TV singing champions Semi-Toned release charity Christmas single

The all-male group, which recently won the BBC2 primetime show The Choir: Gareth’s Best in Britain, is today releasing their charity single A Very Semi-Toned Christmas. It features some of the best known and loved hits of the Christmas season, including classics by Bing Crosby, Mariah Carey, Wham! And Elvis Presley.

The single will raise funds for Order of Malta Volunteers (OMV) which encourages 17-29 year olds to aid those less fortunate than themselves and creates opportunities for those who would not usually get them.

Semi-Toned member Henry Edwards, from Stratford-upon-Avon, said: “We wanted to capitalise on our newfound audience from the TV show and from a cappella's expanding popularity. We learned so much from the show, and we wanted to put that into practice and do something that would really help those who would not usually get to experience the opportunities that OMV gives them. The Order of Malta Volunteers also has a really wide reach within the Exeter student community so we thought it would be a great place to start.”

The group recorded the video accompaniment to their medley in locations around Exeter, including the University of Exeter’s Streatham Campus Christmas lights switch-on, Exeter Quay and the Exeter Christmas Market.

Semi-Toned’s Musical Director Duncan Payne, from Cheltenham, said: “Creating this single has been a real University of Exeter project, with help from current students, staff and alumni. Some of the group’s own alumni even appear in the video. It was great to get loads of other students in for the end of the video, too. We also hugely appreciate the help of the University itself for our filming in the Forum during the Switch on of the campus Christmas lights. It’s been a real community project, and we hope that is reflected in the video!”

Semi-Toned member Sam Harper, from Taunton, said: “Even before we appeared on the show, we were so lucky to benefit from amazing support from the University and the wider community in the South West. Since the show, we’ve been overwhelmed with the reaction and we’re so grateful to all our supporters. We hope our single can now bring a little festive cheer into people’s homes all over the UK this Christmas, while supporting a great cause!”

The track will soon be available to download on iTunes. Currently, it can be ordered by donating to the Order of Malta Volunteers via a JustGiving page. The video can be viewed on the Semi-Toned Facebook page and on YouTube.

The track features the new Semi-Toned line-up, many of whom featured in the BBC Show:
Henry Edwards, from Stratford-upon-Avon
Ted Bartram, from near Norwich
Sylvan Rackham, from Durham
Duncan Payne, from Cheltenham
Alfie Davis, from Guildford
Charlie Rockall, from near Guildford
Sam Harper, from Taunton
Greg Munday, from Oxford
Jacob Storey, from Grantham
Ludo Graham, from Wimbledon, London
Satchit Srikanth, from Croydon, London

A Very Semi-Toned Christmas features a mash-up of White Christmas’ (Bing Crosby), ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ (Mariah Carey), ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ (Slade), ‘Fairytale of New York’ (The Pogues), ‘Wonderful Christmas Time’ (Paul McCartney, ‘Blue Christmas’ (Elvis Presley), ‘Last Christmas’ (Wham!) and ‘Happy Xmas (War is Over)’ (John Lennon).