Band Aid

"Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup consisting of popular British and Irish musicians, in a single day at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill, London, in November 1984. "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was released in the UK on 7 December 1984. It entered the UK singles chart at number one, where it remained for five weeks, becoming Christmas number one. It sold a million copies in the first week, making it the fastest-selling single in UK chart history until Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997". UK sales passed three million by 1985. The song also reached number one in 13 other countries. In the US, it fell short of the top ten in the Billboard Hot 100, but sold an estimated 2.5 million copies by 1985. It had sold 11.7 million copies worldwide by 1989 and 3.8 million in the UK by 2017. "Do They Know It's Christmas?" raised £8 million for Ethiopia within a year, far exceeding Geldof's hopes. The success inspired other charity singles, such as "We Are the World" (1985) by USA for Africa, and charity events such as Comic Relief and the 1985 Live Aid concert. Some commentators argued that the lyrics were racist or demeaning towards Ethiopians and misrepresented Africa, or that the song hindered more meaningful solutions to poverty. Geldof defended the lyrics as factual and Ure said the song was secondary to the purpose of raising money for the cause. "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was rerecorded and rereleased with different musicians 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 were Christmas number ones. The 2004 version sold 1.8 million copies. A new mix, combining elements of the previous versions, was released in 2024 for the 40th anniversary.