Prompted by huge public demand the track was released on November 17, 1997, as a charity single for Children in Need, and Reed said, "I have never been more impressed with a performance of one of my songs." It was the UK's number one single for three weeks, in two separate spells. The record contributed £2,125,000 to the charity's highest fundraising total in six years, and, as of November 2016, has sold 1.54 million copies. The release featured two additional versions of the song: one entirely sung by female performers, one by male performers. The BBC also produced a Christmas version of the accompanying music video.