Neil Young and Tony Bennett added to charity Christmas service lineup
Neil Young and Tony Bennett have been added to the lineup of a charity Christmas event taking place this week.
Hosted by Nile Rodgers, The Stars Come Out To Sing At Christmas will be streamed globally tomorrow (December 15) at 7pm GMT and is taking place in aid of Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy. You can tune into the event on the charity’s official website here.
The virtual carol service will feature readings, performances and festive messages broadcast from the homes of the stars taking part. Some performances will also be streamed from St. Lukes Church in London and Abbey Road Studios.
Young and Bennett join a lineup that includes: Florence Welch, Cliff Richard, The Who‘s Roger Daltrey, OneRepublic, Kaiser Chiefs, Simple Minds, Rebecca Ferguson, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Manic Street Preachers‘ James Dean Bradfield and The Script’s Danny O’Donoghue.
The service will be free to watch, but viewers are invited to donate to Nordoff Robbins. They are the UK’s largest independent music therapy charity, and are dedicated to enriching through music the lives of people affected by life limiting illness, isolation or disability.
“The holidays are my favourite as it’s a time when everyone makes the effort to show their appreciation for the people and organizations that make the world better,” Bennett said.
“I am thrilled to be performing at The Nordoff Robbins Carol Service to support the enrichment they provide to those in need through the power of music – each and every day.”
Young will be performing ‘Sugar Mountain’ as part of the service, a song he wrote at the Victoria Hotel in Fort William, Ontario on his 19th birthday, November 12, 1964.
The first known recording of the song was made on December 15, 1965 for a demo record at Elektra Records in New York City; this version appears on the ‘Early Years’ disc on ‘The Archives Vol.1 1963–1972’.
Meanwhile, a host of artists have already lined up a series of Christmas releases including Snoop Dogg, Sam Smith, John Cooper Clarke, JMSN, Shaggy, Robbie Williams and Justin Bieber.
Alanis Morissette also recently covered John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’.