Staffordshire songwriters release Christmas song they sent to Cliff Richard
Two Staffordshire songwriters whose Christmas song Cliff Richard almost recorded have gone ahead and recorded it themselves - 21 years later.
Mark Eustace, from Burntwood, and John Harper, from Tamworth, wrote The Light of the World for Cliff for as his Millennium single to usher in 2000. However, despite the singer praising the song he had already recorded Millennium Prayer which was his last major hit.
The pair decided this year to record the song which could have been a smash bit for Cliff Richard but instead has been filed under "what could have been".
Watch the video for The Light of the World:
Mark said: "Our demo had arrived too late and Cliff had already recorded his festive release for that year, we got a lot of complimentary comments from his camp though."
The Light of The World is based on well-known painting by William Holman Hunt (1827-1910), an English artist who was one of the founders of the Victorian Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
Mark has been a mainstay of the Staffordshire music scene for 30 years playing in a plethora of bands including Dual Control with his father who also played with several bands since the 1960s.
Mark and John, who used to work together as local journalists, wanted to record the song so Cliff Richard's army of fans could hear what could have been a Cliff Christmas number one.
Mark said: "We've had comments about trying to make a Christmas number one.
"The single drops on all major download and streaming platforms on December 11 as a lot of you have asked if you can download it. John and I really, really appreciate everyone's support still far and we've still got a few weeks to go before Christmas."
Hear The Light of The World on www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyGt1zC9E2Q
