Soft Aid Soft Aid Soft Aid was a Charity Computer Game Software edition, released by Quicksilva in late 1985 to support the Famine Relief in Ethiopia. The software was released on tape for the ZX Spectrum computer and the Commodore 64. On one side of the tape, as well as games, the charity single, Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid was also available if the tape was played (at this point) on an audio tape recorder. The tape was unusual in that it was released to help support a charity (possibly unique in computer gaming at the time). To help
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