Do They Know It's Christmas?
The charity single that changed pop music
♫ Lyrics
At Christmastime, we let in light and we banish shade
And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the world at Christmastime...
Lyrics excerpt shown. This song is under copyright protection.
❄ The Story
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" was born from outrage. In October 1984, Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof watched a BBC news report on the Ethiopian famine and was so horrified he called Ultravox's Midge Ure to co-write a charity single. Within weeks, they had assembled the biggest names in British pop — Boy George, Bono, George Michael, Sting, Phil Collins, Paul Weller, Duran Duran members, and more — under the collective name Band Aid.
The song was recorded in a single marathon session at SARM Studios in London on November 25, 1984. The chaotic energy of the recording — with stars arriving throughout the day, jostling for microphone time — is part of the song's legend. It was mixed overnight and released within days.
The single went straight to #1 in the UK, selling a million copies in its first week — a record at the time. It raised over $24 million for famine relief and directly inspired the Live Aid concerts the following year. The song kept Wham!'s "Last Christmas" from the #1 spot (George Michael, who sang on the Band Aid single, donated his Wham! royalties to the same cause). It has been re-recorded three times since (1989, 2004, 2014), each with a new generation of pop stars.
🎶 Notable Recordings
The original — #1 in 13 countries
With Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Cliff Richard
With Dizzee Rascal, Robbie Williams, Chris Martin
With One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith
Fun Facts
The entire song was recorded in a single day at SARM Studios, London.
It sold a million copies in its first week — a UK record at the time.
It kept Wham!'s "Last Christmas" from #1 — and George Michael sang on both singles.
The single directly led to the Live Aid concerts, which raised over $127 million.