Band Aid 20 becomes fastest selling UK single of the year
The new Band Aid record has become the year’s fastest selling single in the UK after just one day.
Do They Know It’s Christmas has sold more than the rest of the British top 30 combined.
Nearly 100,000 copies were sold on its first day in the shops, according to Band Aid 20’s record company.
And the single is set to shift 250,000 copies this week alone.
The year’s previous fastest seller, F**k It (I Don’t Want You Back) by US rapper Eamon, sold 153,000 copies in its first week.
HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo said: “Band Aid 20 got off to a flying start yesterday and is already the fastest selling single of the year.
“It is on target for 250,000 sales this week and a guaranteed number one slot this Sunday.
“We predict it will sell around a million for the whole of Christmas – a fantastic achievement.”
Shoppers in the UK queued before stores even opened yesterday to get their hands on the first copies.
The single, which looks set to beBritain's Christmas number one, will be unable to match the 1984 original, which sold 750,000 in its first week and 3.5 million in total.
But Castaldo said: “When the original Band Aid single was released 20 years ago it was the first time anything like this had ever happened.
“People still care about the critical issues facing Africa but there was a greater sense of urgency in 1984 – the public felt they had to act immediately and responded to the whole spontaneity of the project.
“This time around sales are more steady but we predict the single will continue to sell in large quantities over the coming weeks.”
The Band Aid 20 line-up includes Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Robbie Williams, Dido and Jamelia. Sir Paul McCartney, Busted, Keane and Dizzee Rascal also feature.
The single is expected to make up to £2m (€2.87m) for charity.
