DOWNLOAD SHAKIN' STEVENS' XMAS SINGLE TO SUPPORT THE SALVATION ARMY

With Christmas almost upon us, complete your festive playlist by downloading Shakin' Stevens' new single 'Echoes of Merry Christmas Everyone' today.

We were delighted to welcome 'Shaky' to Cardiff City Stadium on 15th December, for City's 3-2 Sky Bet Championship victory over Brentford. The platinum-selling artist addressed the crowd prior to the match, as he promoted his new hit alongside the Salvation Army.

His single is a reworking of the 1985 No.1 classic, ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’, and celebrates its thirtieth anniversary.  This new version adopts a folk-rock feel in line with some of the tracks on Shaky’s new album, due out in 2016.

Since the late 1800s, members of Shaky’s family have been Salvationists. As a tribute to his roots and in support of the charitable cause, proceeds from the sale of  ‘Echoes Of Merry Christmas Everyone’ will be donated to The Salvation Army, this year celebrating their 150th anniversary.

Having been born in Cardiff and grown up in Ely, two of Shaky's brothers - Freddie and Jimmy Barratt - took to football whilst their younger brother would go on to pursue the musical path. Freddie and Jimmy are pictured below (Freddie, centre, goalkeeper; Jimmy holding the ball second from right), representing Ely United in the 1947/48 season. Jimmy was asked to trial for Cardiff City, although family commitments prevented him from taking up the offer.



The Salvation Army feature in the 'Echoes' video, which you can watch at the bottom of this page. Shakin' Stevens spoke exclusively to Cardiff City Player HD ahead of his visit to CCS, and said: "The Salvation Army are fighting against the growing scourge of modern slavery and human trafficking, providing refuge for those suffering from domestic abuse, giving food and shelter to the homeless, supporting older members of the community, and providing relief during major disasters."

Julius Wolff-Ingham - Head of Marketing & Fundraising The Salvation Army - added: "The Salvation Army has really enjoyed working with Shaky on the video. We're delighted to have had the opportunity to share with everyone the important, caring, practical work we do, showing how we put our beliefs into action."


CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD ECHOES ON iTUNES AND SUPPORT THE SALVATION ARMY

Listen out for ‘Echoes Of Merry Christmas Everyone’ throughout this festive period on all Cardiff City FC digital channels!