdom on 3 December 1984. It entered the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
at number one and stayed there for five weeks, becoming
Christmas number one In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...
. It sold a million copies in the first week, becoming the fastest-selling single in UK chart history; it held this title until 1997, when it was overtaken by Elton John's "
Candle in the Wind 1997 "Candle in the Wind 1997", also known as "Goodbye England's Rose" and "Candle in the Wind '97", is a song by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, a re-written and re-recorded version of their 1973 song "Candle in the Wind". ...
". UK sales passed three million on the last day of 1984. The song also reached number one in thirteen other countries. In the US, it fell short of the top ten in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 due to a lack of airplay, but sold an estimated 2.5 million copies there by January 1985. By 1989, it had sold 11.7 million copies worldwide. Geldof hoped that it would raise £70,000 for Ethiopia; within a year, it raised £8 million. The success led to several other charity singles, such as "
We Are the World "We Are the World" is a charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album '' We Are the World''. Wi ...
" (1985) by
USA for Africa United Support of Artists for Africa (USA for Africa) was the name under which 47 predominantly U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily locat ...
, and spin-off charity events, such as
Comic Relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...
and the 1985 Live Aid concert. The original version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" has sold 3.8 million copies in the UK. In a UK poll in December 2012, it was voted sixth on the ITV television special '' The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song''. "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was rerecorded and rereleased in 1989, 2004 and 2014. The 1989 and 2004 versions also raised funds for famine relief, while the 2014 version raised funds for the Ebola crisis in West Africa. All three reached number one in the UK, and the 1989 and 2004 versions became Christmas number ones. The 2004 version sold 1.8 million copies.


Background

"Do They Know It's Christmas?" was inspired by a series of reports made by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
journalist
Michael Buerk Michael Duncan Buerk (born 18 February 1946) is a British journalist and newsreader. He presented BBC News from 1973 to 2002 and has been the host of BBC Radio 4's '' The Moral Maze'' since 1990. He was also the presenter of BBC One's docudrama ...
in 1984, which drew attention to the famine in Ethiopia. The
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
crew were the first to document the famine, with Buerk's report on 23 October describing it as "a biblical famine in the 20th century" and "the closest thing to hell on Earth". The report featured the nurse Claire Bertschinger, who had to choose which children would receive the limited amount of food at the feeding station and who were too sick to be saved. The reports shocked the UK, motivating the British people to inundate relief agencies, such as Save the Children, with donations. The Boomtown Rats singer Bob Geldof and his then-partner, the television presenter
Paula Yates Paula Elizabeth Yates (24 April 1959 – 17 September 2000) was a British television presenter and writer. Yates is best known for her work on two television programmes, '' The Tube'' and ''The Big Breakfast''. She was the girlfriend of musicia ...
, watched the broadcast on 23 October and were deeply affected by it."Live Aid: The show that rocked the world"
BBC. Retrieved 7 January 2018 Geldof said about Bertschinger: "In her was vested the power of life and death. She had become godlike, and that is unbearable for anyone." On 2 November, Yates was in the Tyne Tees studio in
Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
, where she was presenting the weekly live music show '' The Tube''. Among the acts performing were
Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...
, promoting their greatest hits album '' The Collection''. The singer, Midge Ure, was chatting to Yates in the dressing room when Geldof called her. Geldof had worked with Ure at the 1981 charity benefit show ''
The Secret Policeman's Ball ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'' is a series of benefit shows staged initially in the United Kingdom to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International. The shows started in 1976 featuring popular British comedians but lat ...
.'' Geldof asked to speak to Ure and told him that he wanted to do something to alleviate the suffering in Ethiopia. He and Ure arranged to discuss ideas over lunch the following Monday, 5 November, and decided to make a
charity record A charity record or charity single is a song released by musicians with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity. George Harrison's "Bangla Desh" single in 1971 is commonly acknowledged as the first ever purpose-made ...
. Geldof began recruiting musicians. He called Sting and
Simon Le Bon Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is a British singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the British ...
, who agreed to participate along with the rest of Duran Duran, and recruited
Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European D ...
after a chance meeting with the band's guitarist
Gary Kemp Gary James Kemp (born 16 October 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and principal songwriter for the New Romantic band Spandau Ballet. Kemp wrote the lyrics and music ...
at an antiques shop in London. Geldof said: "It suddenly it hit me. I thought, 'Christ, we have got the real top boys here', all the big names in pop are suddenly ready and willing to do this... I knew then that we were off, and I just decided to go for all the rest of the faces and started to ring everyone up, asking them to do it." Further phone calls from Geldof also secured promises of everybody involved in the record's making to provide their services free of charge. Other contributors included UK music magazines, which donated advertising space to promote the single; Geldof's record label
Phonogram Phonogram may refer to: * A sound recording – see Geneva Phonograms Convention * ''Phonogram'' (comics), a comic book by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie * Phonogram (linguistics), a grapheme which represents a phoneme or a combination of phone ...
, which released the single; their parent company PolyGram, which distributed it; and the artist Peter Blake, who created the single's sleeve.


Composition

Geldof and Ure's biggest challenge was to write a song that could be recorded and released in time for Christmas. They realised that they would have to write one themselves and not record a
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
; otherwise, they would have to pay royalties which would have to be subtracted from the amount raised for charity. On the Monday afternoon Ure came up with the outline of what he felt sounded a Christmas-like melody on a portable keyboard, which he recorded onto a tape and sent to Geldof, who sarcastically told him that the tune sounded like the theme to ''
Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...
''. Geldof came to Ure's house the next day and together they worked on the tune with Geldof on his acoustic guitar. Geldof added lyrics based on a song he had originally written for the Boomtown Rats, as he later recalled: Ure recorded Geldof and his guitar and used the recording to develop Geldof's ideas later back in his home studio, adding his own melody onto the end as a chorus. He later stated that he had been unable to improve on Geldof's lyrics and left most of them as they were, with the exception of the line "And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time" – the original lyric substituted "Africa" with "Ethiopia" but Ure decided that this did not scan. Geldof asked
Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...
to produce the song; Horn was an in-demand producer, having produced three number-one singles that year for
Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English synth-pop band formed in Liverpool in 1980. The group's best-known line-up comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (singer), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Peter Gill (FGTH drummer), Peter ...
. Although Horn was receptive, he said he needed at least six weeks to produce the song, which would make it impossible to release by Christmas. However, he allowed the team to use his studios,
Sarm West Studios Sarm Studios is an independent recording studio in London. Originally founded in east London in 1973, the studio's original location was renamed Sarm East Studios in 1982 when Jill Sinclair and Trevor Horn purchased Basing Street Studios from Isl ...
in
Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road Ma ...
, London, free for 24 hours on 25 November. Horn would later remix and co-produce the 12" version of the single, and remix it for the 1985 re-release. In Horn's absence, Ure produced the song; he spent several days in his home studio with his engineer Rik Walton creating the backing track, programming the keyboards and drum machines. He used a sample of the drums from the title track of the 1983
Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new ...
album ''
The Hurting ''The Hurting'' is the debut studio album by British new wave band Tears for Fears, released on 7 March 1983. The album peaked at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart in its second week of release, and was certified Gold by the BPI within three weeks o ...
'' for the intro. John Taylor of Duran Duran and
Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul mu ...
visited Ure's studio the day before the recording to add bass guitar and lead guitar; Ure and Weller later agreed that the guitar did not fit the predominantly synthesizer-based song and did not use it. Ure sang the original guide vocal, and Simon Le Bon and Sting came to Ure's studio to record their parts.


