Arts / Watch: Musician releases Slade Christmas cover – with the help of more than 40 guest singers
A COVER of a classic Christmas song which includes guest singing from more than 40 people has been released just in time for the big day.
Local musician Scott Priest has masterminded a cover of Slade’s iconic festive tune Merry Xmas Everybody.
It is the third consecutive year he has put together a Christmas cover, with a little help from friends.
For the Slade tune he recorded drums, bass and guitar before calling upon friends to contribute vocals.
The guests vary from stalwarts of the local music scene to friends who may be somewhat less experienced in front of the microphone – but that is all part of the fun.
Explaining how his new festive tradition came to be, Priest said: “The first year I did it was essentially just to have a laugh with my friends – the majority of the first years’ recording was done at pre drinks at the house before going out.
“It ended up being hilarious, I got a few more involved and it’s just pretty much expanded from there.
“The whole point is to just have a bit of a laugh and spread some cheer, as while there’s some seasonal veterans who you’ll recognise there are also some who are maybe not quite as gifted – I’ll leave it up to you decide which is which.”
Priest – who performs in rock bands such as Shipyard Riot, No Half and Sheer – said the guest cast has increased year on year.
He described the Slade song as a “fantastic tune that simply sounds like Christmas”.
“I recorded the drums, guitars and bass way back in November to be a bit more organised, and since then I’ve had people over the last month to do various bits and pieces of the song,” he added.
With 42 guests on the track Priest said he was unable to say how long he has spent on getting the recording together – but it is “probably a lot longer than I would think”.
“Certainly the instrumental took the best part of a weekend, from learning the song to recording it and mixing it too,” he added. “It’s all in good fun and high spirits, of course.”
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