The day is almost upon us. Christmas is here at last!
It has been an amazing roller coaster ride since the heady days of the long hot summer when we recorded A Good Old Fashioned Christmas at DB Studios in Stroud.
Since those days I have lived, breathed and grown a beard in the spirit of Christmas...helping the song along it's way.
So - for the final time this year (cos I'm back working on Cosmic Glue, my new album...) I present a wonderful crisp, clear and absolutely free version of A Good Old Fashioned Christmas...
I wish all of you, wherever you are, a happy good old fashioned Christmas.
The year is drawing to a close and I'm reaching the climax of an extraordinary time.
We've had a tremendous response to 'A Good Old Fashioned Christmas' and hopefully we have raised awareness of The Big Issue Foundation, the charity we are supporting through the sales of the song.
Soon my magnificent beard will be history and I'll get back to the recording of 'Cosmic Glue', my forthcoming album due for a spring 2014 release.
On Saturday, Mike Cooling and I (he's my co-producer) dropped in to Faye Hatcher's Saturday Show at BBC Radio Gloucestershire for a quick chat and an unplugged version of the song.
Here's the podcast coupled with a few images from the October 16th video shoot in Stroud. Enjoy!
Stroud’s David Ireland with Stroud’s Skyhook Studios raising money for The Big Issue – go on download the track, share, Facebook, tweet etc….they write:
“Nearly 100 people a week turn to the Big Issue for an opportunity to help themselves at a time of utter personal crisis. The Big Issue Foundation is small but national charity. We work with some of the most disadvantaged and excluded individuals in the land; people who have lost more than it is comfortable to imagine, their homes, their families and their sense of themselves in the world. We urgently need to offer more support and hope for the future.”
“Our mission is to connect vendors with the vital support and personal solutions that enable them to rebuild their lives; to find their own paths as they journey away from homelessness.” The Big Issue Foundation
You can help by downloading this track, sharing with your friends, posting on your facebook page and tweeting. Go on…make a difference
A Good Old Fashioned Christmas, created by musician David Ireland, was inspired by the Big Issue’s philosophy that everyone of us can make a small difference and so, together, contribute to real, significant and lasting change.
David Ireland and Skyhook Studios are donating 20 per cent of all sales and royalties from the single to the charity and hopes that it can also demonstrate how little it takes to change a life. For example, just £20 can support efforts to help a vendor end rough sleeping, and £15 can provide access to training and employment.
“We are absolutely delighted that the first record we’re producing is for such a wonderful cause,” says Chris Aylmer, owner of Skyhook Studios. “We hope it will go some way to make a difference to the work The Big Issue Foundation is doing in the UK.”
“The Big Issue works with some of the most disadvantaged people in the UK – nearly 100 people a week turn to them at a time of personal crisis,” adds David Ireland. “They are completely reliant on donors and fundraising to help these people rebuild their lives. It could be any of us out there. I am especially moved by their drive to raise awareness of the issue in schools, as so many people who are homeless say they first ran away as a child, and more and more people end up rough sleeping when they are still in their teens. If we can’t take a moment to think about that one fact at Christmas then the whole season means very little.”
Stroud musician releases charity Christmas single to raise money for the homeless
12:20pm Friday 13th December 2013 in NewsBy Chris Warne, SNJ reporter for Stonehouse and Chalford. Twitter @ChrisWarneSNJ
Stroud musician David Ireland has recorded a charity Christmas single
A STROUD musician is dreaming of a Christmas number one after releasing a charity single in aid of The Big Issue Foundation.
With the help of Bath Road-based Skyhook Studios, David Ireland has written and recorded A Good Old Fashioned Christmas to raise money for the homeless charity.
The festive jingle was inspired by the Big Issue’s philosophy that anyone can make a difference and is available from both Amazon and iTunes.
Skyhook Studios, which opened last month, has pledged to donate 20 per cent of all sales and royalties from the track to the charity.
“I am very grateful to David Ireland and Skyhook Studios for using their talents to help generate funds for our work,” said The Big Issue Foundation’s chief executive Stephen Robertson.
“They are also helping to spread the Big Issue message and educate the wider public which is invaluable.”
A music video, produced and directed by Skyhook, to accompany the Christmas single can be viewed on Youtube and already has over 3,500 hits.
The video, which was filmed in Stroud, features shots of the town centre and Mr Ireland singing in the snow.
"The Big Issue works with some of the most disadvantaged people in the UK - nearly 100 people a week turn to them at a time of personal crisis,” said Mr Ireland.
“If we can't take a moment to think about that one fact at Christmas then the whole season means very little."