Recording

While Ure was occupied creating the song's backing track in the studio, Geldof was busy contacting various British and Irish artists to ask them to appear for the recording session. His plan was to have the biggest names in British and Irish music at the time appear on the record, and few declined: Geldof later revealed only three people had turned him down, but refused to disclose who. Those he asked but who were unable to appear instead sent recorded messages of support that appeared on the single's B-side, including
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
and
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
. Another UK act who had been successful in 1984, the Thompson Twins, were unable to appear on the Band Aid record as they were out of the country and were made aware of the recording too late to return and be involved in it, but they donated part of the proceeds of their then current single " Lay Your Hands on Me" to the Action for Ethiopia charity. Geldof and Ure arrived at Sarm West Studios at around 8am on Sunday 25 November with the media in attendance outside. With recording scheduled to begin at 10:30am the artists began arriving. Geldof had arranged for the UK newspaper '' The Daily Mirror'' to have exclusive access inside the studio, and ensured that a 'team photo' was taken by the newspaper's photographer Brian Aris before any recording got under way, knowing that it would be ready in time to appear in the following day's edition of the newspaper and help publicise the record. The photograph also appeared on the back cover of the single. Ure played the backing track and guide vocals to the artists and then decided, as a way of getting all involved straightaway, to record the climax first. The artists were put in a huge group and sang the 'Feed the world, let them know it's Christmas time' refrain over and over again until it was complete. Having recorded the group, Ure chose
Tony Hadley Anthony Patrick Hadley (born 2 June 1960) is an English pop singer. He rose to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of the new wave band Spandau Ballet and launched a solo career following the group's split in 1990. Hadley returned to the ban ...
of Spandau Ballet to be the first singer into the studio to record his solo part. Hadley admitted that this had been nerve-wracking, knowing that all his contemporaries were watching him. One by one the other assigned singers then did likewise, with Ure taping their efforts and then making notes on which segments would be cut into the final recording. Le Bon, despite having already recorded his part at Ure's house, re-recorded it so he could be part of the moment. Sting also recorded his words again, this time to provide harmony vocals. Despite being lead singers themselves, both Geldof and Ure had already decided that they would not sing any solo lines, although both took part in the 'feed the world' finale. Ure later stated in his autobiography that he was constantly battling with Geldof, and telling him to leave when he would come into the production booth and wrongly tell the artist behind the microphone what to sing. Phil Collins arrived with his entire drum kit to record a live drum track on top of the already programmed drum machine. He set up the kit and then waited patiently until early evening until after all the vocals had been recorded. Ure was content with the first take that Collins performed, but the perfectionist Collins was unhappy with it and asked for a second take to be recorded, which he was satisfied with. Although the majority of the artists who took part were the UK or Ireland's biggest musical stars at the time, there were a few unusual participants. Members of the US group
Kool & the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. ...
appeared on the record because they were signed to the same record label as the Boomtown Rats, and just happened to be visiting Phonogram's London offices on the day that Geldof walked in to pitch his idea for the charity single to the label. Singer Marilyn, who had scored a couple of chart hits a year earlier but whose star had faded throughout 1984, saw the opportunity to reclaim the spotlight and turned up to the recording despite not being invited to take part, a fact overlooked by Geldof and Ure who felt any publicity was good publicity and the more stars they could get to appear on the record, the better. Actor Nigel Planer, who had reached number two earlier in the year with a cover version of "
Hole in My Shoe "Hole in My Shoe" is a song by English rock band Traffic featuring a spoken-word midsection by Chris Blackwell's stepdaughter, Francine Heimann, in which she tells a little story about a giant albatross. It was released as a single in 1967 and r ...
" in the guise of his character Neil from the television comedy series '' The Young Ones'', also showed up uninvited and in character as Neil to play up to the cameras, and after being tolerated for a while was sent away by Ure. Geldof also asked
Francis Rossi Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, (born 29 May 1949) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He is the co-founder, lead singer, lead guitarist and the sole continuous member of the rock band Status Quo. Early life Rossi was born o ...
and Rick Parfitt, the two frontmen of rock band Status Quo, to take part, knowing that although the group were from an entirely different musical era and background, their consistent chart success and fame would bring a certain amount of credibility to the project from the rock fraternity and ensure that the group's loyal following of fans (the "Quo Army") would buy the record in large numbers. Ure's original idea was for Rossi and Parfitt to sing the "here's to you" harmonies in the song's bridge, but he had to shelve the idea because Parfitt could not hit the high notes. This section was eventually taken on by Weller, Sting and
Glenn Gregory Glenn Peter Gregory (born 16 May 1958) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of the new wave and synthpop b ...
. Rossi privately told Ure afterwards that in the studio he sang most of Status Quo's vocal parts and that Parfitt only usually sang onstage, and that Ure should have kept Parfitt away from the microphone. Parfitt admitted in a 2004 documentary that he and Rossi had been extremely hungover from partying the night before, and were in no fit state to attempt to record their vocals. However, according to the journalist Robin Eggar, who at the time was music correspondent for ''The Daily Mirror'' and who was the only journalist present throughout the recording of the song, the pair were able to contribute in other ways: "Once Status Quo produced their bag of
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...
and the booze started to flow – I brought six bottles of wine from my flat, which disappeared in a minute – it became a party." Geldof had been keen to include Culture Club's
Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singer ...
on the single, at the time one of the biggest music stars in the world, and had called him in New York the day before the recording to insist that George turn up. By midday, with George still absent, an irate Geldof telephoned him again demanding to know where he was. Having only gone to bed a few hours before, a sleepy George was woken up by Geldof insisting that he get onto a
Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...
transatlantic flight later that morning. However, George went back to sleep following the phone call, and only made it onto the last Concorde flight of the day later that afternoon. George eventually arrived at Sarm West at 6pm and went immediately into the recording booth to deliver his lines, the last solo artist of the day. Once George's contribution had been recorded, Ure began working on the mix as the participants began to party in the studio. A B-side, titled "Feed the World", was also produced by Trevor Horn in his own studio, using the same instrumental track as the A-side and featuring messages from artists who had been at the recording, and also from those who had been unable to attend, including
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
,
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
, the members of
Big Country Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although it has retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music incorporated Scott ...
and
Holly Johnson William Holly Johnson (born 9 February 1960) is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he wa ...
from
Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English synth-pop band formed in Liverpool in 1980. The group's best-known line-up comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (singer), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Peter Gill (FGTH drummer), Peter ...
. Before departing the Sarm Studio, Geldof recorded a statement, which featured as the last message on "Feed the World". Geldof's spoken-word statement said:


