Jason Manford releases charity single
Jason Manford is releasing a single for charity.
Assembly Bangers serves as the finale to the comic's Like Me tour, as he leads the crowd in a nostalgic dance track medley of religious songs sung in school assemblies down the decades, including This Light Little of Mine, He's Got the Whole World on His Hands, When I Needed a Neighbour, Lord of the Dance and Sing Hosanna.
Released tomorrow via the Westway Red label, all profits from the single will raise funds for The Trussell Trust charity's first ever large-scale emergency appeal to ensure that food banks can keep going this winter.
The Trussell Trust currently supports more than 1,300 local food bank centres across the UK and hopes to raise sufficient funds to ensure that food banks can meet the current rise in need and continue to support people who are experiencing hardship.
"When I first started talking about Assembly Bangers on stage I never once thought we'd get to this point of releasing an actual record! It's nuts," said Manford.
"But so many people have messaged asking me to do it so here we are. Not only am I delighted to be releasing this single, but all profits will be going to The Trussell Trust; I'm a big supporter of the work they do. The track is a bit of nostalgic fun from our school days and if we can raise money for the charity, whilst having a laugh with the single, that would be fantastic!"
You can watch the video for Assembly Bangers here:
The Trussell Trust's CEO, Emma Revie said: "Our food banks are preparing for the toughest winter yet as they struggle to balance rising operational costs with a tsunami of need as more people find themselves unable to afford the essentials. Between April and September of this year, more than 320,000 people used a food bank for the first time - that is the equivalent of everyone in Nottingham needing to access emergency food.
"We greatly appreciate Jason's support and the funds raised by this single will play a vital part in helping to keep food banks going this winter as they distribute an estimated 7,000 parcels each day."
Assembly Bangers is now available to pre-save/stream.
To make a financial donation to The Trussell Trust in support of the Emergency Appeal Fund, visit www.trusselltrust.org/appeal for more information or call 01722 580 178 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm).
To donate food and toiletries to your local food bank, visit trusselltrust.org to find you nearest food bank, view the list of items that they need most and locate your nearest collection point.
25th November update
The single has gone to the top of the iTunes chart. Manford posted on his Twitter account: "You absolute set of legends! Thanks to everyone who's bought and listened to it. That's amazing!"