David Ireland's Single 'A Good Old Fashioned Christmas' in support of The Big Issue Foundation has spawned a tongue-in-cheek campaign in the UK. Against such Goliaths as The X Factor, David's small gesture needs a mighty powerful push - so let's go!
David's single, 'A Good Old Fashioned Christmas' was recorded on the hottest day of the summer at DB Studios in Stroud in the heart of The Cotswolds. It was always the intention that the song would support a charity and David was clear in his wish to raise both funds and awareness for The Big Issue Foundation - the UK's foremost charity helping homeless people to help themselves.
'The Big Issue Foundation (http://www.bigissue.org.uk/) are doing an amazing job of giving a hand up not a hand out to vulnerable, homeless people. Dignifying people with the opportunity to work their way out of hardship takes understanding of the reasons why people become homeless in the first place.'
Help us to raise funds and awareness by downloading the song (less than one dollar!) and pushing 'A Good Old Fashioned Christmas' ever closer to that Number One! Thank you!
Friday, 6 December 2013
A Good Old Fashioned Christmas: Time To Buy
We aim to raise as much cash and awareness for The Big Issue Foundation this year, so please download the track - it's only 79p - and 20% of all sales and royalties will go toward helping others to help themselves. Thank you and Happy Christmas from David
I've just updated my website with the lyrics of the Christmas single, some ancient history and a few video clips. The clips include a few songs recorded live at Womad in 2012, a radio broadcast and a couple of studio recordings from the 'Cosmic Glue' sessions.
We're concentrating almost entirely on the promotion of 'A Good Old Fashioned Christmas' until the end of the year, then the 'Cosmic Glue' sessions will re-start in earnest at Skyhook Studios.
Eight songs have been recorded so far with four more ready to go. The majority of the songs are new, with a handful being reworked from the 1978 16 track master tapes of the 'Hot As Ice' album. (sadly four songs had been destroyed, but we did discover a complete song I'd forgotten recording!)
The thrill of playing with my younger self was exquisite and the results have surprised everyone. One song in particular uses most of the instrumental and vocal backing tracks, but the melody and lyrics are new giving the song a current relevance. Look out for 'Slow Poison' (based on my novel of the same name: Slow Poison - the novel)
'Cosmic Glue' will be released in the spring of 2014 worldwide.
Chris and I chatted to Adam Rainey about Skyhook Studios and the new single. I've added the interview snippet (around five minutes) so you can hear a little bit more about the song, the cause and the studio.
We'd like to think that the song has a bit of a heart... Have a look at the video if you haven't done so and this time I've added the lyrics so you can get the full picture...
The song is available from iTunes and Amazon and 20% of all sales for all time goes to The Big Issue Foundation helping the homeless to help themselves... Buy on iTunes
Ho Ho Ho Ho!
Do you wish you had a stash of cash to blow?
Well, we're all in the same boat – who’s got the dough?
So come on buck the trend
We can all make do and mend
Just dust off last year’s trimmings - who’s to know?
And does it feel as if your back's against the wall?
Well, it’s the Christmas thoughts that count, however small
Forget those winter blues, don't stand shivering in the queues
Cause peace and understanding is the greatest gift of all
Let’s have a Good Old Fashioned Christmas
With sleigh bells in the snow
A Good Old Fashioned Christmas
Like the ones we used to know
Peace and understanding is the greatest gift of all
So let’s all have a Good Old Fashioned Christmas
Do you wish that you could ride on Santa’s sleigh?
And leave your cares and worries far away
Well, we all hold the key to set the world free
So let’s lend the hand of friendship everyday.
At Christmas there's no room
For all that gloom and doom
The newsman gives us every blooming day
Just go that extra mile
And in a little while your Christmas smile will twinkle all the way!
Let’s have a Good Old Fashioned Christmas
With sleigh bells in the snow
A Good Old Fashioned Christmas
Like the ones we used to know
Peace and understanding is the greatest gift of all
So let’s all have a Good Old Fashioned Christmas
and the choir sang...
Let's all have a Good Old Fashioned Christmas-time for everyone
Look - I don't normally have this beard...it just grew! It's all in a good cause and I'll be shaving it off for charity at the end of the year... (Mrs I is looking forward to that!)
We are always extremely excited when people choose to use their talents and skills to raise funds and awareness for The Big Issue Foundation. Just like musician David Ireland, was inspired by the Big Issue's philosophy that every one of us can make a small difference and so, together, contribute to real, significant and lasting change.
