Every Number 1 charity single on the Official Chart

Over 50 charity records have reached the summit of the Official Singles Chart.

The charity single is an institution that is a more recent phenomenon than you might think.

The first song widely recognised as a purpose-made charity single was released in 1971 by George Harrison; his track Bangla Desh raised money for UNICEF to help refugees following the 1970 Bhola cyclone and the Bangladesh Liberation War. The song, which reached Number 10 on the Official Singles Chart, was centrepiece of his charity Concert for Bangladesh held in New York.

Since then hundreds of charity records have been released, seen as both a tool to inspire the public to donate to cause and an easy and relatively inexpensive way for individuals to contribute.

57 charity records have reached Number 1 on the Official UK Singles Chart, with the first being Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid in 1984. Led by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, the supergroup - including George Michael, Duran Duran and Boy George - released the song to raise money for anti-famine efforts in Ethiopia. The single was recorded in just 24 hours and massively exceeded initial expectations, topping the chart for 5 weeks and claiming that year's Official Christmas Number 1. Its sales to date stand at 3.8 million, making it the second bestselling single ever in the UK.

Three more versions of the Do They Know It's Christmas? with different performers - released in 1989, 2004 and 2014 - have also reached Number 1, making it one of three songs that have had four different versions go to Number 1 (the other two being Unchained Melody and You'll Never Walk Alone).

There's one charity single that was even bigger than the original Band Aid: Elton John's Candle In The Wind 97/Something About The Way You Look Tonight. Released after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, the single was released to raise money for her memorial fund and has sold 4.93 million copies to become the UK's all-time bestseller.

Charity singles released for TV charity marathon Comic Relief are also among the most successful, notching up 13 chart-toppers, starting with the event's first, Cliff Richard's Living Doll, in 1986. While many Comic Relief singles are by big-name acts of the time, including Spice Girls and Boyzone, to drive sales, several are comedy songs inkeeping with the spirit of the charity. In 2003 Gareth Gates collaborated with TV funny family The Kumars for a cover of Spirit In The Sky, and in 2005 comedian Peter Kay teamed up with Tony Christie to re-release (Is This The Way To) Amarillo, which became that year's best-selling single.

MORE: The best-selling Comic Relief singles revealed

Image: Shutterstock

Recent years have seen YouTuber and dad-blogger LadBaby score two consecutive Christmas Number 1s in 2018 and 2019, raising money for foodbank charity The Trussell Trust, and in April this year, 99-year-old war veteran Captain Tom Moore topped the Official Chart with Michael Ball collaboration You'll Never Walk Alone. After raising more than £29 million for the NHS during the coronavirus crisis, he teamed up with his favourite singer on the track, which debuted at Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart, making Captain Tom the oldest artist to score a Number 1 single in UK chart history.

