the repeated words "You're going to reap just what you sow" which The Guardian described as "a none too subtle message: keep writing the cheque." In response to accusations from commercial competitors that the corporation had wasted vast sums on the film it was revealed that each artist received a "token" £250, which was at the time the minimum pay for a performance on BBC. Prompted by huge public demand, the track was released on November 17, 1997, as a charity single for Children in Need, and Reed commented, "I have never been more impressed with a performance of one of my songs." It was the UK's number one single for three weeks, in two separate spells. The record contributed £2,125,000 to the charity's highest fundraising total in six years, and, as of November 2016, has sold 1.54 million copies. The release featured two additional versions of the song: one entirely sung by female performers, one by male performers. The BBC also produced a Christmas version of the accompanying music video. In Ireland, the song was a huge success, remaining at number one for seven weeks and becoming 1997's Christmas number one. The single also topped the Norwegian Singles Chart for seven weeks in late 1997 and early 1998, spending 17 weeks on the chart in total. Elsewhere in Europe, it reached number four in Finland, number six in the Netherlands, number seven in Flemish Belgium and number 10 in Iceland. It was also a top-thirty hit in Austria, New Zealand and Walloon Belgium. The song has not been digitally released to digital music platforms as the "single [is] unusable again in a commercial context due to the specific nature of the clearances for Children In Need at the time". Performers Performers in order of appearance; parentheses indicate mute appearance, and dividers indicate verses/sections. Lou Reed Bono Skye Edwards (from Morcheeba) David Bowie Suzanne Vega Elton John (Andrew Davis) Boyzone Lesley Garrett (Lou Reed) Burning Spear Bono Thomas Allen (Brodsky Quartet) Heather Small (from M People) Emmylou Harris Tammy Wynette Shane MacGowan (Sheona White) (tenor horn player) Dr. John David Bowie Robert Cray Huey Morgan (from Fun Lovin' Criminals) Ian Broudie (from The Lightning Seeds) Gabrielle Dr. John Evan Dando (from the Lemonheads) Emmylou Harris (Courtney Pine) (soprano saxophone player) (BBC Symphony Orchestra) (Andrew Davis) (Bono) Brett Anderson (from Suede) Visual Ministry Choir Joan Armatrading Laurie Anderson Heather Small Tom