UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 13 DECEMBER 2022
An English graduate has written and released a Christmas charity single, raising money for The Trussell Trust.
Pete Green grew up in Grimsby before moving to Birmingham to study English Language and Literature in 1992.
The charity single, titled ‘Tinsel Round The Telly’ is a celebration of a messy but ordinary Christmas.
They said: “'Tinsel Round The Telly is a celebration of all that's messy, ramshackle and haphazard about Christmas. We're increasingly being sold a perfectly choreographed version of the festive season to aspire to, which places more stress on us all, at a time when we ought to be relaxing.
“Christmas should be a break from the anxiety and pressure. So, in this song I'm pushing back against that whole narrative. Don't try to perform a flawless Christmas for an audience - eat too much cheese, leave all that wrapping paper on the floor for a couple of days, cook dinner in your pyjamas. That's not just me…is it?”
Pete was inspired by the classic glam-rock Christmas songs of the 70s when writing the song, and although they had a lot of fun working on the project, it is all for an important cause: The Trussell Trust.
They said: “Although I mostly play solo these days, I always imagined it with a full band arrangement, so in October, when I got some space at home to do some recording, I plugged in a few guitars and cracked on with it.
“I want to push this out there and get those donations in. I did some guest vocals on a fantastic Christmas song a year or two ago, called ‘The Townhall Band’ by Helen Love. It was a fundraiser for the same cause, and that's how I became aware of the Trussell Trust's excellent work.
“Poverty in the UK has only worsened since and this year, for the first time, demand for the Trust's food parcels is outstripping supply. It was an obvious choice to support them again now with this single.”
Pete, who now works as a Communications Manager at Women in Football, a non-profit organisation working for gender equality in the football industry, also made the video to the single which features several guest appearances from their family members and their cat Maisie.
They said: “It's a zero-budget video, which I hope feels like a good fit for the subject matter of the song. Most of it was filmed on my phone, at home and at my mum's house in Cleethorpes.
“I did all the editing at home on my laptop, mostly with Masterchef on in the background. That was a slow process, it took me 45 minutes to create an animated cheeseboard which is on screen for about two seconds, but it was great fun. I learned video editing for work and it's nice to be able to use it for other things.”
“Other than me, the video features my brothers Chris and Jon, who join in a singalong on the final chorus. My kids Oliver and Alex, as well as Chris's kids Immy and Bella, make a cameo, alongside my mum and her partner Jim.
“There's also an extra special appearance from my cat Maisie, rolling on her back and playing with some of that Christmas wrapping paper that I left on the floor.”
Download the single from Bandcamp for £1, with all money raised going to The Trussell Trust.