Every Number 1 charity song on the Official UK Singles Chart

TITLE	ARTIST	YEAR	CHARITY
DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?	BAND AID	1984	BAND AID TRUST
WE ARE THE WORLD	USA FOR AFRICA	1985	FAMINE IN ETHIOPIA
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE	THE CROWD	1985	BRADFORD CITY STADIUM FIRE
DANCING IN THE STREET	DAVID BOWIE & MICK JAGGER	1985	BAND AID TRUST
LIVING DOLL	CLIFF RICHARD	1986	COMIC RELIEF
LET IT BE	FERRY AID	1987	HERALD OF FREE ENTERPRISE DISASTER AT ZEEBRUGGE
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS	WET WET WET	1988	CHILDLINE
FERRY CROSS THE MERSEY	GERRY MARSDEN, PAUL MCCARTNEY, HOLLY JOHNSON AND THE CHRISTIANS	1989	HILLSBOROUGH DISASTER
DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?	BAND AID II	1989	BAND AID TRUST
SACRIFICE/HEALING HANDS	ELTON JOHN	1990	AIDS CHARITIES
THE STONK	HALE AND PACE	1991	COMIC RELIEF
DON'T LET THE SUN GO DOWN ON ME	GEORGE MICHAEL & ELTON JOHN	1991	10 CHARITIES FOR AIDS, CHILDREN AND EDUCATION
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY	QUEEN	1991	TERRANCE HIGGINS TRUST
FIVE LIVE EP	GEORGE MICHAEL, QUEEN, LISA STANSFIELD	1993	MERCURY PHOENIX TRUST
LOVE CAN BUILD A BRIDGE	CHER, CHRISSIE HYNDE, NENEH CHERRY, ERIC CLAPTON	1995	COMIC RELIEF
EARTH SONG	MICHAEL JACKSON	1995	HEAL THE WORLD FOUNDATION
KNOCKIN' ON HEAVEN'S DOOR/THROW THESE GUNS AWAY	TED CHRISTOPHER, MARK KNOPFLER	1996	VICTIMS OF THE DUNBLANE MASSACRE
MAMA/WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?	SPICE GIRLS	1997	COMIC RELIEF
CANDLE IN THE WIND 97/SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT	ELTON JOHN	1997	DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES MEMORIAL FUND
PERFECT DAY	VARIOUS ARTISTS	1997	CHILDREN IN NEED
WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH	BOYZONE	1999	COMIC RELIEF
MILLENNIUM PRAYER	CLIFF RICHARD	1999	CHILDREN'S PROMISE
NEVER HAD A DREAM COME TRUE	S CLUB 7	2000	CHILDREN IN NEED
UPTOWN GIRL	WESTLIFE	2001	COMIC RELIEF
HAVE YOU EVER	S CLUB 7	2001	CHILDREN IN NEED
SPIRIT IN THE SKY	GARETH GATES AND THE KUMARS	2003	COMIC RELIEF
I'LL STAND BY YOU	GIRLS ALOUD	2004	CHILDREN IN NEED
AGAINST ALL ODDS	STEVE BROOKSTEIN	2005	ASIAN TSUNAMI FUND
DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?	BAND AID 20	2004	FAMINE IN ETHIOPIA
ALL ABOUT YOU/YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND	MCFLY	2005	COMIC RELIEF
(IS THIS THE WAY TO) AMARILLO?	TONY CHRISTIE FT PETER KAY	2005	COMIC RELIEF
PLEASE, PLEASE/DON'T STOP ME NOW	MCFLY	2006	SPORT RELIEF
WALK THIS WAY	GIRLS ALOUD VS SUGABABES	2007	COMIC RELIEF
I'M GONNA ROLL (500 MILES)	MATT LUCAS AND PETER KAY	2007	COMIC RELIEF
WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD	EVA CASSIDY AND KATIE MELUA	2007	BRITISH RED CROSS
HERO	THE X FACTOR FINALISTS	2008	HELP FOR HEROES
BARRY ISLANDS IN THE STREAM	JENKINS/WEST/JONES/GIBB	2009	COMIC RELIEF
YOU ARE NOT ALONE	THE X FACTOR FINALISTS	2009	GREAT ORMOND STREET HOSPITAL
OFFICIAL BBC CHILDREN IN NEED MEDLEY	PETER KAY'S ALL STAR BAND	2009	CHILDREN IN NEED
EVERYBODY HURTS	HELPING HAITI	2010	HAITI EARTHQUAKE RELIEF
LOVE YOU MORE	JLS	2010	CHILDREN IN NEED
HEROES	THE X FACTOR FINALISTS	2010	HELP FOR HEROES
WISHING ON A STAR	THE X FACTOR FINALISTS	2011	TOGETHER FOR SHORT LIVES
WHEREVER YOU ARE	MILITARY WIVES WITH GARETH MALONE	2011	ROYAL BRITISH LEGION, SSAFA FORCES HELP
SING	GARY BARLOW & THE COMMONWEALTH BAND	2012	QUEEN'S DIAMOND JUBILEE TRUST
HE AIN'T HEAVY, HE'S MY BROTHER	JUSTICE COLLECTIVE	2012	HILLSBOROUGH DISASTER
IMPOSSIBLE	JAMES ARTHUR	2012	TOGETHER FOR SHORT LIVES
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER (TEENAGE KICKS)	ONE DIRECTION	2013	COMIC RELIEF
SKYSCRAPER	SAM BAILEY	2013	GREAT ORMOND STREET HOSPITAL, TOGETHER FOR SHORT LIVES
LET'S GET READY TO RHUMBLE	PJ & DUNCAN	2013	CHILDLINE
A BRIDGE OVER YOU	LEWISHAM & GREENWICH NHS CHOIR	2013	NHS CHARITIES, CARERS UK, MIND
WAKE ME UP	GARETH MALONE'S ALL STAR CHOIR	2014	CHILDREN IN NEED
DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?	BAND AID 30	2014	AID FOR THOSE AFFECTED BY EBOLA
LAY ME DOWN	SAM SMITH & JOHN LEGEND	2015	COMIC RELIEF
BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER	ARTISTS FOR GRENFELL	2017	VICTIMS OF THE GRENFELL TOWER FIRE
WE BUILT THIS CITY (ON SAUSAGE ROLLS)	LADBABY	2018	THE TRUSSELL TRUST
I LOVE SAUSAGE ROLLS	LADBABY	2019	THE TRUSSELL TRUST
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE	MICHAEL BALL, CAPTAIN TOM MOORE, NHS VOICES OF CARE CHOIR	2020	NHS CHARITIES TOGETHER
TIMES LIKE THESE	BBC RADIO 1'S STAY HOME LIVE LOUNGE ALLSTARS	2020	COMIC RELIEF, CHILDREN IN NEED