Style and content

The song comprises two parts: a verse and
bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
which allow individual singers to perform different lines; and a chorus in the form of two repeated phrases by ensemble. The first line of the recording is sung by
Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...
on the 1984 version, Kylie Minogue on the 1989 version,
Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Uni ...
of
Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...
on the 2004 version, and
One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the g ...
on the 2014 version. The opening line was sung by
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
at the Live Aid concert in 1985.


Release and promotion

The day after recording, Geldof appeared on
Mike Read Michael David Kenneth Read (born 1 March 1947) is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter. Read has been a broadcaster since 1976, best known for having been a DJ with BBC Radio 1, and television host for musi ...
's
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
Breakfast Show to promote the record and promised that every penny would go to the cause. Most record retailers agreed to sell the record at its cost price of £1.35 including VAT: however, some refused, citing cost pressures. Geldof was also incensed that the British Government refused to waive the VAT on the sales of the single. He made the headlines by publicly standing up to
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...
. In the end the government relented and donated an amount to the charity equal to the amount of tax they had collected on the single. Radio 1 began to play the song every hour – normally an A-list single got seven or eight plays per day. The number one single at the time of its release was "
I Should Have Known Better "I Should Have Known Better" is a song by English rock band the Beatles composed by John Lennon (credited to Lennon–McCartney), and originally issued on '' A Hard Day's Night'', their soundtrack for the film of the same name released on 10 J ...
" by Jim Diamond, and Diamond was quoted as saying, "I'm delighted to be at number one, but next week I don't want people to buy my record; I want them to buy Band Aid instead". The song had advance orders of 250,000 within a week of its recording, and orders from record dealers had topped one million by 8 December. In order to meet demand, Phonogram had all five of their European factories put to work pressing the single. Initial quantities of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" were released on Monday 3 December 1984; however, it was not officially released until 7 December. It received further publicity from a launch party that day at the Royal Albert Hall during the charity event "Dinner at Albert's", an evening of music to raise money for Save the Children and the Ethiopia Famine Relief Fund. The single entered the UK Singles Chart the following week at number one, outselling all the other records in the chart put together, with the 7" single alone selling 200,000 copies in the first two days of release. Released in the US on 10 December 1984 on Columbia Records, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" sold 1.9 million copies in its first eleven days on release but did not reach number one there, due to the more complex nature of the chart system, which counted airplay as well as sales. Despite outselling the official number one by four to one, it did not make the top ten due to a lack of airplay, ultimately peaking at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Due to the time constraints of releasing the single as quickly as possible, the promotional video for the song simply featured footage from the recording session. David Bowie, who had been Geldof's original choice to sing the song's opening line but who had been unable to attend the recording, flew into England from Switzerland to record a short introduction for the video to be played on the BBC's flagship television music show ''
Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...
''. However, Geldof was unhappy when he discovered that the show's regulations meant that the song and its video could not be played until it had actually charted. Undeterred, he contacted
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
controller
Michael Grade Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth, (born 8 March 1943) is an English television executive and businessman. He has held a number of senior roles in television, including controller of BBC1 (1984–1986), chief executive of Channel 4 (1 ...
directly and persuaded Grade to order that every programme preceding that week's episode of ''Top of the Pops'' should start five minutes early to make space to broadcast the song's video (complete with Bowie's introduction) just before the show. Each week of its stay at number one, the video was shown on ''Top of the Pops''. However, for the Christmas Day special edition of the programme, most of the artists on the record appeared in the studio to mime to the song as it was relayed through the speaker system. The two most notable absentees were George Michael and Bono: during Michael's line the cameras focused on the studio audience, while Paul Weller mimed Bono's line to the camera. The charity received a further boost during Band Aid's five week tenure at the top of the UK charts with
Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling mor ...
at number two with their double A-side "
Last Christmas "Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!, originally released in December 1984 on CBS Records International, CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side and B-side, A-side on Epic Records with "Everything She Wants" in the UK ...
"/" Everything She Wants". Wham! singer George Michael had appeared on the Band Aid single and he and fellow band member
Andrew Ridgeley Andrew John Ridgeley (born 26 January 1963) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and record producer, best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham!. Early life Ridgeley was born in Windlesham, Surrey, England, to pare ...
donated all the royalties from their single to the Band Aid Trust. As of 2021, "Last Christmas" has sold almost two million copies, and until it reached number one in January 2021 it held the record for the biggest-selling single never to reach number one in the UK. A 30-minute video titled '''Do They Know It's Christmas?' – The Story of the Official Band Aid Video'' was released in the UK on 15 December 1984 and in the US on 18 December 1984 on VHS and Betamax formats. The video featured documentary footage shot at the recording session and interviews with Geldof and Ure, as well as the completed promotional video. At the 1986 Grammy Awards the song's video was nominated for the Best Music Video, Short Form award, eventually losing out to its US counterpart song "We Are the World".


