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.