Sing Loch Lomond for Children in Need

11th October 2007

Runrig with The Tartan Army

Today sees the launch of TartanArmy.com's biggest charity fundraiser ever.

Over the years The Tartan Army have won plaudits, awards and most importantly lots of friends...The Tartan Army however has never had a Number One in the charts!

Well, it's time to do something about that one.

Together with Runrig, BBC Scotland and The Daily Record (not to mention Sky Sports, the SFA, Renfrew Ferry and a few dozen others so far), we're rerecording, remixing and releasing an all new version of Loch Lomond! The track which will have the Tartan Army choir recorded this weekend at both The Renfrew Ferry and then Hampden will be released on the Monday before the Scotland Italy match - the same week as the annual BBC Children in Need fundraiser.

Sing Loch Lomond for Children in Need

The new version will have a few surprise guests on it but it will feature Runrig with The Tartan Army in full voice making it, we're pretty sure, the version that will be played at the end of Christmas party nights, weddings, birthdays and student union discos for the next two decades... and it will feature YOU!

The recording of the backing vocals will be taking place before the Ukraine match kicks off and at half time and for this we have to thanks the Scottish Football Association for their support. Marketing Director Colin Banks took about two minutes to write back after our request pledging the SFA's support.

Gordon Smith, Chief Executive, pledged his support and promised not to sing, Alledgedly.

Runrig's live version of Loch Lomond has become an anthemic part of half time rituals at Hampden with The Tartan Army taking over lead vocals, backing vocals, hand claps, air punches, heilan dancing and gutteral Gaelic chants before the teams emerge for the second half and it never fails to raise the volume and the temperature before the restart.

BBC Scotland will be recording the singing of the track at Hampden this weekend and featuring the footage on the finished video for Loch Lomond. It is your chance to show Simon Cowell what he's missing! 52,000 Macdonald Brothers...

The Hampden choir will be remixed onto the final version of the track to be released on Monday 13th November.

Runrig Enthused

The band when approached were delighted to be involved. Drummer Iain Bayne lead off, "It is fantastic to mobilise the Tartan Army for Children in Need in Scotland. We are going to have great fun doing something which is very close to all our hearts."

Canadian lead singer Bruce Guthro emphasised what we all know, "The Tartan Army are World renowned, even in the land of ice hockey they are known! The word across the Atlantic is that they are grinders that never quit. They rise to every occasion even when the odds are stacked against them much like the Runrig fans who stood in the rain at Loch Ness."

Steve Cullen, the band's Business Manager summed it all up, "To be involved in a project mixing the Tartan Army and Children in Need was one that needed no discussion. It had to be done despite the obvious logistical nightmare of achieving this during our UK album launch tour. We look forward with great anticipation as this project unfolds." 

The Daily Record are already committed to helping Scotland "Sing Loch Lomond for Children in Need" and will be helping us in a search for those with the St Andrews X factor. The press launch at the team headquartes at Cameron House had the Scottish squad belting out Loch Lomond at the side of the very same piece of water as they took a break from preparing for the crucial qualifying game.

BBC Scotland are putting together the video promotion of the single release and hopefully with their help we'll be taking Runrig and the Tartan Army all the way to Number One.

Ayrshire based design and marketing company The Edge who have developed the idea from the start are delighted at the response so far. Ian McCaig, the company's managing director has been quite astonished at the levels of support shown so far. "We've been working with The Tartan Army on a number of design and website projects over the past couple of years and we're rarely surprised by the reaction but this is simply superb. The BBC, SFA, Daily Record and of course Runrig have all taken the idea to their hearts and built upon it with us. It's a great example of how projects if managed with care can be taken towards their maximum potential. It should be an interesting few weeks!"

And that's not all. Since the news of the recording came to light we've already been contacted by a number of Scottish stars offering their services to the project. Watch this space!!

What can you do? Well there's a number of things. You can obviously help us get Loch Lomond to number one when it's released - it will be available as a download from all of the normal places and we'll make sure you have e-mails ready to send to the whole world explaining just how they can buy the single.

You can get your chance to have your voice or video seen through our special YouTube "Sing Loch Lomond for Children in Need" section.

We'll keep you up to speed with how the single's progressing over the coming weeks - simply give us your details and we'll mail you what's going on. along with details of where and when you can buy "Scotland's Scotland's Number One!!"

Click the box on the top right and we'll help make sure that you can "Sing Loch Lomond for Children in Need"

The BBC Children in Need Appeal is a registered charity, number 802052

For every penny donated, a penny will go towards projects helping disadvantaged children and young people in the UK. The charity is able to make this promise because it uses its investment income to cover all operational costs.