Reception and criticism

The reception in December 1984 to the original single from the UK music press was mixed. Under a caption of "TURKEY" (a double meaning referring both to the traditional
Christmas dinner Christmas dinner is a meal traditionally eaten at Christmas. This meal can take place any time from the evening of Christmas Eve to the evening of Christmas Day itself. The meals are often particularly rich and substantial, in the tradition of ...
and an artistic failure), the biggest selling music paper ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' dismissed the song with the single line, "Millions of Dead Stars write and perform rotten record for the right reasons". The other two major music papers looked upon the record more favourably, recognising that while musically the song was flawed, its intentions were admirable. ''
Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...
'' said, "It's far from brilliant (if not quite the ''Bland'' Aid some have predicted) but you ''can'' have fun playing Spot the Star on the vocals, and it deserves to sell by the truckload". '' Melody Maker'' stated, "Inevitably, after such massive publicity, the record itself is something of an anti-climax, even though Geldof's sense of universal melodrama is perfectly suited to this kind of epic musical manifesto. Midge Ure's large-screen production and the emotional vocal deliveries of the various celebrities matches the demonstrative sweep of Geldof's lyric, which veers occasionally toward an uncomfortably generalised sentimentality which threatens to turn righteous pleading into pompous indignation. On the other hand, I'm sure it's impossible to write flippantly about something as fundamentally dreadful as the Ethiopia famine." In contemporary times, the song has received criticism for what has been described as a colonial western-centric viewpoint and condescending stereotypical descriptions of Africa, notably the phrase sung by Bono: ''Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you''. For the 2014 version, several lyrics that were previously criticised were rewritten, and the song was changed to focus on Ebola rather than the original version's famine. The new lyrics have also been criticised as promoting stereotypes and condescension. However, criticism from Africans regarding the song remained: in 2014, African activists and Twitter users complained that the song disregarded the diversity of the continent of Africa and ultimately did more harm than good for the people. Musician
Fuse ODG Nana Richard Abiona (born 2 December 1988), better known by his stage name Fuse ODG, is a British singer, songwriter and rapper. He is best known for his singles "Antenna" and " Dangerous Love", and for featuring on Major Lazer's " Light It Up ...
turned down a request to sing on the 2014 version, stating that the lyrics of the song do not reflect what Africa truly is. He cited lyrics such as "There is no peace and joy in west (sic) Africa this Christmas"; saying he goes to
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
yearly for the sole purpose of peace and joy, so singing such lyrics would be a blatant lie. Geldof and Ure themselves later recognised the musical limitations of "Do They Know It's Christmas?": in his typically blunt manner, Geldof told Australia's '' Daily Telegraph'' in 2010, "I am responsible for two of the worst songs in history. The other one is 'We Are the World'." Ure's assessment in his autobiography was that "it is a song that has nothing to do with music. It was all about generating money... The song didn't matter: the song was secondary, almost irrelevant." In 2005, a parody version entitled " Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" was created to poke fun at the lyrics in the original version.


1985 reissue

"Do They Know It's Christmas?" was reissued the following year on 29 November 1985, reaching number three in the UK Singles Chart the week following Christmas. The 1985 single was remixed by
Trevor Horn Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...
, the intended producer of the original version, and it included an updated B-side entitled "One Year On (Feed the World)", beginning and ending with a recording of a telephone message from Geldof and in between featuring Ure reciting a list of what had been bought with the money raised during the previous 12 months.


Personnel

(adapted from credits on back cover of the record sleeve) Vocalists *
Robert "Kool" Bell Robert Earl "Kool" Bell (born October 8, 1950), also known by his Muslim name Muhammad Bayyan, is an American musician, singer & songwriter. He is one of the founding members of the American R&B, soul, funk and disco band Kool & the Gang. ...
(
Kool & the Gang Kool & the Gang is an American R&B/soul/funk band formed in Jersey City, New Jersey, in 1964 by brothers Robert "Kool" Bell and Ronald Bell, with Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Charles Smith, George Brown, and Ricky West. ...
) * Bono ( U2) * Pete Briquette (
The Boomtown Rats The Boomtown Rats are an Irish rock music, rock band originally formed in Dublin in 1975. Between 1977 and 1985, they had a series of Irish and UK hit record, hits including "Like Clockwork", "Rat Trap", "I Don't Like Mondays" and "Banana Repub ...
) *
Adam Clayton Adam Charles Clayton (born 13 March 1960) is an English-born Irish musician who is the bass guitarist of the rock band U2. He has resided in County Dublin, Ireland since his family moved to Malahide in 1965, when he was five years old. C ...
(U2) * Phil Collins ( Genesis and solo artist) *
Chris Cross Chris Cross (born Christopher Thomas Allen, 14 July 1952, Tottenham, London) is an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist in the new wave band Ultravox. Biography Early years Cross went to Belmont Secondary Modern School, ...
(
Ultravox Ultravox (earlier styled as Ultravox!) were a British new wave band, formed in London in April 1974 as Tiger Lily. Between 1980 and 1986, they scored seven Top Ten albums and seventeen Top 40 singles in the UK, the most successful of which was ...
) * Simon Crowe (The Boomtown Rats) * Sara Dallin (
Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. T ...
) * Siobhan Fahey (Bananarama) * Johnny Fingers (The Boomtown Rats) * Bob Geldof (The Boomtown Rats) *
Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singer ...
( Culture Club) *
Glenn Gregory Glenn Peter Gregory (born 16 May 1958) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as co-founder and lead singer of the new wave and synthpop b ...
(
Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) (both previously of the Human League), and ...
) *
Tony Hadley Anthony Patrick Hadley (born 2 June 1960) is an English pop singer. He rose to fame in the 1980s as the lead singer of the new wave band Spandau Ballet and launched a solo career following the group's split in 1990. Hadley returned to the ban ...
(
Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European D ...
) *
John Keeble John Leslie Keeble (born 6 July 1959) is an English pop and rock drummer. He is best known for his membership of the 1980s new wave band Spandau Ballet. Early years Keeble was athletic as a child, playing both football and cricket. He bought ...
(Spandau Ballet) *
Gary Kemp Gary James Kemp (born 16 October 1959) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and principal songwriter for the New Romantic band Spandau Ballet. Kemp wrote the lyrics and music ...
(Spandau Ballet) *
Martin Kemp Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961) is an English musician and actor, best known as the bassist in the new wave band Spandau Ballet and for his role as Steve Owen in ''EastEnders''. He is the younger brother of Gary Kemp, who is also ...
(Spandau Ballet) *
Simon Le Bon Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is a British singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the British ...
( Duran Duran) * Marilyn * George Michael (
Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling mor ...
) * Jon Moss (Culture Club) *
Steve Norman Steven Antony Norman (born 25 March 1960) is an English musician who plays tenor saxophone, guitar, percussion and other instruments, for the English band Spandau Ballet. Biography Early years Steve Norman was born in Stepney, east London, and w ...
(Spandau Ballet) * Rick Parfitt ( Status Quo) *
Nick Rhodes Nick Rhodes (born Nicholas James Bates, 8 June 1962) is an English keyboardist and producer, best known as a founding member, keyboardist, and only continuous member of the band Duran Duran. He is also informally monikered as "The Controller ...
(Duran Duran) *
Francis Rossi Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, (born 29 May 1949) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He is the co-founder, lead singer, lead guitarist and the sole continuous member of the rock band Status Quo. Early life Rossi was born o ...
(Status Quo) * Sting (
The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...
) * Andy Taylor (Duran Duran) * James "J.T." Taylor (Kool & the Gang) * John Taylor (Duran Duran) * Roger Taylor (Duran Duran) *Dennis Thomas (Kool & the Gang) * Midge Ure (Ultravox) *
Martyn Ware Martyn Ware (born 19 May 1956) is an English musician, composer, arranger, record producer, and music programmer. As a founding member of both the Human League and Heaven 17, Ware was partly responsible for hit songs such as "Being Boiled" and " ...
(Heaven 17) * Jody Watley *
Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul mu ...
(
The Style Council The Style Council were a British band formed in late 1982 by Paul Weller, the former singer, songwriter and guitarist with the punk rock/ new wave/ mod revival band the Jam, and keyboardist Mick Talbot, previously a member of Dexys Midnight Ru ...
) * Keren Woodward (Bananarama) *
Paul Young Paul Antony Young (born 17 January 1956) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. ...
Additional spoken messages on B-side *
Stuart Adamson William Stuart Adamson (11 April 1958 – 16 December 2001) was a Scottish rock guitarist and singer. Adamson began his career in the late 1970s as a founding member and performer with the punk rock band Skids. After leaving Skids in 1981, he ...
,
Mark Brzezicki Mark Michael Brzezicki ( , ; born 21 June 1957) is an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Scottish rock band Big Country. He has also played with the Cult, Ultravox, From the Jam, Procol Harum, Rick Astley, the Crazy World of ...
, Tony Butler, Bruce Watson (
Big Country Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981. The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s, although it has retained a cult following for many years since. The band's music incorporated Scott ...
) *
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
*
Holly Johnson William Holly Johnson (born 9 February 1960) is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he wa ...
(
Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English synth-pop band formed in Liverpool in 1980. The group's best-known line-up comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (singer), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Peter Gill (FGTH drummer), Peter ...
) *
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
Musicians *Phil Collins – drums *John Taylor – bass *Midge Ure – keyboards and programming Notes


