Kent Village Pub Releases Tenth Consecutive Christmas Single

While artists such as Mariah Carey, Ed Sheeran, and Elton John have achieved significant success with their Christmas singles, a village pub in Kent presents a unique comparison. For the tenth year in a row, locals associated with The Five Bells in Chelsfield have launched a festive song, ambitiously aiming for the number one chart position. The group, known as The Belldrinkers, has released its latest track, “Another Song, Another Christmas,” which runs for over seven minutes and includes a music video that references their prior attempts to reach the top of the charts. Lester Barnes, a media composer and co-creator of this annual endeavor, records the songs in his garden studio. He stated that they consistently strive for novelty by considering “what type of music we haven’t done already and what will be funny.” The song features more than 60 local amateur singers, performing over a backing track composed by Chelsfield musicians and Mr. Barnes’s professional contacts from the West End stage and film soundtracks. Mr. Barnes remarked, “The song this year has people who have never sung in public before performing alongside a flautist who can be heard on the Harry Potter film scores.” He added, “We have these highly rated people queueing up to offer their talents for free.” The production process typically commences in the springtime, when Mr. Barnes meets with Dave Griffiths, the other co-creator of The Belldrinkers, at the local pub to discuss concepts for the next Christmas song. Mr. Griffiths, who is the guitarist and lyric writer for the community recording, acknowledges that finding inspiration can frequently be a challenge. He commented, “Something usually comes to me in the nick of time.” He further explained, “The words normally have to be silly, funny and relevant to the village, although we have covered more worldwide topics like global warming and Covid.” The group has garnered attention for its past efforts; in 2016, they were invited to perform on the BBC’s One Show. Mr. Griffiths stated, “Despite appearing to an audience of millions, we’ve never generated any money to break even.” He continued, “We put our hands into our own pockets to pay for studio hire to record the drums, but it has been more than worth it.” Mr. Barnes added, “We do it as it’s a lovely thing to bring the community into our local pub at Christmastime. It’s become a wonderfully eccentric tradition, and we’re already thinking about next year’s chart flop!” “Another Song, Another Christmas” by The Belldrinkers is currently available for viewing on YouTube.