The best 2020 charity Christmas singles
Howard Lake | 9 December 2020 | News
Here’s our pick of some of the best festive singles that are giving back this year. But which one deserves the number one spot in the charts this Christmas? You decide.
Merry Christmas Everyone – Lyra Cole
Seven-year-old Lyra had a brain tumour removed as a baby. Now, she’s raising money for Brain Tumour Research with her cover of Shakin’ Stevens’ Merry Christmas Everyone. This is Lyra’s second attempt at reaching a Christmas Number One. Last year, she hit the charts with her cover of When A Child is Born, which raised nearly £5,000 for charity.
Merry Christmas Everyone is 99p to download, with all proceeds going to Brain Tumour Research.
Advertisement
Live At The Royal Albert Hall – Arctic Monkeys
Instead of a single, this year Arctic Monkeys have released an entire album in aid of War Child UK. The band said:
“On June 7, 2018 we played a very special show at London’s Royal Albert Hall. All the proceeds from that memorable night were donated to War Child UK in support of the vital work they do protecting, educating and rehabilitating children who have experienced the trauma of conflict and the horror of war. The situation that was bad in 2018 is now desperate and those children and their families need our help more than ever. To enable War Child UK to reduce their funding deficit and continue their valuable work, we are happy to be able to release a live album, recorded that evening at The Royal Albert Hall..”
You can buy the album on the Arctic Monkeys’ website.
All you’re dreaming of – Liam Gallagher
Liam Gallagher has released his first ever Christmas single in aid of Action for Children. Gallagher teamed up with Peaky Blinder’s Director, Anthony Byrne, for a wintery music video, released yesterday. The single has already racked up 1 million views on Spotify.
You can stream the song on Spotify now.
Angels without wings – Pear Town Ukes
Pear Town Ukes, a community ukulele group from the village of Perton, Wolverhampton, has shared a Christmas remix of their song, Angels Without Wings. The song pays tribute to the work of medical staff during the coronavirus pandemic. The song was released last month to raise money for The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust Charity’s Covid-19 appeal.
It is out now to buy on Amazon.
I believe in Christmas – BlitZ
Rock Bank BlitZ have a new Christmas single in aid of Cancer Research UK. Following lead vocalist Stuart Cordens’ wife’s struggle with blood cancer, the band recorded this song to “throw some positivity into the universe.”
BlitZ are asking fans to donate to their fundraising page and then download the song.
A Sausage CaRoll – LadBaby & Walkers
After topping the Christmas charts for the past two years, LadBaby is back. This time, he’s teamed up with Walkers to share another sausage roll themed song for their Christmas advert. Instead of buying the single, LadBaby is asking you to pick up a pack of sausage roll flavour crisps. 5p per pack will be donated to the Trussell Trust to help fight hunger in the UK.
Very good this year (ho ho ho) – Small Boy & The Friend of Catherine
Small Boy Productions have released a Christmas single for Alder Hey Children’s hospital. The song was commissioned by a parent whose daughter had cardiac problems at five weeks old. Thanks to the hospital, she survived. Small Boy Productions said:
“I can assure you the track is going to be a massive hit. Think the Darkness, Slade and Wizard all rolled into one! We are bringing back the feel good factor of Christmas hits from the past.”
You can buy the single on Amazon.
Forever young – Becky Hill
If you recognise this one, it’s probably because you’ve already heard it on the McDonald’s Christmas advert. In October, McDonalds announced a partnership with FareShare to fund 1 million meals for families across the UK. All proceeds from the song will go to FareShare.
You can stream the song on spotify now.
Winter song – Sam Fender
Sam Fender has released a cover of folk band Lindisfarne’s Winter Song, in aid of homelessness charity People of the Streets. The lyric video for the song includes photographs taken over the last three years by photographers trained by the charity, many of whom have experienced homelessness themselves.
You can stream the song on Spotify now.
Christmas Courage – Maggie Boldan and John Slater
The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust’s charity Christmas single is based on a poem written by Activities Coordinator, Maggie Boldan, and has been brought to life by graphic designer and budding music producer, John Slater.
‘Christmas Courage’ includes the voices of 11 Trust colleagues, who all recorded their vocals in a makeshift recording studio at Rotherham Hospital. The song is being released to help raise funds for the Rotherham Hospital and Community Charity’s Virtual Christmas Collection Bucket challenge.
It will be available via Spotify, iTunes or Google Play once it is released on 14 December.
Want more charity Christmas singles? Try:
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.