UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 20 DECEMBER 2022
A Birmingham City University (BCU) English Literature graduate has written and released a Christmas Charity single – Tinsel Round the Telly – to help raise money for the Trussell Trust this festive season.
Pete Green wrote Tinsel Round the Telly as a celebration of all that is ‘messy, ramshackle and haphazard’ about Christmas, accompanied by a self-produced music video, featuring special guest performances from family members and pet cat Maisie.
Green, who graduated from BCU in 1992, took inspiration from classic glam-rock Christmas songs of the 1970s, with all proceeds donated to the Trussell Trust, a charity helping to stop hunger and the need for food banks in the UK.
Now working as a Communication Manager for Women in Football – a non-profit organisation working for gender equality in the football industry – Green shared the creative process behind the Christmas hit.
“It's a zero-budget music 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.”
To support the single and help raise money for the Trussell Trust you can download Tinsel Round the Telly from Bandcamp for £1.00.