YouTube stars LadBaby have announced their intention to achieve an unprecedented sixth consecutive Christmas number-one hit.
Mark and Roxanne Hoyle will perform Band-Aid’s 1984 song Do They Know It’s Christmas to collect funds for families affected by the cost-of-living crisis.
They will be accompanied by finance expert Martin Lewis and other “icons from the music industry.”
The funds will be divided equally into the Trussell Trust food bank charity and the Band-Aid foundation.
Sausage Rolls For Everyone, a duet between LadBaby, Ed Sheeran, and Sir Elton John, became their fourth consecutive UK Christmas number one last year.
The Nottinghamshire couple topped the charts for the first time in 2018 with We Built This City, a cover of Starship’s 1985 hit; followed by 2019’s I Love Sausage Rolls, their rendition of The Arrows/Joan Jett’s I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll; and 2020’s Don’t Stop Me Eatin’, a parody of Journey’s power ballad Don’t Stop Believin’.
They are presently equal with the Beatles for the most total holiday chart-toppers, however, the Fab Four only accomplished three consecutive years at the top when Tom Jones’ “Green, Green Grass of Home” ended their reign in 1966.
Mark and Roxanne said in a statement, “We never intended to release a fifth Christmas song, but as ambassadors of the Trussell Trust, we could not sit back and do nothing in a year when people are struggling more than ever.”
“Therefore, a few months ago, we approached Bob Geldof, Midge Ure, and the Band-Aid Trust to request permission to rewrite the most iconic Christmas song of all time, Do They Know it’s Christmas, and they graciously agreed.”
Mark stated that Geldof and Ure personally approved of the revised lyrics.
The track is currently available for pre-order and will be released on December 16, to top the Christmas chart the following Friday.
It will be up against old favorites such as Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You and Wham’s Last Christmas, but bookmakers have already named LadBaby the favorite.
Lewis expressed surprise at being contacted for assistance.
“I believed they had mistaken me for someone else,” he claimed. “The closest I’ve ever been to contemplating a Christmas number one was on Boxing Day after drinking too much orange juice the day before.
“Once I saw they were serious, and that it was for the Trussell Trust, a tremendously important organization with whom I have a history, I decided to give it a shot, and I did so with vigor.”
Mark explained that he contacted the money-saving guru because “he knows more than most about how to assist individuals in this country.”
He stated that Lewis “has greater sexual appeal than Ed Sheeran and is more famous than Elton John.”
According to the organization, the cost of living problem has increased demand for food banks throughout the United Kingdom.
A total of 1,3 million emergency food boxes were distributed between April and September, an increase of 52% compared to the same time in 2019.
In addition, one in five individuals sent to the charity’s food banks is employed.
