Holly Johnson 1986, his star had faded considerably. Frankie Goes to Hollywood had not released any material since early 1985 and were absent from that year's Live Aid event. In addition, he did not perform on the successful charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid in December 1984. By 1987 his relationship with the rest of the band had broken down irretrievably, not helped by his decision to gain legal rights to exclusive use of the band's name, without consultation with other members. The UK Intellectual Property Office ruled against Mr Johnson, however, and during a reunion on the
Band Aid (band) 1 breakfast show with Mike Read, to promote the record further and promise that every penny would go to the cause. This led to a stand-off with the British Government, who refused to waive the VAT on the sales of the single. Geldof made the headlines by publicly standing up to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and, sensing the strength of public feeling, the government backed down and donated the tax back to the charity. The record was released on 3 December 1984, and went straight to No. 1 in the UK singles chart, outselling all the other records in the