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications and sales


Band Aid II

A second version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was recorded under the name of
Band Aid II Band Aid were a charity supergroup featuring mainly British and Irish musicians and recording artists. It was founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for anti-famine efforts in Ethiopia by releasing the song " Do They Know ...
in 1989, overseen by the most successful British production team of the late 1980s,
Stock Aitken Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considere ...
. Geldof had telephoned
Pete Waterman Peter Alan Waterman, (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Water ...
to ask him to produce a new version of the song to aid the ongoing situation in Ethiopia, and within 24 hours the recording session had been arranged at Stock Aitken Waterman's studios on London's South Bank. The recording took place over the weekend of 2 and 3 December, and featured several artists who had already been produced by SAW, including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan,
Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. T ...
,
Sonia Sonia, Sonja or Sonya, a name of Greek origin meaning wisdom, may refer to: People * Sonia (name), a feminine given name (lists people named, Sonia, Sonja and Sonya) :* Sonia (actress), Indian film actress in Malayalam and Tamil films :* Sonia ...
, and
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...
, as well as other artists who had big hits in 1989, such as Lisa Stansfield,
Jimmy Somerville James William Somerville (born 22 June 1961) is a Scottish pop singer and songwriter. He sang in the 1980s with the pop groups Bronski Beat and The Communards, and has also had a solo career. He is known in particular for his powerful and sou ...
,
Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982. They scored a number of hits in the UK charts and around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. They are best known for their 1994 cover of The Troggs' 1960s hit " Love Is All Around", which ...
and Bros. Bananarama's Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward became the only artists to appear on both the 1984 and 1989 versions of the record. Siobhan Fahey, who had been part of Bananarama's line-up at the time the first recording of the song was released, had left the group in 1988. The lyrics were rearranged for a more traditional 'verse and chorus' structure, with the opening verse being split in two with a short repeat of the ending chorus being played at the end of both, followed by the "here's to you" section and a final lengthened version of the closing chorus (with commentary by Michael Buerk played over the outro in the music video). Released on 11 December 1989, the Band Aid II version spent three weeks at number one in the UK, becoming the Christmas number one single and the last number one single of the 1980s, and ended the year as the ninth biggest selling single of 1989.


Personnel

(adapted from credits on back cover of the record sleeve) *
Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. T ...
* Big Fun * Bros *
Cathy Dennis Catherine Roseanne Dennis (born 25 March 1969)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa; , p. 133 is a British singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She was the vocalist for D Mob, which had the s ...
* D Mob * Jason Donovan *
Kevin Godley Kevin Michael Godley (born 7 October 1945) is an English singer, songwriter, musician and music video director. He is known as the singer and drummer of the art rock band 10cc and later as part of collaboration duo Godley & Creme with Lol Creme ...
* Glen Goldsmith * Kylie Minogue * The Pasadenas *
Chris Rea Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues singer and guitarist from Middlesbrough. A "gravel-voiced guitar stalwart" known for his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty five solo albums, two of which t ...
*
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...
*
Jimmy Somerville James William Somerville (born 22 June 1961) is a Scottish pop singer and songwriter. He sang in the 1980s with the pop groups Bronski Beat and The Communards, and has also had a solo career. He is known in particular for his powerful and sou ...
*
Sonia Sonia, Sonja or Sonya, a name of Greek origin meaning wisdom, may refer to: People * Sonia (name), a feminine given name (lists people named, Sonia, Sonja and Sonya) :* Sonia (actress), Indian film actress in Malayalam and Tamil films :* Sonia ...
* Lisa Stansfield *
Technotronic Technotronic was a Belgian electronic music project formed in 1987 by Jo Bogaert, who originally gained popularity in Europe as a solo artist with various new beat projects, including Acts of Madmen and Nux Nemo. Together with rapper Manuela ...
(incorrectly listed as "Technotronics" on the record sleeve) *
Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982. They scored a number of hits in the UK charts and around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. They are best known for their 1994 cover of The Troggs' 1960s hit " Love Is All Around", which ...
Musicians *
Matt Aitken Matthew James Aitken (born 25 August 1956) is an English songwriter and record producer, brought up in Astley, Greater Manchester, best known as the creative force behind the 1980s and early 1990s songwriting/production trio Stock Aitken Waterman ...
– keyboards, guitar * Luke Goss – drums *Chris Rea – guitar * Mike Stock – keyboards The sleeve also credits "A Linn" with playing drums on the record, a joking reference to the programmed Linn drum machine.


