show some solidarity it is May day after all.

Nah

All the way. Never ever bought a charity single. (Not even Do they know its Christmas, thanks mum). That not the same as saying I'm not charitable.

Never even heard a good one apart from Do they know etc...However I did buy the first Warchild Album 12 odd years ago and I think that still stands up.

When I was 13, the lower six formers at our school wrote and recorded a single to raise money for a cancer charity. The song was called Together and our music teacher, who was very odd fellow, made us spend a whole double period (1 hour and 35 minutes) singing it over and over again. The execrable opening lines are still etched on my brain:

"Care, something that all of us need
Even when you're 17
you still know what it means..."

was a good charity record.
And I suppose even these days if any singles are going to be honestly paid for, they'd be charity ones.
Know what you mean though. I'm an old cynic who thinks most celebrity charity stuff is done to make the celebrity look good. Hats off to David Gilmour though - didn't he also give away his house once? If pop stars genuinely care about this stuff they should put their money where their bleeding hearts are, shut up about it and lay off the lousy records.

and the resulting efforts of the charity to spend the money is an incredible saga of London planning and NIMBYism

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/mar/02/socialexclusion.pinkfloyd

It makes you wonder just what is the best way to help...

we should tell other people how they raise money/ promote charity, people getting up anmd doing something is positive. Nobody moativations are pure whne it come to charity mother theresa wanted to get into heaven but self serving really? charity singles are hardly the worst things ever, it's very hard for charities to get there courses heard so they do what they can, if babyshambles playing at oxfam shop gets people involved well good on them.

are not a pinnacle of creativity or invention. But they are well meaning and if it generates a bit of cash which helps and raises awarness then thats all right by me.

Its all better than having someone shoving a collecting tin in front of you and requesting that you contribute. There is, of course, the irony of wealthy artists who are very tax efficient making generous donations to worthy causes.

I was looking through my record collection this morning and was quite surprised to discover seven charity albums - two that I was already aware of (the Help! CDs, which are patchy but good) and five others that I have never really thought of as being charity records.

• Two compilations released by The Shanti Project, which supports people with Breast Cancer and HIV/AIDS.
• The Inner Flame: A tribute for the, then ailing, blues guitarist Rainer Ptacek, put together by his friend Howe Gelb as a means of raising money for medical treatment.
• Spirit of '73: A compilation in support of pro-choice causes. It features alternative female artists from the 1990s covering songs from the 1970s.
• Sally's Photographic Memory: A tribute to the photographer Sally Harding, who died in 1995, with profits going to the homeless charity, Shelter.

It struck me that the most effective charity singles are those that don't overtly preach or even mention the causes they represent. Do They Know It's Christmas? hangs on by virtue of its seasonal references, but when was the last time anyone felt a burning need to listen to the original version of We Are The World or the Ferry Aid cover of Let It Be?

The most enduring charity record of all time is probably The Move's - Flowers In The Rain, which began life as an ordinary single, but was subsequently press-ganged by the judiciary into helping charitable causes, thanks to an ill-judged publicity stunt by the band's manager, Tony Secunda.

Secunda's decision to promote the single with a postcard featuring a libellous cartoon, of the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson resulted in royalties from the song being awarded to various charities of Wilson's choosing - a practise that continues to this day.

Neil Young and his wife put together some concerts for the Bridge School for kids with problems and made a damn fine CD 7-8 years ago with Neil, Tom Petty, Bonnie Raitt, Beck, Bowie, Elvis Costelloe and many more . I have it at home and ´tis well worth the 2.50 I paid for it, ironically in a charity shop .

... it's going to be made by someone with mass appeal - Boyzone, Girls Aloud and their ilk.

Plus, it's often the charity bit that comes first - then the record. So it ends up being bland and inoffensive.

The first War Child album was (and still is) fantastic, and the follow up from a year or two ago is not bad either. Where they succeed is that they have approached musicians/bands known for the 'quality' of their music - rather than those artist who just shift units.

...was an excellent double-CD released in 1997, profits from which went to the Big Issue Foundation. Mostly electro dance music, it was a fixture on my CD player for several weeks after I bought it. Included tracks from Radiohead, Orbital, Underworld, 808 State, Bomb The Bass, Scanner, System 7, Leftfield, Massive Attack and The Aloof. A very fine compilation, which I'd have probably bought even if at hadn't been for charideee.