Charity song featuring voice of Slade's Noddy Holder to be released this week
A song featuring the Black Country's own Slade legend Noddy Holder and inspired by the heroism of First World War soldiers is set to be released in full this week for charity.
The Walsall-born singer, who topped the charts in 1973 with Slade's Merry Xmas Everybody, returned to the studio in aid of The Cancer Awareness Trust.
The charity has pulled together a group of renowned artists to release the song to support an online project providing information to those living with cancer.
The track, called This Christmas Time, was written by charity founder Professor Sir Chris Evans and is inspired by soldiers and their letters home at Christmas.
Black Sabbath's Ozzy Osbourne, from Birmingham, narrates the introduction to the track whilst Noddy ends the song by wishing everyone a "Merry Christmas".
It will be released on Friday whilst the two music legends have also added their voices to a collection of charity singles, set to be released next year by Evamore, in aid of The Cancer Platform from The Cancer Awareness Trust – a free-to-use website and app for everyone affected by cancer which will launch next year.
The Slade singer said: “I was delighted to join the many artists adding their voice to the album from Evamore. I recorded a full narrative, telling the story of some incredibly brave [First World War] soldiers, to feature on the album in 2023 and a short Christmas message for This Christmas Time.”
This Christmas Time was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and features Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor, who recently revealed his own battle with cancer; Pink Floyd's drummer Nick Mason, lead vocalist Casi Wyn, Nick Lloyd Webber on piano, Polly Wiltshire on viola and singer Reebz on vocal harmonies.
Duran Duran's Andy Taylor said: "The underlying sense of community and diversity that runs through the DNA of musicians comes together here on the most beautiful of songs. Music has always been my pleasure and sometimes it’s a privilege - a privilege to work with such an incredible group of people, to create a wonderful track and as a recipient of 'the big C' hopefully we can [bring] a tad of awareness towards the incredible work of The Evamore Project.”
Actress and singer Samantha Womack, who has also recently shared her cancer journey, provides backing vocals, as does first-time singer Nina Lopes, an ambassador for The Cancer Awareness Trust. The song was produced and mixed by Matt Bond who also played bass guitar and professor Sir Chris Evans who also played guitar.
Sir Chris said: "We are very privileged that some of the greatest names in rock music and wonderful actors have chosen to get involved in our project, which will support the creation of a platform aiming to transform the journey that people face with cancer. So many people confronted by the biggest challenge of their lives have told us how they want more easily-accessible information about cancer all in one place.”
The song has been released on Evamore Records and will be available on streaming and download platforms from this Friday. To listen, visit thecancerplatform.com/this-christmas-time.
