Editing Band Aid (band) (section)

===Chronology (1984)===
Geldof was so moved by the plight of starving children in Ethiopia that he decided to try to raise money using his contacts in pop music. Geldof enlisted the help of [[Midge Ure]], from the group [[Ultravox]], to produce a [[charity record]]. Ure took Geldof's lyrics, and created the [[melody]] and backing track for the record.<ref name="Ure2013">{{cite book |first=Midge |last=Ure |author-link=Midge Ure |title=If I Was... An Enhanced Updated Autobiography |publisher=Acorn Digital Press |year=2013}}</ref> Geldof called many of the most popular British and Irish performers of the time, persuading them to donate their time. His one criterion for selection was how famous they were, to maximise sales of the record. He then kept an appointment to appear on a show on [[BBC Radio 1]], with [[Richard Skinner (broadcaster)|Richard Skinner]], but instead of promoting the new [[The Boomtown Rats|Boomtown Rats]] material as planned, he announced the plan for Band Aid.<ref name="BBCThree">{{cite AV media | people =Presenter: [[Midge Ure]]| date =21 October 2004 | title =Band Aid: The Song That Rocked the World | medium =TV Production | work =[[BBC]] }}</ref>

The recording studio waived their £85-per-hour fee and gave (the as yet unnamed) Band Aid 24 free hours to record and mix the record, on 25 November 1984. The recording took place at [[SARM Studios]] in [[Notting Hill]], owned by Trevor Horn's ZTT Records, between 11&nbsp;am and 7&nbsp;pm. It was filmed by director [[Nigel Dick]] to be released as the [[pop video]], though some basic tracks had been recorded the day before at Midge Ure's home studio. The first tracks to be recorded were the group/choir choruses which were filmed by the international press. The footage was rushed to newsrooms where it aired while the recording process continued. Later, drums by [[Phil Collins]] were recorded. The introduction of the song features a slowed-down drum sample from the [[Tears for Fears]] track "The Hurting" (which had been released in 1983). [[Tony Hadley]], of [[Spandau Ballet]], was the first to record his vocal, while a section sung by [[Status Quo (band)|Status Quo]] was deemed unusable, and replaced with a section comprising [[Paul Weller (singer)|Paul Weller]], [[Sting (musician)|Sting]], and Glenn Gregory from [[Heaven 17]]. [[Simon Le Bon]] from [[Duran Duran]] sang between contributions from George Michael and Sting. [[Paul Young]] has since admitted, in a documentary, that he knew his opening lines were written for [[David Bowie]], who was not able to make the recording but made a contribution to the [[B-side]] (Bowie performed his lines at the Live Aid concert the following year). [[Boy George]] arrived last, at 6&nbsp;pm, after Geldof woke him up by phone telling Boy George that he wanted him on the song. George's group, [[Culture Club]], were touring the US and George caught a [[Concorde]] jet from New York City to London, at his own expense, to record his solo part.

The following morning, Geldof appeared on the Radio 1 breakfast show with [[Mike Read]], to promote the record further and promise that every penny would go to the cause. This led to a stand-off with the British government, who refused to waive the [[Value added tax|VAT]] on the sales of the single. Geldof made headlines publicly standing up to Prime Minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] and the Conservative government in 1985 agreed to make a donation to charities working in Ethiopia and Chad equivalent to the VAT (Value Added Tax) collected on sales of the original 1984 Band Aid record.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2004-11-08 |title=Geldof gets cashback for Band Aid|url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/08/uk.bandaid/index.html |access-date=November 17, 2024 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041110031627/http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/08/uk.bandaid/index.html |archive-date=November 10, 2004 |website=[[CNN]]}}</ref>

The record was released on 7 December 1984<ref>{{Cite web |title=Band Aid: Do They Know Its Christmas |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/179411-Band-Aid-Do-They-Know-Its-Christmas |website=www.discogs.com|date=7 December 1984 }}</ref> and went straight to No. 1 in the [[UK singles chart]], outselling all the other records in the chart put together. It became the fastest-selling single of all time in the UK, selling a million copies in the first week alone. It stayed at No. 1 for five weeks, selling over three million copies and becoming easily the biggest-selling single of all time in the UK, beating the seven-year record held by "[[Mull of Kintyre (song)|Mull of Kintyre]]". It has since been surpassed by [[Elton John]]'s "[[Candle in the Wind 1997]]" (his tribute to [[Diana, Princess of Wales]]). At the [[1986 Grammy Awards]] the original music video from "Do They Know It's Christmas?" won Band Aid a [[Grammy Award]] nomination for [[Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video#Recipients|Best Music Video, Short Form]].

After [[Live Aid]], "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was re-released in late 1985 in a set that included a special-edition 'picture disc' version, modeled after the Live Aid logo with 'Band' in place of 'Live'. An added bonus, "One Year On" (a statement from Geldof and Ure on the telephone) was available as a B-side. A transcript of "One Year On" can be found in a booklet which was included in the DVD set of Live Aid, the first disc of which features the BBC news report, as well as the Band Aid video.

Live Aid inspired a number of charity events, such as Media Aid, which raised money for [[Save the Children]].