Skyhook Studios who produced David’s latest single, A Good Old Fashioned Christmas, is donating 20 per cent of all sales and royalties from the single to The Big Issue Foundation and hopes that it can also demonstrate how little it takes to change a life.
"We are absolutely delighted that the first record we're producing is for such a wonderful cause," says Chris Aylmer, owner of Skyhook Studios. "We hope it will go some way to make a difference to the work The Big Issue Foundation is doing in the UK."
Could you use your skills or talents to support the work of The Big Issue Foundation? If so get in touch here.
Well, there we were on the hottest day of the year, holed up in the studio ready to lay down some more tracks for the forthcoming album, Cosmic Glue...when I happened to strum the chords for 'A Good Old Fashioned Christmas'.
Sitting there in shorts and t-shirts and healthy tans we recorded the first takes of the song destined to become the first single from the new project.
Now it's November, I have a full beard, the single is out and we're officially supporting The Big Issue Foundation - for now and evermore!
Sooo... watch the video, download the tune and tell all of your friends.
The Cosmic Glue recordings are moving forward beautifully with the seamless integration of new tracks coupled with some re-worked masters from 1977.
So there I was last evening, back in the studio in Stroud where this year's magic is happening, working on one of the '77 tracks, adding new vocals, new lyrics, with my younger self laying down some killer acoustic guitar, and those groovy harmony vocals over the top of my May 2013 vocalising.
I finally got it right.
The track was called Jungle Love - now it's called Poison Pen. It was always a nice dirty slice of rock (with searing guitar throughout courtesy of Hans van Epen) and now it has turned into a menacing piece of acoustic grunge all about a crime novelist and his twisted mind...
(have a little read of my book Slow Poison to get a feel of what I mean...
I'll also add a little of the rough mix of Poison Pen.
Once the rest of the album has been recorded, there will be some live gigs around the country and beyond. I have the tunes, I have the band...so you might just catch us live somewhere soon...
Well...I finally began the last phase of the Cosmic Glue sessions...
Monday evening found me singing new lyrics to a couple of my 1977 'Hot As Ice' master tracks. There was an eerie normality about singing in 2013 with my younger self harmonising and singing back-ups.
The engineer could hardly hear the difference. I could hardly hear the difference either. (I don't have an operatic voice - so there was little that was going to change - plus I still have whatever range I used to have)
The musicians from '77 haven't met the 2013 guys, but the blend is seamless. Last night there was my good friend Jan Stavinoha playing his exquisite bossa nova 1977 guitar with my new friend Chris adding a little 2013 Getz to the track. Sublime!
There are some more of the 'old ' tracks to vocalise and then we're on to the mixing phase. The new guys will be going out on the road with me too...there is indeed life in the old dog yet!
I'll add a little snippet of sound to keep you going...there will be much more soon...
I'm crashing toward completion on the Cosmic Glue project.
I have a couple of studio dates next week when everything comes together. The definitive vocals will be added to both new and old songs.
I've stripped back some of the 1977 recordings to their essence so that I can build them as though they were completely new recordings. It seems to be working.
Songs that seemed fixed in stone have taken on new characteristics, a new freshness and relevance.
Some of my current collaborators are working with me on tracks from both eras, making the link complete.
I'm in touch with some of the 1977 crew and who knows what might happen when the album is released... I rule nothing out.
There will be some selected concerts throughout the year with a full-blown tour in 2014.
Those Peter Pan Pills I took back then have kept my inner self as young as ever... (it's only the mirror that reminds me of the passing years)
I've added a few new images and a clip of a work-in-progress song from Cosmic Glue.
Technology has given me the chance for a little taste of Time Travelling...you should try it too!
I thought I'd share a clip of the Cosmic Glue recording session of last night ( March 18th). A Cosmic Glue Trailer On You Tube
I was laying down vocals for a few numbers and a camera crew just happened by while we grooving along.
The track I'm singing is 'Shine' - an autobiographical song about my first years in Amsterdam...it was quite a year! More about that when the album is released in late Spring.
Last Tuesday saw us adding fiddle to 'Home Made Mini' and some guitar overlays on 'All I Wanna Do...'
Tonight I'll be flying solo in the studio laying down some definitive vocals on most of the 2013 songs and some of the 1977 tracks we recently discovered. That's what 'Cosmic Glue' is all about as an album - a mixture of then and now, a drawing together of four decades of my life in music.
'if only I knew then what I know now...'
The image is of Pol Bowman - an ace fiddler who added his little bit of magic to the opening track of 'Cosmic Glue', Chris Aylmer (bass) and Mike Cooling (guitar) both of Red River Blues
and, here's a link to some of the old and not so old stuff...
By Chris Warne