Charts and certifications


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Band Aid 20

Band Aid 20 recorded a third version of the song in November 2004 for the twentieth anniversary of the original recording, and again got to number one. The recording and release of the single tied in with the release of the Live Aid concert on DVD for the first time. The idea was prompted by
Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...
's
Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Uni ...
, although Geldof and Ure both got quickly involved. Geldof did the publicity and educated the younger artists on the issues (some of whom had not been born, or were very young, when the original was recorded) while Ure filmed the event for the corresponding documentary. The song was produced by
Nigel Godrich Nigel Timothy Godrich (born 28 February 1971) is an English record producer, recording engineer and musician. He is known for his work with the English rock band Radiohead, having produced all their studio albums since '' OK Computer'' (1997). ...
, who was contacted by Ure. Godrich said: "'I thought, 'Oh fuck!' Then I thought I should do it. In our lives we give so little back." He enlisted musicians including
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
(on bass), the Supergrass drummer Danny Goffey, and
Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been descri ...
and Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead. He said in 2009: "I'm glad I did it – it raised quite a bit of money. It came on when I was sitting in a lobby somewhere once, and it took me a while to recognise it. It sounded good though, better than I remembered." The gathering of the artists to record the song's chorus took place at
AIR Studios Associated Independent Recording (AIR) is an independent recording company founded in London in 1965 by record producer Sir George Martin and his business partner John Burgess, after their departure from Parlophone. The studio complex was founded ...
in Hampstead in north London on Sunday 14 November 2004, although the backing track and many of the solo lines had been recorded over the previous two days. Damon Albarn did not take part in the recording but turned up to serve tea to the participants. This version of the song featured an extra segment—a rap by
Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. D ...
in the midst of the "here's to you" section. Bono flew in especially from Ireland late on Sunday evening to sing the same line as he had done two decades earlier, making him the sixth artist to appear on two versions, in addition to Geldof, Ure, McCartney, Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward (Bananarama).


Personnel

Vocalists *
Tim Wheeler Timothy James Arthur Wheeler (born 4 January 1977) is a Northern Irish singer, songwriter, and musician for the alternative rock band Ash. He has written nearly all of Ash's notable works, such as " Oh Yeah", "Shining Light", " Girl from Mars" ...
( Ash) * Daniel Bedingfield *
Natasha Bedingfield Natasha Anne Bedingfield (born 26 November 1981) is a British singer and songwriter. Bedingfield released her debut album, '' Unwritten'', in 2004, which contained primarily up-tempo pop songs and was influenced by R&B music. It enjoyed intern ...
* Bono ( U2) * Busted *
Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Uni ...
(
Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...
) *
Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...
– performed separately from a studio in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
*
Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), better known by his stage name Dizzee Rascal, is a British MC and rapper. A pioneer of grime music, his work has also incorporated elements of UK garage, bassline, British hip hop, and R&B. D ...
– the only artist to add lyrics to the song * Ms Dynamite *
Skye Edwards Skye Edwards (born Shirley Klaris Yonavieve Edwards; 27 May 1974), sometimes simply Skye, is a British singer-songwriter. Her career began in 1994 when she and the Godfrey brothers (Paul Godfrey, a DJ, and Ross Godfrey, a multi-instrumentalist ...
(
Morcheeba Morcheeba is an English electronic band formed in the mid-1990s with founding members vocalist Skye Edwards and the brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey. They mix influences from trip hop, rock, folk rock and downtempo, and have produced ten regula ...
) * Estelle * Feeder *
Neil Hannon Edward Neil Anthony Hannon (born 7 November 1970) is a Northern Irish singer and songwriter. He is the creator and front man of the chamber pop group The Divine Comedy, and is the band's sole constant member. Hannon wrote the theme tunes for ...
( The Divine Comedy) *
Justin Hawkins Justin David Hawkins (born 17 March 1975) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and YouTube personality best known for being the founder, lead singer, and lead guitarist of The Darkness. He was influenced by rock bands of the 1970s and ...
( The Darkness) * Jamelia *
Tom Chaplin Thomas Oliver Chaplin (born 8 March 1979) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and composer, best known as the lead singer of the English pop rock band Keane. Early life Thomas Oliver Chaplin was born in Hastings, East Sussex, to Sally and ...
( Keane) * Tim Rice-Oxley (Keane) *
Beverley Knight Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English recording artist and musical theatre actress. She released her first album, '' The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke an ...
*
Lemar Lemar Obika (born 4 April 1978), known as Lemar, is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. Initially rising to fame after finishing third on the first series of British talent show ''Fame Academy'', he was later signed to Sony BMG ...
*
Shaznay Lewis Tricia Marie "Shaznay" Lewis (born 14 October 1975) is an English singer, songwriter and a member of the girl group All Saints. She has co-written most of the group's songs, including number one singles: "Bootie Call", "Pure Shores" and internat ...
( All Saints) *
Katie Melua Ketevan Katie Melua (; ka, ქეთევან "ქეთი" მელუა, ; born 16 September 1984) is a Georgian and British singer and songwriter. She was born in Kutaisi and raised in Belfast and London. Under the management of com ...
* Róisín Murphy (
Moloko Moloko () were an Irish-English electronic music duo formed in Sheffield, England, consisting of vocalist Róisín Murphy and producer Mark Brydon. Blending elements of electronica and dance music, they are best known for their UK top 10 sin ...
) * Snow Patrol *
Rachel Stevens Rachel Lauren Stevens (born 9 April 1978) is an English singer, television personality, actress and businesswoman. She was a member of the pop group S Club 7 between 1999 and 2003. She released her solo debut studio album '' Funky Dory'' in Se ...
* Joss Stone *
Sugababes Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes releas ...
*
The Thrills The Thrills are an Irish rock band, formed in 2001 in Dublin, Ireland. The band was founded by lead vocalist Conor Deasy and guitarist Daniel Ryan, guitarist and bass player Padraic McMahon, pianist Kevin Horan and drummer Ben Carrigan. Their bre ...
*
Turin Brakes Turin Brakes are an English band, comprising original duo of Olly Knights and Gale Paridjanian, and long-term collaborators Rob Allum and Eddie Myer. They had a UK top 5 hit in 2003 with their song "Painkiller (Summer Rain)". Since starting ou ...
*
Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...
– performed separately from a studio in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
*
Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest '' Pop Idol'', making him the first winner of the worldwide '' Idol ...
* Fran Healy ( Travis) Musicians * Danny Goffey ( Supergrass) – drums * Jonny Greenwood ( Radiohead) – guitar *
Dan Hawkins Danny Clarence Hawkins (born November 10, 1960) is an American football coach at UC Davis. A former player and sportscaster, he served as the head football coach at Willamette University (1993–1997), Boise State University (2001–2005), and ...
(The Darkness) – guitar *
Justin Hawkins Justin David Hawkins (born 17 March 1975) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and YouTube personality best known for being the founder, lead singer, and lead guitarist of The Darkness. He was influenced by rock bands of the 1970s and ...
(The Darkness) – guitar *
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
– bass guitar *
Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been descri ...
(Radiohead) – piano Additional personnel * Damon Albarn – tea boy * Bob Geldof – organiser *
Nigel Godrich Nigel Timothy Godrich (born 28 February 1971) is an English record producer, recording engineer and musician. He is known for his work with the English rock band Radiohead, having produced all their studio albums since '' OK Computer'' (1997). ...
– producer * Midge Ure – executive producer


