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A Yorkshire man, Eliot Kennedy, dubbed a ‘songwriter to the stars’ has produced a charity Christmas single in response to the cost-of-living crisis. Eliot Kennedy, one of the UK’s most…
A Yorkshire man, Eliot Kennedy, dubbed a ‘songwriter to the stars’ has produced a charity Christmas single in response to the cost-of-living crisis.
Eliot Kennedy, one of the UK’s most successful songwriters, has written hits for Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Bryan Adams, Take That, Spice Girls and S Club 7.
Now, he’s put his musical talents to a song he’s written and performed himself to try and raise funds and awareness for the charity National Energy Action.
‘This Christmas’ tells the story of a guy who lets down his girl and finds himself out in the cold at Christmas. The song is available for pre-order from November 4, and released on November 11.
Eliot said: “It’s an up-tempo pop song and a fun way of saying, stay warm this Christmas. There’s a serious message behind it, but rather than a heavy big ballad designed to make people feel bad, I wanted to do something fun and light-hearted, that sounded more like me.”
Despite his global hits and current project writing a new Broadway musical, following up on the hit, Finding Netherland, written with his song-writing partner Gary Barlow, Eliot never forgets his Sheffield roots.
Eliot said: “It’s a rallying call to help people this winter who are having to make a decision between heating and eating. These are the most fundamental things in life, and it’s tragic that we’re in this situation. We’re meant to be one of the wealthiest nations in the world and are struggling to keep people warm.”
Eliot is backing a campaign this Christmas by the charity National Energy Action via a JustGiving link when fans download the single, as up to 6.7 million UK households could be in fuel poverty this Christmas.
Eliot said: “For those who don’t need it and can afford to, it would be incredible if they’d consider donating their Winter Fuel Payment or Energy Bill Support Grant to National Energy Action’s Winter Warmth appeal. The hope is this Christmas single raises awareness for the cause.”
Eliot has collaborated on TV shows such as the X-Factor, where he was Talent Development Director, mentoring global superstars One Direction and Little Mix. As well as composing some of the world’s biggest pop songs, he’s also written for musicals and film, and is one of music industry’s most sought-after record producers.
The musician still lives in Sheffield and regularly hosts charity concerts in south Yorkshire for causes close to his heart. He founded the One Song Foundation, with the aim to help people in need through the power of music.
Eliot added: “The reality is there’s pandemonium around our politicians at this time when we need them to be more focussed than ever. So, what can you do? I’m a songwriter, so I’ll write a song and do everything I can to hopefully inspire some local companies to get involved, and support this charity.”
He added: “It’s not a grandiose thing, just a hope to inspire others to use their skills and talents if they can afford to help too. That’s how you bring about change, by getting up and doing something. People are suffering, so we do what we do well here in Yorkshire, and pull together.”
To pre-order This Christmas go to: https://eliotkennedymusic.com/ The single is out on 11th November 2022.
To donate to National Energy Action’s Winter Warmth appeal, go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/eliot-kennedy?utm_source=Sharethis&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=eliot-kennedy&utm_campaign=pfp-email&utm_term=15d7e94bb8cd438ebe9dd4c27b792f5c
EDITORS NOTES
About National Energy Action (NEA)
National Energy Action, the fuel poverty charity, campaigns so everyone can afford to live in a warm and safe home. This is something denied to millions because of poor housing, low incomes, and high bills.
Working across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, everything they do aims to improve the lives of people in fuel poverty. They directly support people with energy and income maximisation advice and advocate on issues including improving the energy efficiency of our homes.
The do not work alone. Partnerships and collaboration have been at the heart of NEA for over 40 years, helping to drive better health and wellbeing outcomes for people struggling to heat their homes.
Their vision is to end fuel poverty. They work across England, Wales and Northern Ireland – and with their sister charity Energy Action Scotland – to ensure that everyone can afford to live in a warm home.
They do this by:
Go to www.nea.org.uk for more
@NEA_UKCharity
National Energy Action (NEA) is an independent charity. Registration No. 290511. Registered in England No. 1853927
About Eliot Kennedy
Eliot Kennedy is an Ivor Novello and Grammy award winning Record Producer. He is one of the UK’s most prolific songwriters. For the last two decades he has penned hits for Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Bryan Adams, Lulu, Take That, The Spice Girls amongst others. Some of our best loved artists have launched their careers with the help of Eliot’s hit making songs.
Dividing his time between Nashville and his beloved Sheffield, Eliot owns Steel Works Studios, a world class state of the art music studios in Sheffield, UK. Stars fly in from across the world to record in a discreet setting with some of the best music engineers in the business. Eliot recently produced Donny Osmond’s 60th album at Steel Works studios to celebrate Donny’s 51 years in music, preferring to work with Eliot and his team on one of his most significant albums.
Eliot has closely collaborated with Gary Barlow for twenty years, penning hits for Take That and more laterally the Broadway Musical, ‘Finding Neverland’ which recently won the People’s Choice Award, now on a two-year tour across the USA. Eliot was the first person that Gary turned too to co-write the Queen’s Jubilee Song ‘Sing’ and he has spent many years with Gary writing European hits and collaborating on TV shows such as the X-Factor, where he was Talent Development Director, mentoring global superstars One Direction and Little Mix.
Gary Barlow said, “I have worked with Eliot for nearly 20 years, he is like a brother to me, musical theatre is now a passion of ours. Eliot is a rare talent who moves effortlessly between composing some of the world’s biggest pop songs, to smash hit musical theatre and film. He is one of music industry’s most sought-after producers.”
Eliot has written songs for a number of film soundtracks, including Spice World, Stepmom, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Racing Stripes, and Bridge to Terabithia. He was nominated with Bryan Adams for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for “Never Gonna Break My Faith” from Bobby and the Satellite Award for Best Original Song for “Never Let Go” also co-written with Adams from The Guardian. Eliot Kennedy and Bryan Adams were also nominated for a Grammy Award for Never Gonna Break My Faith recorded by Aretha Frankiln and Mary J. Blige, for the film Bobby. He won an Ivor Novello award for Picture of You by Boyzone.
Eliot has worked for Bryan Adams for 15 years, Bryan said, “Eliot is very modest but his hit songs must have sold at least 50 million records world-wide, he is my go-to partner for song writing, he is a creative genius and has one of the best music studios in the UK.”
https://www.steelworksstudios.com/