Editing Bob Geldof (section)

===Band Aid===
{{Main|Band Aid (band)}}

[[File:AcropoleHotelKhartoumBobGeldofLetter RomanDeckert25042018.jpg|thumb|right|190px|Letter of thanks from Geldof to the [[Acropole Hotel]] in Khartoum, Sudan, for supporting Band Aid during the 1980s drought in Darfur and Ethiopia]]
In 1984, Geldof responded to a BBC News report from [[Michael Buerk]] about the [[1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia|famine in Ethiopia]] by mobilising the pop world to do something about the images he had seen.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/mj2jf0US8zI Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20100423115035/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj2jf0US8zI Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj2jf0US8zI |title=BBC on Ethiopian famine 1984 |date=4 October 2008 |publisher=YouTube |access-date=10 August 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref> With [[Midge Ure]] of [[Ultravox]] he wrote "[[Do They Know It's Christmas?]]" in order to raise funds. The song was recorded in a single day at [[Sarm West Studios]] in [[Notting Hill]], London on 25 November 1984 by various artists performing under the name of [[Band Aid (band)|Band Aid]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20111219224029/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1643506/looking-back-at-live-aid-25-years-later.jhtml "Looking Back At Live Aid, 25 Years Later"]. MTV. Retrieved 22 October 2016</ref>

In its first week of release, the single became the UK's fastest-seller of all time, entering the [[UK Singles Chart]] at number one and staying there for five weeks, becoming the [[List of UK Singles Chart Christmas number ones|Christmas number one]] of 1984.<ref name="Release">{{cite magazine |title=Flashback: Band Aid Raises Millions With 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/do-they-know-its-christmas-band-aid-1984-geldof-761428/ |access-date=27 August 2021 |magazine=Rolling Stone|quote= The single, released in the United Kingdom on December 3rd, 1984, was crafted to "touch people's heartstrings and to loosen the purse strings".}}</ref> It went on to sell over three million copies, making it the biggest-selling single in UK history up to that point, a title it held for almost 13 years.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ami |last=Sedghi |title=UK's million-selling singles: the full list |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London, England |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/nov/04/uk-million-selling-singles-full-list |date=4 November 2012 |access-date=4 November 2012}}</ref> The single was also a major US hit, peaking at number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and selling an estimated 2.5&nbsp;million copies in the US by January 1985.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Paul |last=Green |title=Ethiopia-Aid Single, Video Take Off |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |publisher=Billboard Publications |location=New York City, US |date=5 January 1985 |page=3 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Stephen |last=Holden |title=The Pop Life; Artists Join in Effort for Famine Relief |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |location=New York City, US |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/27/arts/the-pop-life-artists-join-in-effort-for-famine-relief.html |date=27 February 1985 |access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref> The single would eventually sell 11.7&nbsp;million copies worldwide.<ref name="guinness">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bCmp92JXMjsC&q=best-selling+single|title=Guinness Book of World Records, 1989, page 155-156|access-date=2 February 2012|publisher=[[Jim Pattison Group]]|first=Donald|last=McFarlen|isbn=9780806902760|date=December 1988}}</ref>

New versions of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" were recorded in 1989 and 2004. In November 2014, Geldof announced that he would be forming a further incarnation of Band Aid, to be known as [[Band Aid (band)#Band Aid 30|Band Aid 30]], to record an updated version of the [[Charity record|charity single]], with the proceeds going to treat victims of the [[Ebola virus disease|Ebola virus]] in West Africa.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= Bob Geldof to record Band Aid 30 |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29980841 |website= [[BBC News]]| date= 9 November 2014|access-date=10 November 2014 }}</ref>