Charts and certifications


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Band Aid 30

At a press conference on 10 November 2014, Geldof and Ure announced that another group of artists would come together to re-record the song, this time under the banner of Band Aid 30 and in aid of the Ebola crisis. The 2014 version was recorded on Saturday 15 November 2014 and released on the following Monday, 17 November.


Background

Tracey Emin Tracey Karima Emin, CBE, RA (; born 3 July 1963) is a British artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Emin produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, neon text and ...
provided the artwork and Paul Epworth produced the track. Vocal contributions came from artists including
Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...
,
One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the g ...
,
Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer and actress. Her debut studio album, '' Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?,'' was released in 2009 and was certified double platinum in the UK. The album spawned the sin ...
, Ellie Goulding,
Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...
,
Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single " Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...
, Sinéad O'Connor,
Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, "Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut stud ...
,
Emeli Sandé Adele Emily Sandé, ( ; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian father ...
,
Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...
and
Olly Murs Oliver Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and television presenter. He was runner-up on the sixth series of '' The X Factor'' in 2009 and was subsequently signed to RCA Records and Sony Music in the United Kingdom ...
. Returning guest musicians from previous versions of the song included Chris Martin (who recorded the opening lines of the 2004 version) and Bono (who sang the tenth line in both the 1984 and 2004 versions). Unlike the previous versions, where lyrics were almost identical to the original, the lyrics were altered to address the then-ongoing outbreak. The lyric changes include: * "Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears" is replaced with "Where a kiss of love can kill you and there's death in every tear" * "Well, tonight thank God it's them instead of you" is replaced with "Well tonight we're reaching out and touching you" * "And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time" is replaced with "Bring peace and joy this Christmas to West Africa". * "The greatest gift they'll get this year is life" is replaced with "A song of hope where there's no hope tonight". * "Where nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow" is replaced with "Why is comfort to be feared? Why is to touch to be scared?". * "Underneath that burning sun" is replaced with "And all there is to come". * "Do they know..." is rephrased as "How can they know...". * During the coda, "Feed the world" alternates with "Heal the world".


Personnel

Vocalists: *
Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...
* Bono ( U2) * Alfie Deyes *
Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer and actress. Her debut studio album, '' Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?,'' was released in 2009 and was certified double platinum in the UK. The album spawned the sin ...
* Guy Garvey (
Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the me ...
) * Ellie Goulding *
Angélique Kidjo Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo (; born July 14, 1960), known as Angélique Kidjo, is a Beninese singer-songwriter, actress, and activist who is noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. ...
*
Chris Martin Christopher Anthony John Martin (born 2 March 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, pianist, rhythm guitarist and co-founder of the rock band Coldplay. Born in Exeter, Devon, he went to Uni ...
(
Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...
) * Sinéad O'Connor *
One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the g ...
*
Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, "Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut stud ...
*
Olly Murs Oliver Stanley Murs (born 14 May 1984) is an English singer, songwriter, and television presenter. He was runner-up on the sixth series of '' The X Factor'' in 2009 and was subsequently signed to RCA Records and Sony Music in the United Kingdom ...
*
Emeli Sandé Adele Emily Sandé, ( ; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a Scottish singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, by an English mother and a Zambian father ...
*
Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...
*
Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...
*
Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single " Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...
* Joe Sugg *
Zoe Sugg Zoë Elizabeth Sugg (born 28 March 1990), also known by her online name Zoella, is an English media personality, entrepreneur, and author. She began her career as a YouTuber in 2009, and has since amassed over 10 million subscribers. In 2014, ...
*
Karl Hyde Karl Hyde (born 10 May 1957) is an English musician and artist. He is a founding member of British electronic group Underworld. Hyde has also released a solo album, made albums with Brian Eno and Matthew Herbert, and contributed towards the sco ...
(
Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...
) *
Jessie Ware Jessica Lois Ware (born 15 October 1984) is an English singer, songwriter and broadcaster. Ware came to prominence following the release of her debut studio album, '' Devotion'' (2012), which peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart, produc ...
Musicians: *Milan Neil Amin-Smith (
Clean Bandit Clean Bandit are an English electronic music group, formed in Cambridge in 2008. They have had four number 1 hits and ten top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart. They direct and produce their own music videos, many of which have been nominated for ...
) – violin *Grace Chatto (
Clean Bandit Clean Bandit are an English electronic music group, formed in Cambridge in 2008. They have had four number 1 hits and ten top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart. They direct and produce their own music videos, many of which have been nominated for ...
) – cello * Roger Taylor (
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
) – drums, keyboards Additional personnel: * Paul Epworth – producer


