I came up with an idea to record a Christmas charity single back in September, however, wanted to do it with a twist.  Instead of using musicians from all over, I decided to use musicians and singers only from my hometown in Denny.  The reason was to try and lift the spirits of everyone and get them talking about something else other than COVID. Once people heard what I was doing, the messages came pouring in from people who would like to get involved.  This not only included musicians but also schools and local businesses.  

 

I then created a Facebook page and began to put a plan in place for recording.  At this time, the tier system was being introduced which made this task a lot harder, however, it didn’t stop me and managed to use my home recording studio (the same one used when I recorded Liam McGrandles Album) and put together a small recording studio in my car where I could go anywhere and record people.  I have passed microphones through car windows, house window and people in open spaces to record them so not break the COVID government guidelines.  Some people had their own recording setup where able to record themselves at home following my instructions and then send on the files to me to add to the master session.  People were asking me “why don’t we just record on our phones”? My response was simply “I want this to be the highest quality possible and phone audio would not cut it”.  There is no backing track, and every bit of audio has been recorded from drums, 12 guitars, bass, bag pipes and 35 vocalists.

 

So far, the recording process has been going great, and the final mix is complete and was released on all major streaming platforms on the 18th December reaching No.18 in the UK iTunes chart. The song is John Lennon Happy Xmas (War is Over), which the lyrics by coincident are very fitting for the COVID vaccine now being made available. I have also just finished the music video which has now had over 35,000 views.  I have been interviewed by Central FM who also played the track, and the feedback was phenomenal.

 

In terms of the charity that all proceeds will be going to; I decided to put it to a vote.  All the people from Denny put forward a charity of their choice which then got added to a voting poll.  Strathcarron Hospice came out on top.  You can view the poll here.  You can also donate via this link here.  The track got it's first play on air on Central FM and I also got interviewed by Central FM and Go Radio (fast forward to 2hours 35mins).