Oasis star gives the go-ahead for group's charity tune

Young students from The Music Yard Larne penned Talking to a Snowman using the melody of Gallagher’s hit track, Songbird.

And after receiving approval from the music star’s publishers, Kobalt, the group have released the song in a bid to raise funds for Stand Up To Cancer - the flagship campaign of Cancer Research UK.

Based on Point Street in Larne town centre, The Music Yard has been up and running for three years.

Group director and co-founder Thomas Hamilton said: “The young guitar students at our school had been learning the chords to Songbird by Oasis in preparation for the Christmas tree switch-on in Larne recently when one five-year-old student complained that it wasn’t a very ‘Christmassy’ song.

"That’s when we had a light bulb moment; that we could change the lyrics to conjure up visions of Christmas and get our music students involved in recording and releasing it as a charity single.

"Within the space of a week or so, we rewrote the lyrics using lots of festive references. We were then able to shoot the music video to accompany the single, featuring approximately 60 Music Yard students playing guitar, drums and singing."

The finished track features the talents of pupils aged between five and 16, and was recorded at Railway Studios in Lisburn.

“As Liam Gallagher originally wrote the song, we required his permission to use the melody, so we all breathed a sigh of relief when we received full endorsement from his publisher!” Thomas added.

The single can be downloaded now on Google Play, Spotify, and Deezer and will soon be available on iTunes.

Donations can also be made towards the Stand Up To Cancer campaign here.

“Our students are truly excited that they have been part of this single release and also that it will go to such a worthy cause, as almost everyone unfortunately nowadays has been touched by cancer in some form whether it be a family member or a friend," Thomas added.

"We might not be able to compete with the other big names battling for the UK Christmas Number 1 slot but if we can get as many people as possible behind us, we will certainly give it our best shot and raise some money for charity in the process."