the grief, John wanted to pay a tribute to Diana. In his autobiography, Me, John says he had a phone call from Richard Branson who said that many of those writing in the book of condolence at St James's Palace were quoting the lyrics of "Candle in the Wind". Branson asked John if he would rewrite the lyrics and sing them at the funeral. John believed that Branson had been contacted by the Spencer family. John contacted his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, asking him to revise the lyrics of their 1973 song "Candle in the Wind" to honour her. George Martin was contacted to help produce the song, and added a string quartet (Peter Manning, Keith Pascoe, Levine Andrade, and Andrew Shulman), and woodwind (Pippa Davies, flute and oboe) to help balance the recording. It was recorded at Townhouse Studios in West London, immediately following the funeral. John publicly performed "Candle in the Wind 1997" only once, at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in Westminster Abbey on 6 September 1997. He continues to sing the original version of the song at his concerts but has repeatedly turned down requests to perform the revised version, even for the memorial Concert for Diana in July 2007, having vowed never to perform it again unless asked by Diana's sons. The song has never been released (or re-released) on any of his other albums or compilations, not even his 1997 album The Big Picture, nor the 1997 Diana, Princess of Wales: Tribute album (an official 2-CD release sanctioned by Diana's family that included other artists such as Barbra Streisand, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Queen, Celine Dion, and Rod Stewart). The song was included on Diana, Princess of Wales: The BBC Recording of the Funeral Service. The soundtrack was released on 30 September 1997. Chart performance "Candle in the Wind 1997" became the fastest-selling single in the UK, selling 658,000 copies on its first day of release and over 1.5 million in its first week. The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart the day after its release on 13 September 1997, staying at number one for five weeks and becoming the best-selling song in the UK, overtaking the 13-year-old record held by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" It has been certified as the best-selling single of all time in the UK, and has sold 4.94 million copies