Charity record

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A charity record (also known as a charity single) is a release of a song for a specific charitable cause. Some of the earliest charity records came from the Music for UNICEF Concert, with ABBA's Chiquitita and the Bee Gees' Too Much Heaven among them released as singles, with all the royalties going to UNICEF. Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas? began the revolution of the charity record, which would be popularised throughout the 1980s. In the United States, charity records reached their peak with We Are the World in 1985, but then essentially died out afterwards. In the United Kingdom, however, charity singles (especially Comic Relief), have become yearly #1 hits.

Contents

[edit] Notable charity singles

[edit] 1980s

Release Date Title Artists Charity/Cause Highest Chart Position
December 1984 "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Band Aid famine in Ethiopia 1 (UK), 1 (Australia)
December 1984 "Last Christmas"/"Everything She Wants" Wham! Ethiopian famine appeal (not originally a charity record, but George Michael acceded to give royalties to Band Aid) 2 (UK)
April 1985 "We Are the World" USA for Africa famine in Ethiopia 1 (US), 1 (UK), 1 (Australia)
June 1985 "You'll Never Walk Alone" The Crowd Bradford City disaster 1 (UK)
November 1985 "That's What Friends Are For" Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and Elton John American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR) 1 (US), 16 (UK), 1 (Australia)
April 1986 "Living Doll" Cliff Richard and the cast of The Young Ones Comic Relief 1 (UK), 1 (Australia)
April 1986 "Heroes/A Long Way To Go" The County Line featuring Suzi Quatro, Bronski Beat and Wendy Roberts BBC Children In Need 76 (UK)
May 1986 "Everybody Wants to Run the World" Tears for Fears Sport Aid 5 (UK)
March 1987 "Let it Be" Ferry Aid Herald of Free Enterprise disaster at Zeebrugge 1 (UK)
November 1987 "The Wishing Well" G.O.S.H. Great Ormond Street Hospital Wishing Well Appeal 22 (UK)
December 1987 "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" Mel & Kim (Mel Smith and Kim Wilde) Comic Relief 3 (UK)
May 1988 "With a Little Help from My Friends" Wet Wet Wet ChildLine 1 (UK)
August 1988 "Running All Over the World" Status Quo Sport Aid 17 (UK)
February 1989 "Help!" Bananarama & La Na Nee Nee Noo Noo (French and Saunders with Kathy Burke) Comic Relief 3 (UK)
April 1989 "Ferry Cross the Mersey" The Christians, Holly Johnson, Paul McCartney, Gerry Marsden, Stock Aitken Waterman Hillsborough disaster 1 (UK)
December 1989 "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Band Aid II famine in Ethiopia 1 (UK)

[edit] 1990s

Release Date Title Artists Charity/Cause Highest Chart Position
April 1990 "Use it Up and Wear it Out" Pat and Mick Help a London Child 22 (UK)
June 1990 "You've Got a Friend" Big Fun, Sonia, featuring Gary Barnacle on saxophone ChildLine 14 (UK)
March 1991 "The Stonk" Hale and Pace (backing band includes David Gilmour) Comic Relief 1 (UK)
April 1992 "(I Want To Be) Elected" Smear Campaign (Bruce Dickinson, Rowan Atkinson, Angus Deayton) Comic Relief 9 (UK)
September 1992 "Suicide is Painless" Manic Street Preachers The Spastics Society (now SCOPE) 7 (UK)
February 1993 "Stick It Out" Right Said Fred and friends Comic Relief 4 (UK)
May 1994 "Absolutely Fabulous" Pet Shop Boys with Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley (of the television series Absolutely Fabulous) Comic Relief 6 (UK), 2 (Australia)
March 1995 "Love Can Build a Bridge" Cher, Chrissie Hynde, Neneh Cherry and Eric Clapton Comic Relief 1 (UK)
December 1996 "Knockin' on Heaven's Door/Throw These Guns Away" Dunblane, aid of Victims of the Dunblane massacre 1 (UK)
March 1997 "Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are" The Spice Girls Comic Relief 1 (UK), 13 (Australia)
September 1997 "Candle in the Wind 1997"/"Something About The Way You Look Tonight" Elton John Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund 1 (US), 1 (UK), 1 (Australia)
November 1997 "Perfect Day" Various Artists, see specific article for full list Children in Need 1 (UK)
March 1999 "When The Going Gets Tough" Boyzone Comic Relief 1 (UK)
November 1999 "Talking in Your Sleep/Love Me" Martine McCutcheon Children In Need 6 (UK)

[edit] 2000s

Release Date Title Artists Charity/Cause Highest Chart Position
December 2000 "Never Had a Dream Come True" S Club 7 Children In Need 1 (UK), 10 (US)
March 2001 "Uptown Girl" Westlife Comic Relief 1 (UK), 6 (Australia)
October 2001 "What's Going On" All Star Tribute Artists Against AIDS Worldwide and 9/11 victims 27 (US), 6 (UK), 38 (Australia)
November 2001 "Have You Ever" S Club 7 Children In Need 1 (UK), 48 (Australia)
July 2002
        Your Song
        Sir Elton John and Alessandro Safina
        Sport Relief
        4 (UK)
November 2002 "Don't Let Me Down" Will Young Children In Need 2 (UK),
March 2003 "Spirit In The Sky" Gareth Gates and the Kumars Comic Relief 1 (UK)
November 2003 "I'm Your Man" Shane Richie Children in Need 2 (UK)
July 2004 "Some Girls" Rachel Stevens Sport Relief 2 (UK)
November 2004 "I'll Stand By You" Girls Aloud Children in Need 1 (UK)
November 2004 "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Band Aid 20 famine in Ethiopia 1 (UK), 9 (Australia)
December 2004 "Twelve Days of Christmas" Dreamtime Christmas All-Stars Starlight Foundation and Youth Off the Streets 26 (Australia)
December 2004 "Father And Son" Ronan Keating featuring Yusuf Islam Band Aid Foundation 2 (UK)
December 2004 "Come On Aussie, Come On" Shannon Noll Australian Red Cross' Good Start Breakfast Club 2 (Australia)
February 2005 "Grief Never Grows Old" One World Project 2004 Asian Tsunami relief 4 (UK)
February 2005 "Evie Parts 1, 2 and 3" The Wrights Stevie Wright, The Salvation Army and 2004 Asian Tsunami relief 2 (Australia)
March 2005 "All About You"/"You've Got A Friend" McFly Comic Relief 1 (UK)
March 2005 "Is This the Way to Amarillo?" Tony Christie featuring Peter Kay Comic Relief 1 (UK)
March 2005 "All Around the World" ProgAID 2004 Asian Tsunami relief unknown
October 2005 "Do They Know It's Hallowe'en?" The North American Hallowe'en Prevention Initiative UNICEF did not chart
November 2005 "A Night to Remember" Liberty X Children in Need 6 (UK)
July 2006 "Please Please/Don't stop me now" Mcfly Sport Relief 1 (UK)
November 2006 "Downtown" Emma Bunton Children in Need 3 (UK)
2007 "Walk This Way" Girls Aloud vs Sugababes Comic Relief  ?? (UK)
2007 "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" Matt Lucas and Peter Kay Comic Relief  ?? (UK)