The all-star remake of “Do They Know It’s Christmas” (Mercury) easily debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. singles chart yesterday (Dec. 5). Although the Band Aid 20 track came nowhere near the first-week sales of its 1984 predecessor, it sold 292,000 copies, including two purchased by Prime Minister Tony Blair at an HMV store in Edinburgh on Friday.
The original Bob Geldof-led single sold nearly 800,000 in its first week and went on to sell a reported 3 million copies in the United Kingdom alone. The project led to the global fundraising phenomenon Live Aid the following year.
The 2004 version features Paul McCartney. Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Travis’ Fran Healy, the Darkness, Keane, Robbie Williams, Dido, Snow Patrol and Natasha Bedingfield, among others. U2 singer Bono, who was a member of the 1984 Band Aid chorus, also participates in the new recording. Like the original, proceeds will provide aid for Africa, particularly Sudan’s Darfur region.
In a very distant second place on the U.K. singles chart was “You Can Do It” by Ice Cube featuring Mack 10 and Ms Toi, the latest crossover dance hit created by Northern indie label All Around the World. The original track featured on the rapper’s 2000 album “War & Peace Volume 2” and was licensed by AATW from the Priority label.
“Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” the second single from Green Day’s “American Idiot” (Reprise/Warner Bros.), arrived at No. 5, with Natasha Bedingfield’s third hit “Unwritten,” the title song from her platinum-certified Phonogenic/BMG album, at No. 6. “Killamangiro” (Rough Trade) by Babyshambles, an alter ego of troubled former Libertines frontman Pete Doherty, came in at No. 8, while “Drop It Like It’s Hot” by Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell (Star Trak/Polydor) bowed at No. 10.
On the U.K. albums chart, U2’s “How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb” (Universal Island) started a second week, followed by Robbie Williams’ “Greatest Hits” (Chrysalis), which rebounded 3-2.
New to the top 10 were “What Will the Neighbours Say” (Polydor) by pop quintet Girls Aloud at No. 6 and “Time To Grow” (Sony Music) by R&B vocalist Lemar at No. 8. Both artists are graduates of British TV talent series — Girls Aloud from “Popstars” and Lemar from “Fame Academy.”
There was also a No. 24 start for ex-Westlife member Brian McFadden’s “Irish Son” (Modest/Sony Music), and a No. 29 entry for Genesis’ three-CD retrospective “The Platinum Collection” (Virgin).
The U2 album exploded onto European Top 100 Albums at No. 1, while Destiny’s Child’s “Lose My Breath” (Columbia) is No. 1 for a second week on Eurochart Hot 100 Singles.
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