Pic Stevie Kyle
Scotland’s own Callum Beattie has teamed up with DJs and remixers GBX and Sparkos for his grand new track It’s Christmas - and ALL income from the track will be donated to Cash for Kids and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy.
The song is a remix of Callum’s festive single, which is tearing up the airwaves.
The trio who are all friends of theshowbizlion.com had talked about working together for some time and decided collaborating on a Christmas remix – which they have signed over to the charities for good, meaning they will release it EVERY year Mariah Carey-style, bringing a much-needed boost to income for both deserving causes for decades to come.
Radio icon and club star George aka GBX said: “We had been talking about doing something together for a few years now, since Salamander Street came out. I always thought Callum's voice would work brilliantly on a dance track.
“Marc (Sparkos) had this idea to give Callum’s Christmas track a kind of Scooter feel and it just all fell into place. When I was trying to explain to Callum how we were doing it I said,‘If Scooter and Mariah had a baby, this would be it’.”
Callum said: “We were both working on other things at the time, but with this single I just wanted to make sure that we definitely did it.
It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years, and George has always been such a great supporter of me that it just felt like a natural collaboration.
“It’s been brilliant - we are both very down to earth and into music, so it wasn’t hard - I think we are building a lifelong bond and will probably collaborate on lots of future projects.”
Sparkos – aka Marc Anderson – said: “It’s been great working on this with Callum and we really had fun too – in fact we have already started work on a follow-up. We’re really happy with how the track turned out and hope people support it as it’s for two really important charities.”
The trio instantly decided they wanted to hand over the track permanently, so it brings an ongoing income for the good causes.
And they knew right away which charities they wanted to help.
Geo said: “Cash For Kids has always been my go-to charity because I see where the money goes and know that it makes a big difference. It also stays right here in Scotland so people you see every day who are in dire need of support, usually through no fault of their own, can get some kind of Xmas, that's a great feeling to know you've played your part.
“My brother can't walk or talk but is obsessed with music, he has a guitar that he strums all day, not playing chords or notes just getting a noise out of it, he would genuinely strum it 24 hours a day if you let him. So that highlights to me the important role Nordoff-Robbins play, so it was nice to raise some cash and support for them as well.”
Callum agreed, saying: “Cash For Kids because it’s just the most brilliant cause. I try to do as much charity stuff as I can. In fact, my manager and I have just broken through the £100K mark for charity fundraising in 2021, and whatever small contribution we can make means a lot to us. I do stuff for CFK every year, so it just felt natural to me.
“Nordoff-Robbins we did because it’s one of the few places that recognises the deep value of music in therapy. I believe in the absolute potential for music to change the world. I think it creates a very close link to the divine, and Nordoff-Robbins plays a huge part in delivering that to people who truly benefit from it. I hope I can do MUCH more with them in the future.”
ALL of the income from the remix will go to the charities – not profits, ALL income.
The guys were adamant about this, and about releasing it annually to try and make a difference in future too.
George said: “I just feel Xmas is a good time to do a charity single. If you download this track every penny will be split between Cash For Kids and Nordoff Robbins so it's just like making a donation. I was joking on the show saying if you like it download it from I Tunes and if you don't like it download it twice so you can say you were only getting it to help the charities.”
Callum added: “ALL the proceeds - not “the profits” like most charity records. ALL of the remix money will be equally divided between the two charities. None of this “profits” nonsense where there’s 40p left after costs.
“And as for releasing every year, as long as that’s what the public want then yes - God help them, they will be subjected to it every year!”
Callum was thrilled to work with Geo and Marc and is excited about their new project too.
He said: “You know what? I love the fact that they aren’t obsessed with their own credibility. It’s not about discovering some new acid jazz genre. It’s about giving people exactly what they want - a feeling of elation and excitement through listening to music.
Everyone loves them for a reason, and that’s because they know how to make you feel good.”
The guys filmed a special video at Elfingrove, the amazing outdoor ice rink and festive extravaganza staged by Itison in Glasgow, and were kitted out for the shoot by Forty Clothing.
With a big OVO Hydro show looming, Geo was terrified Callum would hurt himself when they were messing about on the ice.
George said: “We performed it together at the Cash For Kids lunch last week alongside Lewis Capaldi and Amy MacDonald so that was an amazing experience. We'll probably do a few more performances and we shot the video earlier in the week which was fun.
“Oli Norman at Itison and his amazing team sorted it out for us to use Elfingrove in Glasgow which was perfect, and Harry Miller from Forty Clothing dressed us for the occasion in big, warm, cool winter coats! So thank you to Itison, Elfingroveand Forty Clothing for supporting our charity single.
“All our ice-skating skills leave a little to be desired. I was terrified that Callum was going to fall and injure his arm because he's got a sold-out Hydro show to play with Amy MacDonald on the 17th of December. Thankfully it was all fine and we had a proper laugh, the three of us. The video should be with you next week but the single is out now so please download it so we can hand over a decent sum to Cash For Kids and Nordoff-Robbins.”
Grace Reilly, Regional Charity Manager for Cash For Kids said “Now more than ever vulnerable and disadvantaged children need our help and every £1 counts. George andCallum are both fantastic supporters of Cash For Kids and we are really grateful for their support for us and the amazing Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy. We would like to thank them and Sparkos for their support in this way and we would just like to encourage everyone to go out and buy the single. Thank you”
Sandy Trappitt, Head of Partnerships for Nordoff Robbins said: “We’re enormously grateful to Callum Beattie, George Bowie and Sparkos for their support of our music therapy this Christmas.
“We believe in the value of music for all people in our society, and it’s initiatives like this that help us continue to support some of the most vulnerable and isolated members of our communities through our music therapy.
“We hope that as many people as possible will go download their single!"
Oli Norman of Itison and Elfingrove said: “We were delighted to get involved with this fantastic project, raising money for two great charities. The song and the effort the guys are putting into this fundraising really sums up what Christmas is all about, and the spirit we are trying to capture at Elfingrove, so we’re thrilled to be a small part of it! I was thoroughly impressed George Bowie managed to stay standing on the ice too!”
Harry Miller from Forty Clothing said: “We are big fans of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and indeed have our own collaboration ongoing with Cash For Kids, so this was a no-brainer for us.
“George and Marc are old friends and we have big plans with Callum so it just fits perfectly – they’re all part of the Forty family.
“We are always open to helping good causes and they don’t come much better than helping charities like these two at Christmas. Thank you for asking us to be involved, it’s truly an honour to play any role in such a wonderful gesture from the guys.”
Callum Beattie x GBX x Sparkos – It’s Christmas is out now (Fri 10th) with ALL income going to Cash For Kids and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy.
The video shot at Elfingrove, Glasgow will be out next week