The Peace Collective
An all-star cast including Julian Lennon, Clean Bandit and Mick Jones of The Clash feature alongside The Farm for the latest version of their 1990 classic in aid of The British Red Cross and the Shorncliffe trust.
A top five hit on its original release and again as the anthem for England’s Euro 2004 campaign, Liverpool band The Farm‘s 1990 classic All Together Now is set for another outing courtesy of The Peace Collective, with all proceeds going to charity.
Originally inspired by the Christmas Truce of The First World War, where English and German soldiers unofficially ceased fire and ventured across trenches for a famous game of football, the new release, set for December 15, is to mark its centenary.
The project has been assembled by the team behind The Justice Collective, whose 2012 recording of He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother in aid of the victims of the Hillsborough disaster topped the Christmas charts ahead of The X Factor’s James Arthur.
In keeping with its inspiration, a choir of sixty schoolboy footballers from both the Premier League and Bundesliga feature on the single, with strings provided by the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) and production helmed by Simon Britton and Jon Moon.
Among the host of big names appearing on the track are Julian Lennon, David Gray, Clean Bandit, Alexandra Burke, The Zutons’ Dave McCabe and John Power of Cast, while Suggs and Mick Jones of The Clash contribute both on the track and as executive producers.
“’I’m so pleased that such an eclectic mix of artistes from all over the world wanted to get involved in the new recording of All Together Now,” says The Farm‘s Peter Hooton on the new recording, on which he and his band also feature.
“For me it’s really important that the real message of the Christmas Truce, of peace, hope and humanity is highlighted, and I think this great new version of the song captures this atmosphere and the feeling of unity and togetherness which was so evident during the recording sessions,” he continues.
The accompanying video, which you can watch below, features studio footage from the original recording alongside clips from the Royal Shakespeare Company’s trailer for their new play The Christmas Truce.
The track has been recorded in aid of both The British Red Cross, who help vulnerable people both at home and abroad in response to conflict, natural disasters and individual emergencies, as well as The Shorncliffe Trust, who are currently assembling a national education centre and heritage park in Kent to tell the story of the social impact of war through preservation of original onsite training trenches, barrack houses and war horse stables.
All Together now is available for pre-order now by texting PEACE to 84222, or on iTunes, Amazon and 7 Digital. The Peace Collective can also be found on Facebook and Twitter.
