CHRISTMAS, Burn It All – by Randolph’s Leap and The Olive Grove All-Stars – unites a host of artists from Scotland’s indie scene for a festive song aimed at raising funds for Friends of the Earth Scotland.
In the catchy, bells-jingling get-together, written by Randolph’s Leap’s Adam Ross, the front man is backed by the rest of the eight-piece band as well as David MacGregor from Broken Chanter, Robert Canavan from Campfires in Winter and Gillian Fleetwood from
The State Broadcasters. The Olive Grove All-Stars choir also features the considerable pipes of Scottish Album of the Year nominee Carla J Easton and Lloyd Meredith, head of Olive Grove Records.
Recorded and produced by Paul Gallagher at Glenwood Studio at Castlemilk Youth Centre, the song’s lyrics reference the drone incidents at Heathrow, Brexit, the death of indie legend Daniel Johnston and “schoolkids marching in the street to stop the planet dying”.
The chorus is defiantly upbeat, with the assembled choir, filmed at the studio by Randolph’s Leap’s bassist Vicki Cole, singing: “It’s Christmas time, and all your heroes are dead/So love yourself, your family and friends tonight instead.”
Ross describes the Band Aid-style anthem as “a slightly nihilistic ‘goodbye and good riddance’ to 2019 and a tentative hint at optimism for the new decade”. Proceeds from the single, released online tomorrow, will go to the charity, as will monies from an end of year party next week at the Glad Cafe.
“Music has the power to bring us together – which is needed more than ever as we tackle the climate crisis,” says Kerrigan Bell, development manager at Friends of the Earth Scotland, “This year has been a big year for the environment in Scotland and 2020 is looking set to be even bigger as Glasgow hosts the UN Climate Conference and we continue to push for more action on climate change.”
December 12, The Glad Cafe, Glasgow, £8 in advance, £10 on the door. Tel: 0141 636 6119. www.thegladcafe.co.uk www.olivegroverecords.com www.foe.scot.
Burn It All is released tomorrow
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