A Fife band are amongst 18 artist collaborators from across the UK that are tapping into the spirit of the Euro 2020 football championships to help raise funds for struggling music venues.
Kirkcaldy band Shambolics have contributed to the Artists United Collective – a new “mega group” that’s come together with a new charity single in aid of the Music Venue Trust.
The collective has released a cover of The Farm’s 1991 classic All Together Now to coincide with the launch of the delayed Euro 2020 football bonanza, with all profits going direct to the Music Venue Trust and the #saveourvenues campaign.
Artists including Zuzu, Trampolene and The Crooks, hope the emotive cover taps into the passion of the Covid-19-deplated terraces and raises vital funds for the UK’s suffering live venue community.
Original released in 1990
All Together Now was originally released by The Farm in November 1990, drawn from the Liverpool six-piece’s chart-topping album, Spartacus and reached No 4 in the UK Singles Chart.
The new version was specially recorded at a time of rising optimism that the nation’s live music venues could be open and on their way to recovery by autumn 2021.
Each artist has pledged their time and energies to raise money for the survival of an industry that has given them their voices.
Stating that there are 556 venues at risk of closure, the Music Venues Trust launched the #saveourvenues campaign to draw together fundraising initiatives undertaken by artists and music fans who heard the call of grassroots venues closed by the Covid pandemic.
What is the United Artists Collective?
United Artists Collective is the latest gathering of musical minds to raise money for venues and venue staff and maintain public awareness that the UK’s bright summer will likely see most of the nation’s vital music venues stay dark.
Pulling together the artists, managers, labels and more of the 18 featured artists, the project has been initiated and produced by a partnership of fashion brand and music event sponsors, Scott’s Menswear, promoters This Feeling, Liverpool-based label and management company, Modern Sky UK and Rich Turvey of Parr Street Studios, Liverpool who took up duties behind the mixing desk.
Witnessing the latest version of his song go out into the world, The Farm’s Peter Hooton added his support, saying: “Good luck with the release I hope it raises lots of money for the Music Venues Trust, which is the lifeblood of the music industry.”
The single is the fourth occasion on which All Together Now has been repurposed to coincide with a major football tournament, with the Everton FA Cup Final team recording a version ahead of their 1995 Wembley appearance, England’s official Euro 2004 song being a reworking with DJ Spoony and a lesser-heard rarity recorded with World Cup 2006 mascot Goleo VI and Atomic Kitten celebrating that tournament with a mainland Europe-only release.
Shambolics release new single
It comes as Shambolics, from Kirkcaldy, release their new single ‘Dreams, Schemes & Young Teams’ on June 11.
Describing it as a “celebration of good times gone and those yet to come”, Darren Forbes of Shambolics says of the new tune: “It’s essentially a song of hope….a song about the ‘Young Teams’ who want to make it out of the schemes and see what’s out there.
“The artwork to the track is the place where we all first met as teenagers when we were the young team drinking, having a carry on and planning on taking on the world.”
Recorded at 7 West Studios and Eggman Studios in Fife, the track was produced by the esteemed Chris Marshall (Gerry Cinnamon, The Dunts).
Written by the band’s leading songwriting partnership Darren Forbes and Lewis Macdonald, ‘Dreams, Schemes & Young Teams’ also sees new member Scott Williamson enter the frame on keys to become the fifth official member of Shambolics.
Released by Eggman Records, ‘Dreams, Schemes & Young Teams’ arrives as Shambolics first new release of 2021.
Shambolics’ recent releases
It follows a string of acclaimed recent releases from the band including last year’s ‘Love Collides’ and ‘Sandra Speed’, with the latter just released before lockdown last year.
Not ones to sit still, the Shams preoccupied themselves during the pandemic with a series of classic cover versions in their distinctly dreamy style, including Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Everywhere’, The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’, ABBA’s ‘Mamma Mia’ and The Stones ’Sympathy for the Devil’; finding a raft of new fans with their uplifting reworkings.
They also worked with Kyle Falconer of Dundee’s The View and James Allan of Glasvegas for a Kirkcaldy Foodbank gig in December.
Steadily gaining fans at press too, the band have seen repeated plays on Steve Lamacq’s BBC6 Music Show, plus earned plaudits from Gigwise, Louder Than War, Clash Magazine and more, who have praised their “soaring guitar pop that recall everyone from The La’s to Blossoms and beyond” (Clash).
Already firm favourites on Scottish turf, the band have become accustomed to selling out venues like St Lukes in Glasgow and The Water Rats in London.
Hard work and dedication paid off for the Shambolics in 2019 when they signed a record deal with infamous Scottish music mogul Alan McGee, as interviewed by The Courier.
The Glasgow-based music executive, who famously signed the likes of Oasis, Primal Scream and Jesus & Marychain to his old label Creation Records, signed the Kirkcaldy-raised indie-psychedelia four piece to his brand new vinyl release label Creation23.
