The Official BBC Children in Need Medley

"The Official BBC Children in Need Medley" is a single by Peter Kay's Animated All Star Band. It is the official Children in Need Single for 2009, and was released on 21 November 2009. The song was shown for the first time on Children in Need 2009. The cover art is a parody of the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles. The single has sold over 452,000 copies in the UK, earning it Gold status from the BPI.[1]

"The Official BBC Children in Need Medley"
Single by Peter Kay's Animated All Star Band
Released	21 November 2009 (2009-11-21)
Recorded	2009
Genre	Charity children's
Length	4:30
Label	Sony
Songwriter(s)	Various
Peter Kay singles chronology
"Once Upon a Christmas Song" (2008) "The Official BBC Children in Need Medley" (2009) "I Know Him So Well" (2011)
Children in Need singles chronology
"Do Ya/Stay with Me" (2008) "The Official BBC Children in Need Medley" (2009) "Love You More" (2010)

History

According to a news interview, Kay conceptualized the single while working with the director. The director said that he would "love to do something like that" but he and Kay regarded it mostly as a joke.

After some time away from the subject, Kay brought it up again, this time with the actual intent to produce it. The director said that he and Kay "just sat down one lunchtime and wrote a list", with as many characters recorded on it as they could think of from their childhoods, as well as some modern favourites and US cartoon characters. The song was recorded at Hullabaloo Studios by the Voice and Music Company.

The project was carried out in top secret at the request of executive producer Kay. Celebrities and voice artists who voiced characters' original vocals were brought in without being told details of the project. When contacted by Cartoon Network Studios, Casey Kasem agreed to take part on the condition that Shaggy was shown to be a vegetarian and asked not to be given credit as he was officially retired.[2]

The project took 132 hours to mix the vocals of the seven other songs, eight months to animate, and around two years in total. Many of the original character models had been packed away, given to museums or cremated. Where possible the originals were found and transported to Chapman Studios in Altrincham from all over the world. In cases where the original models no longer existed, such as the characters from Camberwick Green and Trumpton,[3] new copies of the original models were created.

Because permission was not given by Royal Mail to use their more up to date logo, Postman Pat's van was a modified design with only the number plate PAT 4.[4]

The single raised at least £170,000 for Children in Need after more than 265,000 CD, DVD and download sales by mid-December 2009.[5]

Composition

The single is a medley of multiple songs played out in the following order:

1. "Can You Feel It" – originally performed by The Jacksons (1981) (0:00–1:08)
2. "Don't Stop" – originally performed by Fleetwood Mac (1976) (1:08–2:27)
3. "Jai Ho!" from the film Slumdog Millionaire – originally performed by A.R. Rahman and The Pussycat Dolls (2009) (2:12–2:41)
4. "Tubthumping" – originally performed by Chumbawamba (1997) (2:41–3:00)
5. "Never Forget" – originally performed by Take That (1995) (3:00–3:18)
6. "Hey Jude" – originally performed by The Beatles (1968) (3:18–4:30)
7. "One Day Like This" – originally performed by Elbow (2008) (3:37–4:30)

Chart performance

The single entered the UK Singles Chart on download sales alone at number 18. On iTunes, the video was being downloaded almost three times as much as the single. Video sales are not included in the UK Singles Chart,[6] so it was felt that the single might not chart as highly as expected, however it climbed to number 1 in its second week on chart after it was released on CD and DVD. Although it peaked very highly in the UK Singles Chart, it peaked surprisingly low in the UK Downloads Chart, at number 30. The high physical sales of the single meant that it held off Jason Derulo's "Whatcha Say" in its first week and Rihanna's "Russian Roulette" in its second week. On the third week, the single dropped to number 2 after it was knocked off the number 1 spot by Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance". In the fourth week, the single fell to number 4 and then number 11 in its fifth week. In its sixth week, the song dropped 24 places to 35. The song entered the European Hot 100 at number 58, the next week it climbed 51 places to number 7, and peaked at number 5, the song then dropped to number 11 the next week. The song entered the Irish Singles Chart at number 25. The following week the song moved up to 19, and peaked at number 6.

As of November 2016, the song has sold 452,000 copies in the UK.[1]

Music video

The group perform The Beatles' number one hit, "Hey Jude" and Elbow's "One Day Like This".

The music video shows the Animated All Star Band meeting and recording the song in a studio, spoofing other charity songs in the style of Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?", with Big Chris, the character voiced by Kay in Roary the Racing Car, first arranging the recording session and then leading the singing.

The music video features over 100 cartoon characters from different production companies. Nearly all of the characters are voiced by their original UK voice artists including Ringo Starr (who was a member of the band The Beatles who recorded "Hey Jude", which is sung here) as Thomas the Tank Engine.[7] One of the exceptions is Scooby-Doo who is voiced by Frank Welker since original voice artist Don Messick died in 1997[8] Most of the contributions are stop motion characters. Some who are not appear on a TV screen within the stop motion world "via satellite", including US cartoon characters Shaggy Rogers, Scooby-Doo, and Ben Tennyson. Roobarb and Custard, Peppa Pig and Muffin the Mule are also included. Cartoon characters SpongeBob SquarePants and Angelina Ballerina appear on Big Chris' smartphone.

