LadBaby to raise vital funds for Salisbury charity with Christmas number one attempt

YouTube stars team up with finance expert Martin Lewis for festive tune

Author: Ellie Iorizzo, PA Senior Entertainment Reporter and Henrietta CreaseyPublished 12th Dec 2022
Last updated 12th Dec 2022

LadBaby have teamed up with MoneySavingExpert's Martin Lewis to rework the Band Aid song Do They Know It's Christmas? in a bid to claim their fifth consecutive Christmas number one.

Social media star Mark Hoyle and his wife Roxanne (LadBaby Mum) are the first act to be allowed to rework the Band Aid song, getting permission from Bob Geldof, Midge Ure and the Band Aid Trust.

They will release the track titled 'Food Aid' on December 16, with half of the money raised going to Salisbury charity the Trussell Trust, which runs a network of food banks across the country, and the other half to the Band Aid Trust.

Geldof and co-writer Ure's first version of Do They Know It's Christmas? raised £8 million for famine relief in Ethiopia.

LadBaby and Mr Lewis, who appears on the track with a number of musical collaborators yet to be announced, are aiming to raise as much money as possible to help tackle hunger and poverty.

The Hoyles have raised more than £1.2 million for the Trussell Trust through their chart-topping endeavours and branded partnerships, but said they are committed to doing even more as the cost-of-living crisis worsens.

Last year, they made chart history by securing the Christmas number one for a fourth consecutive year, becoming the first musicians to do so in the 70 years of the Official Christmas Chart.

They scored the top chart spot with novelty track Sausage Rolls For Everyone featuring global superstars Sheeran and Sir Elton John.

Speaking about this year's attempt, they said:

"We never intended to release a fifth Christmas single but as ambassadors of the Trussell Trust we were not prepared to sit back and do nothing in a year when people are struggling more than ever.

"The Trussell Trust, which supports more than 1,300 food bank centres, has told us that the cost-of-living emergency has created a tsunami of need, as people struggle to survive amidst the soaring costs of living.

"Working households, families and disabled people are all really struggling. So, a few months ago we approached Bob Geldof and Midge Ure and the Band Aid Trust to ask permission to rework the most iconic Christmas track of all time, Do They Know It's Christmas?

"And we were truly honoured when they said yes."

The couple said they knew they needed to enlist "an icon" to launch this year's campaign, so chose Mr Lewis, who they called "the people's champion".

Mr Lewis said:

"When Mark and Roxanne contacted me out of the blue to ask if I'd join them in Food Aid I thought they'd confused me with someone else.

"The nearest I've ever got to thinking about a Christmas number one is going to the loo on Boxing Day after too much orange juice the day before.

"Yet once I knew they were serious, and it was for the Trussell Trust, a hugely important charity I've a history with, I decided to give it a go, and do it with gusto."

He said this has been a "tough year for many" amid the cost-of-living crisis and things are not likely to get better, so the need to help people across the UK is "profound".

Emma Revie, CEO of the Trussell Trust said:

“We are so grateful to LadBaby for their incredible support for a fifth year running. Between April and September this year, food banks in the Trussell Trust network provided 1.3 million emergency food parcels to people facing hardship. Soaring food and fuel costs are affecting us all, but for families on the very lowest incomes this crisis means so much more and more people are likely to need a food bank’s help.

Food bank teams are working tirelessly to ensure help continues to be available. But ultimately, no one in the UK should need a food bank – all of us should have enough money for the essentials like food, clothing and heating. The support of LadBaby and the Band Aid trust will help food banks within our network continue to provide the lifeline of emergency support for local people in crisis, while we work in the long term to end the need for food banks, for good. ”

More emergency food parcels were given out during the April to September 2022 period than ever before for this time of year.

Over the last six months, more than 320,000 people have been forced to turn to food banks in the Trussell Trust network for the first time.

Half a million of these parcels were distributed to children.

The charity also says one in five people referred to its are in working households.

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