Band Aid

In 1984, Bob Geldof, frontman of the Boomtown Rats, joined forces with producer Midge Ure to assemble the charity supergroup Band Aid in London, England. The project aimed to support anti-poverty initiatives in Ethiopia, so the collective cut the single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" specifically for the 1984 holiday season. Contributions from Bono, Sting, George Michael, Boy George, Simon Le Bon, and numerous other leading pop acts of the era propelled the release to the top of the pop charts, where it claimed the year's number one Christmas single spot while generating more than $24,000,000 for the cause. The overwhelming impact of Band Aid prompted several additional celebrity-driven groups to mount their own fundraising drives the next year, which in turn produced the star-studded Live Aid concert and the American charity supergroup USA for Africa. "Do They Know It's Christmas?" continues to rank among the most enduring holiday singles and received two further recordings from refreshed lineups of Band Aid to mark the ensemble's 20th and 30th anniversaries, with all proceeds once again directed toward African relief efforts.