The video depicts Big Chris at night talking to Postman Pat on the phone, saying he wants to get everyone together for the recording. Bob the Builder sings the first song, joined by Postman Pat and Fireman Sam. Fifi sings "Jai Ho", accompanied by other female characters, as well as Ajay Bains before realising his mistake and joining the men for their new rendition of "Tubthumping", and then the entire cast sing a montage of Take That's "Never Forget", The Beatles's "Hey Jude", and Elbow's "One Day Like This". At the end of the video, Chippy Minton appears, only to be informed by Big Chris that they have just finished.

Characters

HiT Entertainment* Thomas & Friends Thomas the Tank Engine Sir Topham Hatt Bob the Builder Bob the Builder Wendy Spud Scoop Pilchard Fireman Sam Fireman Sam Firefighter Elvis Cridlington Station officer Norris Steele Firefighter Penny Morris Pingu Pingu Rubbadubbers Tubb Terence Finbar Sploshy Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps Angelina Ballerina Other incidental characters from Bob the Builder 5 unnamed photographers 1 cameraman 1 man at mixing desk Spellbound Entertainment Ltd The Koala Brothers Frank the Koala Buster the Koala DreamWorks Classics Woodland Animations Ltd: Postman Pat Postman Pat Jess Ajay Bains Nisha Bains Mrs Goggins Ted Glen Meera* Chapman Entertainment Roary the Racing Car Roary the Racing Car Big Chris Marsha Mr Carburettor Rusty Flash Big Christine Farmer Green Fifi and the Flowertots Fifi Forget-Me-Not Mo Stingo Violet Bumble Primrose Slugsy Buttercup Daisy Flutterby* Create Media Ventures Little Robots Tiny Stretchy Sporty Scary Noisy BBC Studios Muffin the Mule The Woodentops Daddy Woodentop Mummy Woodentop Jenny Woodentop* Flower Pot Men Bill Ben Andy Pandy Andy Pandy Looby Loo Teddy Children in Need Pudsey Bear

Cosgrove Hall Films Ltd Engie Benjy Engie Benjy Jollop the Dog DHX Media Cookie Jar Entertainment: Paddington Bear Paddington Bear The Wombles Alderney Orinoco Bungo Wellington Great Uncle Bulgaria* Ragdoll Productions Teletubbies Tinky Winky Dipsy Laa-Laa Po In the Night Garden... Igglepiggle Upsy Daisy Makka Pakka Tombliboos Pinky Ponk Entertainment One and Channel 5 productions Peppa Pig Peppa Pig George ITV International Media Limited Thunderbirds Virgil Tracy Brains Parker Lady Penelope Alan Tracy* Gordon Tracy* Smallfilms Bagpuss Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network Studios Ben 10: Alien Force Ben Tennyson Scooby-Doo Scooby-Doo Shaggy Rogers Nickelodeon SpongeBob SquarePants Monster Animation & Design / A&B TV Roobarb Roobarb Custard Fluffy Gardens Paolo the Cat Mavis the Pony Small Green Thing ITV Studios Rainbow Zippy George The Sooty Show Sooty Sweep Soo Gordon Murray's Productions Camberwick Green Windy Miller Trumpton Chippy Minton Miss Lovelace

Characters with an asterisk (*) after their names, appear on the cover montage but not in the music video itself.

Track listing

CD single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Official BBC Children in Need Medley" (Written by Jackie Jackson, Michael Jackson, Christine McVie, A.R. Rahman, Sampooran Kalra, Tanvi Shah, Judith Abbott, Duncan Bruce, Paul Greco, Anne Holden, Darren Hamer, Nigel Hunter, Louise Watts, Allan Whalley, Gary Barlow, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Guy Garvey, Craig Potter, Mark Potter, Pete Turner, Richard Jupp)	4:30
2.	"The Unofficial BBC Children in Need Medley" (Written by Kim Goody, Alan Coates)	4:11

DVD single

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The Official BBC Children in Need Medley" (Video)	4:30
2.	"The Unofficial BBC Children in Need Medley" (Video)	4:11

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2009) Peak position Ireland (IRMA)[9] 6 Scotland (Official Charts Company)[10] 1 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[11] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2009) Position UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[12] 27

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[13]	Gold	452,000[1]
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format
United Kingdom	21 November 2009	Sony	Digital download
	23 November 2009		CD, DVD

References

1. Myers, Justin (17 November 2016). "The biggest selling Children In Need singles ranked". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
2. Kay Talks About His Instant Classic Bolton Journal, 3 December 2009 Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
3. I Love 1967 BBC Cult, November 2008 – Interview mentioning burnt Trumpton models
4. Royal Mail drops Postman Pat Brand Republic, 20 November 2000
5. "Hit makes £170,000 for Children in Need". The Independent. Press Association. 8 December 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
6. Ingham, James (22 November 2009). "PETER KAY TO GO HEAD TO HEAD WITH X FACTOR SINGLE". Daily Star. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
7. "Children in Need single revealed". Daily Mirror. 20 November 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2011.
8. Don Messick Internet Movie Database
9. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – BBC Children in Need Medley". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
10. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
11. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
12. "Charts Plus Year end 2009" (PDF). Charts Plus. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
13. "British single certifications – Peter Kay's Animated All-Star Band – The Official BBC Children in Need Medley". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type The Official BBC Children in Need Medley in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.