Band Aid 30 tops the charts despite controversy

Band Aid 30's Do They Know It's Christmas?, which features a host of stars, stormed to the top of the singles chart today.

The charity single, organised once again by Bob Geldof, shifted more than 312,000 copies to make it the year's fastest-selling single, the Official Charts Company said.

But there have been some complaints over the song's content, with some of the lyrics changed to reflect the Ebola crisis in West Africa.

• Read more - Emeli Sande: We need a new Band Aid song

The track, with all proceeds going toward the fight against Ebola in west Africa, has outsold the rest of the top five combined.

The massive sales haul of Band Aid 30, which features Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, One Direction, Rita Ora and Bastille among its star cast, outshines Band Aid 20's first-week sales in 2004 with that version selling 297,000 in its first seven days.

• Watch -Band Aid 30 is bookies' favourite for Christmas number one

Bob Geldof has said he is "overwhelmed" after Band Aid 30 single Do They Know It's Christmas reached number one in 48 countries on the iTunes charts.

The song has already become the fastest-selling single of 2014, with 206,00 copies at the latest estimate since its release on Monday morning.

"We're all sitting here overwhelmed and speechless," Geldof said. "So many people will now find some comfort this Xmas because of you. It makes it all worthwhile doesn't it?"

The former Boomtown Rats singer said he now aimed to beat the record set by the first Band Aid single.

The new Band Aid charity single is the bookies' favourite to claim the coveted Christmas number one spot this year.

Band Aid 30 hit the shelves this morning, and within hours has already reached the top of the iTunes chart.

The song raked in more than £1 million in pre-order sales within minutes of being launched on X Factor yesterday. The money will be used to help those affected by Ebola.

ITV News Correspondent Neil Connery reports:

The Band Aid 30 single has already “gone bonkers” online, with more than £1 million raised in pre-orders within five minutes of its launch on X Factor yesterday evening.

Bob Geldof revealed online orders of the single, which counts One Direction, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Ellie Goulding and Ed Sheeran among its star-studded line-up, had already rocketed.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said the song was also set to be translated into French and German, though accused Germany of being “laggards” in the fight against Ebola despite being “the most powerful economy in Europe”.

Stars featuring on the new Band Aid 30 single have been taking to social media to promote the song, which is now on sale.

Rita Ora tweeted and posted an image of herself with Pixie Geldof, 1D's Harry Styles and radio DJ Nick Grimshaw to Instagram, along with a plea for people to donate to the cause.

Meanwhile, Ellie Goulding and Pixie Geldof both posted details of how to donate.

The latest version of the single, which has been released to raise cash towards the fight against Ebola, was launched on X Factor yesterday and went on sale at 8am.

The Band Aid charity single hits shelves today and is the bookies favourite to become the Christmas number one.

The reworked version of 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' features stars including One Direction, Bono and Ellie Goulding, and is expected to raise millions to help fight the Ebola crisis in West Africa.

The Treasury agreed to waive VAT on the single's sales so every penny will help the charity effort.

The single premiered on Sunday night's X Factor results show, and Bob Geldof made a special appearance to urge people to buy it.

The first play of the BandAid30 track 'Do They Know Its Christmas' and official video will be aired live on The X Factor Results show on ITV at 8pm tonight.

The track, featuring some of the world's biggest musical stars including Rita Ora and Coldplay, was recorded in a London studio yesterday.

The video and the song have been produced in record speed so it can be played out in time for Sunday night's show.

A host of music stars have spent the day re-making the Band Aid single 'Do They Know it's Christmas' in aid of Ebola victims.

Some of those taking part including Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding and Rita Ora were not even born 30 years ago when the original song was released as ITV News' Sascha Williams reports.