7 days to go for Shakin' Stevens to hit Christmas No.1 spot

With just seven days to go until the coveted Christmas No. 1 spot is revealed, The Salvation Army is calling on the public to buy Shakin’ Stevens' new single and support its work helping vulnerable people in need. 

Proceeds from Shaky’s new single, called ‘Echoes of Merry Christmas Everyone,’ will go to the work of the Church and charity, which helps thousands of vulnerable people every year. Support for the single is building on social media, with thousands retweeting the #Shaky4Number1 hashtag.   

2015 marks The Salvation Army’s 150th birthday and the 30th anniversary of music icon Shakin’ Stevens’ classic ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’, which topped the charts in 1985 and continues to re-chart globally each year. 

To celebrate the occasion, and for a cause close to his heart, Shaky re-recorded the hit adopting a Folk/Rock style, and renamed it as ‘Echoes Of Merry Christmas Everyone’, with the proceeds of sales for this year going to The Salvation Army.  The song also hints at the feel of his new album, due in 2016.   

Shakin' Stevens has been a long-time supporter of the church and charity, and has family who are members. He hopes that the single will be a celebration of The Salvation Army's 150th anniversary this year, and will help to support vulnerable people in need across the UK and the Republic of Ireland.  

Shaky said: “The Salvation Army are fighting against the growing scourge of modern slavery and human trafficking, providing refuge for those suffering from domestic abuse, giving food and shelter to homeless people, also supporting older members of the community, and relief during major disasters.”

Julius Wolff-Ingham, Head of Marketing and Fundraising for The Salvation Army, added: "Shakin' Stevens is a music icon and The Salvation Army has really enjoyed working with him on the video. It's not Christmas without The Salvation Army - joining forces with Shakin' is a great way for us to raise funds and show everyone what we do. 

"The Salvation Army can be trusted to put faith into action and provide caring, practical help at Christmas time and all year round. The money raised from this single will go directly to helping people who need us the most at this time of year." 

The work featured in the video includes emergency food parcels, meal runs, older people's lunch clubs, drop-in sessions for people experiencing homelessness, Hadleigh Training Centre for people with learning disabilities, older peoples' homes, and international disaster relief work in Haiti, Zambia, Kenya and Bangladesh. 

Shakin’ Stevens is a unique International Artist, whose music appeals to a diverse audience. In the UK he has had 39 hit singles (including 4 number 1s) – notching up the equivalent of more than 9 years in the charts, also earning the accolade of being the biggest selling singles artist of a decade - to quote from the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles And Albums; “Shares with The Beatles (60s) and Elton John (70s) the distinction of being the most successful UK singles chart performer of a decade.”

Stevens has earned a multitude of Gold, Platinum and Double Platinum Discs for his albums, and a plethora of global honours and prestigious industry awards – in the UK and Internationally.

The single can be purchased on itunes, Amazon and on Google Play. 

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