German version

A German-language version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was released on 21 November 2014. It was produced by Vincent Sorg and Tobias Kuhn and features vocals from artists including
2raumwohnung 2raumwohnung (; meaning "2-Room Apartment") are a German electro-pop duo that was formed in 2000 in Berlin. Its two members are singer, Inga Humpe, and her life partner, Tommi Eckart. They reached the high point of their career to date with the ...
, Andreas Bourani, Die Toten Hosen,
Jan Delay Jan Phillip Eißfeldt (born 25 August 1976), known professionally as Jan Delay, is a German rapper and singer whose stylistic range includes mainly hip hop, reggae, dub and funk. An accomplished solo artist, he became known to the public as a ...
,
Joy Denalane Joy Maureen Denalane (born 11 June 1973) is a German singer-songwriter, known for her mixture of soul, R&B, and African folk music with lyrics in German and English. Early life Denalane was born in Berlin- Schöneberg to a South African father ...
,
Max Raabe Max Raabe (born Matthias Otto, 12 December 1962) is a German jazz singer. He is best known as the founder and leader of the Palast Orchester. Career Raabe developed an interest in the sound of German dance and film music of the 1920s and 193 ...
,
Milky Chance Milky Chance is a German rock band originating in Kassel. It consists of vocalist and guitarist Clemens Rehbein, bassist and percussionist Philipp Dausch, and their band members, Antonio Greger and Sebastian Schmidt. Their first single, "Stolen ...
, Peter Maffay,
Silbermond Silbermond ("silver moon") is a German pop rock band from Bautzen, Saxony. The band consists of Stefanie Kloß, Andreas Nowak, and brothers Johannes and Thomas Stolle. History The band members originally met in 1998 when they participated in t ...
,
Thees Uhlmann Thees Uhlmann (born April 16, 1974 in Hemmoor, Lower Saxony) is a German musician and author. He is a founding member of the indie-pop band Tomte and also writes for the magazines ''Intro'', ''Visions'', ''Spex'' and '' Musikexpress''. 1987-2011 ...
, and Wolfgang Niedecken.


Track listing


Charts and certifications


Weekly charts

;British and Irish version (original) ;German version


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


Glee Cast version

The song was covered by the cast of '' Glee'' and was released in 2011 as a single and alongside the full-length album '' Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album Volume 2''. The song was featured in the season three Christmas episode, " Extraordinary Merry Christmas".


Charts


Band Aid Liverpool version

In December 2020, a group of musicians from
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
recorded a version of "Do They Know It's Christmas" under the name Band Aid Liverpool as a charity record in support of
Shelter Shelter is a small building giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger. Shelter may also refer to: Places * Port Shelter, Hong Kong * Shelter Bay (disambiguation), various locations * Shelter Cove (disambiguation), various locatio ...
. Retitled "Do They Know It's Christmas (Feed the World)" with lyrics referring to places on
Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...
, the project was given the go-ahead by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, with Band Aid Liverpool releasing their cover version on 10 December 2020.


Keith Lemon and Friends version

In December 2020, comedian
Leigh Francis Leigh Izaak Francis (born 30 April 1973), known professionally as Keith Lemon, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television presenter. He is best known for creating and starring in Channel 4's sketch comedy show '' Bo' Selecta!'' (20 ...
recorded a version of the song in honour of late TV presenter Caroline Flack, with proceeds raising money for the Trussell Trust, Crisis, UNICEF, Shelter and Samaritans. His version, recorded in character as Keith Lemon and the Bear from '' Bo' Selecta!'', featured Emma Bunton,
Peter Andre Peter Andre (born Peter James Andrea, 27 February 1973) is an English-Australian singer and television personality of Australian descent. Andre gained popularity as a singer, best known for his singles "Mysterious Girl" and " Flava". He is als ...
and
Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career start ...
(with Keating also turning up on a version of
LadBaby Mark Ian Hoyle (born 12 April 1987), better known by his online pseudonym LadBaby, is an English YouTuber, musician, and blogger. His content focuses on his experiences as a father and is usually filmed in collaboration with his wife, Roxanne. T ...
's "Don't Stop Me Eatin'", another 2020 Christmas number one contender raising money for the Trussell Trust).


LadBaby version

On 12 December 2022, British blogger Mark Hoyle, aka
LadBaby Mark Ian Hoyle (born 12 April 1987), better known by his online pseudonym LadBaby, is an English YouTuber, musician, and blogger. His content focuses on his experiences as a father and is usually filmed in collaboration with his wife, Roxanne. T ...
, announced that he had been given permission from Ure, Geldof, and the Band Aid trust to rewrite the lyrics to "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and release it as his 2022 Christmas single. Retitled "Food Aid", the single was released on 16 December 2022, and featured Hoyle's wife Roxanne and Martin Lewis. Half of the money raised would go to
the Trussell Trust The Trussell Trust is an NGO and charity that works to end the need for food banks in the United Kingdom. It supports a network of over 1,200 food bank centres to provide emergency food and compassionate, practical support to people in crisis, wh ...
and the other half to the Band Aid Trust. On 23 December 2022, it was announced that LadBaby was the Christmas number one for the fifth consecutive year, making them the first act to achieve five UK Christmas number-one singles, surpassing the record set by
the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
who had four in 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1967.


Charts


See also

* "
Starvation/Tam Tam Pour L'Ethiopie "Starvation/Tam Tam Pour L'Ethiopie" is a double A-sided charity single released in 1985, and recorded by two charity ensembles formed specially for the occasion, also known as "Starvation" and "Tam Tam Pour L'Ethiopie" respectively. The aim was ...
", a 1985 charity single featuring British and African artists * "
Tears Are Not Enough "Tears Are Not Enough" is a 1985 charity single recorded by a supergroup of Canadian artists, under the name Northern Lights, to raise funds for relief of the 1983–85 famine in Ethiopia. It was one of a number of such supergroup singles reco ...
", a 1985 charity single recorded by Northern Lights, a supergroup of Canadian artists


References

{{authority control 1984 debut singles 1984 songs 1985 singles 1989 singles 2004 singles 2014 singles Aid songs for Africa Albums with cover art by Peter Blake (artist) All-star recordings British Christmas songs Charity singles Christmas number-one singles in the United Kingdom Columbia Records singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Island Records singles Mercury Records singles Music videos directed by Nigel Dick Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Hungary Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Scotland Number-one singles in Spain Number-one singles in Sweden Number-one singles in Switzerland Pete Waterman Entertainment singles Phonogram Records singles Polydor Records singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Slade songs SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Songs about poverty Songs written by Midge Ure UK Singles Chart number-one singles Virgin EMI Records singles