Charity Begins At...Last!
Isn't teamwork a wonderful thing? You get a bunch of people together, everyone does a little thing, and before you know it, a big thing happens. Sometimes it can be something as simple as standing still and being quiet: One person does it, and they're shy, ten people do it, and they're a cult, but if EVERYONE does it, it's a national gesture.
The same rule applies to charity records. They need to be hits, or they run the risk of looking forlorn and pathetic, and worse, raising no money. The best way to do this is get as many people as possible on board. This is partly because it's automatically more impressive if there's loads of celebs in a line, pulling imaginary keys from the sky (see all Westlife videos), and this creates a feeling in people that they should get off their backsides and DO something to help those less fortunate than themselves.
Not that your performers have to be celebs, there just needs to be more than one of them...
Here are some examples of people getting together to do charity work via the medium of popular song:
EXAMPLE 1: Chartjackers - 'I've Got Nothing'
This is the brainchild of a bunch of well-connected young webulons, and has the backing of 91Èȱ¬ Switch - the people who brought you Switch Live, fact fans - and it's fairly simple. Four self-confessed musical novices attempt to make a pop record and get it into the charts, using only their skill as web-networkers to help them. Then they give all the money to Children In Need.
(. I think we can all see who the real star is here.)
Now, as you'll see, this is very much the 'let's all pull together and see what we can achieve' end of things, and will possibly appear to be slightly slapdash next to Lady GaGa's latest video. But it's pretty cute, for all that.
www.bbc.co.uk/switch/chartjackers
Meanwhile, at the other end of the polish scale...
EXAMPLE 2: The X Factor Finalists - 'You Are Not Alone'
Just as they did last year with 'Hero', the finalists for this year's X Factor have ganged up to record a group song. This is a version of one of Michael Jackson's prettiest songs, with the proceeds going to the Great Ormand Street hospital. I've no idea what it's like, because they're saving it up for the big push over the weekend, but if there are not explosive bits, key-changes and an ending which involves glitter cannons, and a LOT of wailing...I'll eat my hat.
(No video, obv. Let's hope it's on the telly soon, eh?)
Assuming the Chartjackers don't overwhelm everyone, the BIG chart battle seems likely to be between this song and...
EXAMPLE 3: Something else I can't tell you about.
On November 20th, during the Children In Need telethon, Peter Kay - a man who is no stranger to charity songs - will unveil his latest musical fund-raising video event thing. He's keeping the whole thing very hush-hush, because the webulons would spoil the surprise if he didn't, but here's what we CAN tell you.
1: There will be (almost) 100 famous people involved in performing the song, from the UK and America.
2: It's taken a LOT longer to arrange this than the Chartjackers, because of 'schedules' - two years in the planning, apparently - and it could overwhelm the X Factor AND the Take That / Robbie Albert Hall thing as the celebrity gatheration of the year.
And THAT, friends, is the power of teamwork.
Anyone want to help me weed the garden?
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