In Search of The True Christmas Hit

University of Leicester employee and ex-Squeeze songwriter help spread Christmas spirit with charity single to be available from December 8.

A member of the administrative staff at the University of Leicester has co-written a Christmas single.

'Let's Not Fight This Christmas' has been co-written by former Squeeze songwriter Chris Difford, with Kenton Hall, Kevin Malpass and Tom Houston.

The single was launched on BBC 1's The One Show as part of a series of programmes aiming to find the formula for a Christmas number one.

But for Kenton Hall, a member of the administrative staff at the University of Leicester's School of Education, writing this single meant more than just getting a number one hit. He said, "For me, personally, I grew up without Christmas due to my family's religious beliefs so it was incredibly easy to tap into the sense of wonder that I see my children experience, and also the hope that so many adults lose for a holiday to be magical."

"'Let's Not Fight This Christmas' is both an acknowledgement of how difficult and strange family life can be in this day and age and how sometimes it's essential to set all that aside and just enjoy what we have.

"'All we need is here.' That will make sense when you hear the song."

All proceeds of the single will be donated to the charity Children in Need.

Kenton added: "We'd like to see a proper Xmas song in the charts, obviously, and we're incredibly proud of the end result. But the fact that we have the opportunity to raise hopefully a lot of money for Children in Need is the key thing. That's supposed to be the meaning of Christmas, after all -Giving."

Kenton has been a member of the administrative staff at the University of Leicester's School of Education for the past three years, in between tours and album making.

"I've been a proud member of the music scene in Leicester since we first started the band. There's an enormous amount of talent here, and it continues to hit the public eye in a variety of strange and unusual ways.

Kenton is originally from Canada, but has been based in Leicester for the last 7 years. He is the singer and lyricist with local Leicester band ist and it is thanks to their forthcoming album, 'Toothpick Bridge', that the collaboration with Chris was formed.

"Melvin Duffy, a member of Chris' solo band, was one of the guest musicians on 'Toothpick Bridge'. He introduced me to Chris, who had been a huge influence and a teenage hero of mine, and I was invited to attend his songwriting retreats in Italy and Wales. On my third, in October of this year, the idea of a Christmas song was mooted... the rest is history. Or it will be. We hope."

"The song was originally written on one of Mr. Difford's song-writing retreats in Wales, and we made a demo recording there. The final song was then recorded at the BBC in November and now, here we are on the verge of release. It's been a whirlwind."

The song is available for download from December 8th, following a week-long launch on BBC1's The One Show. In addition to radio and press, there will be various live shows and Kenton will be performing with ist at a special "istmas" show at The Donkey, Welford Road, Leicester on December 6th.

Kenton hopes that 'Let's Not Fight This Christmas' is a song that is more than just a one-hit wonder, and that its message will reach people from all walks of life.

"Our aim was to write a good old-fashioned Christmas song that could stand the test of time and make a song with some depth and real meaning."

He added, "We're hoping to resurrect the true Christmas single, about Christmas, for Christmas. To be sung along with at parties. This song is for EVERYBODY"