On this day: ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’ was created
When it comes to naming Christmas songs, ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’ would often be one of the first songs to be mentioned. On the 25th November 1984, Bob Geldof gathered a number of well-known singers including Sting, Boy George and Bono (to name a few) in a London recording studio to record the famous track.
The motive behind the release of the song was to help raise money for famine-stricken Ethiopia. A total of 3.5 million copies of the single were sold raising millions of pounds in the first week alone – becoming the highest selling single in UK chart history.
Bob Geldof under-estimated the sheer success that the single would have, aiming for and predicting only 70,000 copies to be sold. The single has since been covered on several occasions including additional singers such as Kylie Minogue and Chris Martin. No doubt we shall hear this catchy tune on our radios very soon!
Image credit: MichaelTutton