Do They Know Its Christmas?
| "Do They Know It's Christmas?" | |
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| Single by Band Aid | |
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| Released | 3 December 1984 |
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| Recorded | 25 November 1984 |
| Studio | Sarm West Studios, London |
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| "Do They Know It's Christmas?" | |
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| Single by Band Aid II | |
| B-side | "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (Instrumental) |
| Released | 11 December 1989 |
| Format | |
| Recorded | 2–3 December 1989 at The Hit Factory, London |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 4:25 |
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| "Do They Know It's Christmas?" | |
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| Single by Band Aid 20 | |
| B-side |
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| Released | 29 November 2004 |
| Format | |
| Recorded | 12–14 November 2004 at Mayfair Studios, Primrose Hill and AIR Studios, Hampstead, London |
| Genre | |
| Length | 5:07 |
| Label | Mercury |
| Songwriter(s) | |
| Producer(s) | Nigel Godrich |
| Music video | |
| Band Aid 20 "Do They Know It's Christmas?" at MTV UK | |
| "Do They Know It's Christmas? (2014)" | |
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| Single by Band Aid 30 | |
| Released | 17 November 2014 |
| Format | |
| Recorded | 15 November 2014 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 3:48 |
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| Songwriter(s) | |
| Producer(s) | Paul Epworth |
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in reaction to television reports of the 1983–85 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded in a single day on 25 November 1984 by Band Aid, a supergroup put together by Geldof and Ure and consisting mainly of the biggest British and Irish musical acts at the time. The single was released in the United Kingdom on 3 December 1984 and aided by considerable publicity it entered the UK Singles Chart at number one and stayed there for five weeks, becoming the Christmas number one of 1984. The record became the fastest selling single in UK chart history, selling a million copies in the first week alone and passing 3 million on the last day of 1984, on the way to displacing Wings's "Mull of Kintyre" as the biggest-selling single of all time in the UK. It held this title until 1997 when it was overtaken by Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997", released in tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales following her death. The original version of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" has sold 3.8 million copies in the UK to date.
The song was also a major success around the world, reaching number one in thirteen other countries outside the UK. In the US, the single fell short of the top ten in the Billboard Hot 100 due to a lack of airplay, but it had sold an estimated 2.5 million copies in the US by January 1985. Worldwide the single had sold 11.7 million copies by 1989. Geldof's cautious hope was that the single would raise £70,000 for Ethiopia, but "Do They Know It's Christmas?" raised £8 million within twelve months of release. The single's worldwide success in raising awareness and financial relief for the victims of the Ethiopian famine led the recording of several other charity singles in the UK and in other countries, such as "We Are the World" by USA for Africa. The song also led to various spin-off charity events, such as Comic Relief, and the Live Aid concert which would take place seven months later in July 1985.
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