George Michael calling the move "way overdue". In November 1984, Michael joined other British and Irish pop stars of the era to form Band Aid, singing on the charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" for famine relief in Ethiopia. This single became the UK Christmas number one in December 1984, holding Michael's own song, "Last Christmas" by Wham!, at No. 2; Michael also donated the royalties for "Last Christmas" to Ethiopia. "Do They Know It's Christmas?" sold 3.75 million copies in the UK and became the biggest selling single in UK chart history, a title it held until 1997 when it
Band Aid (band) but was unable to as he was in hospital at the time with a kidney infection. The Band Aid project inspired other charity records around the world, including "We Are the World" by USA for Africa (in the United States), "Cantaré Cantarás" by Project Hermanos (in Latin America), "Nackt im Wind" by Band für Afrika (in Germany), "Ethiopie" by Chanteurs Sans Frontiere'(in France), "Tears Are Not Enough" by Northern Lights (in Canada), "Show some Concern" by The Concerned in Ireland, "Sammen for Livet" by Forente Artister (in Norway), "Maksamme Velkaa" by Apua-Orkesteri (in Finland), "Chega de Mágoa" by Nordeste Já