A self-employed performer from Sleaford wrote and directed a Christmas single starring Basil Brush and nostalgic television characters including Rainbow’s Bungle, Zippy, and George, and Mr Blobby.
Chris Clark, 41, has been working on projects with Basil Brush since 2014 when his band at the time, Glass Onion, were shooting a music video and wanted to have some fun cameos so approached the TV star. The rest, as they say, is history.
Basil continues to raise money for children’s charities with Christmas songs, and last year the fox and Chris decided they needed to do something special for the 2022 festivities, so devised a masterplan.
Basil Brush is the star of the ‘Boom! Boom! It’s Christmas again!’ single and has worked with Sleaford performer and Chris Clark, who directed and wrote the song, since 2014.
Boom! Boom! It’s Christmas again! was released on November 25 and is available to download on all major platforms, including iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify. At one point the song made it into the top 3 of the Christmas charts on iTunes.
It tells the story of Basil reflecting on Christmases past, watching old episodes of himself at the festive time. He realises he’s been so busy being a celebrity that he hasn’t spent enough time with his showbiz friends and goes back in time to put that right.
Basil Brush with Rainbow’s Bungle, Zippy and George, as well as Hacker T. Dog and Mr Blobby.
A large part of the filming took place near Sleaford, including with Mr Blobby.
The music video is a nostalgic journey through kids television from Muffin the Mule, Bungle, Zippy and George from Rainbow, Mr Blobby, and CBBC’s Hacker T. Dog.
All proceeds made from sales of the Christmas single will be donated to two children’s charities – Save The Children, and one Basil is closely involved with Shooting Star Children’s Hospices.
The music video features people who worked on television with Basil Brush, including Georgina Leonidas (centre), who played Katie Bell in some of the Harry Potter films.
The director, who has become known locally in Sleaford as Christmas Chris, told The Lincolnite: “It was hugely exciting and all of the people that were involved in the video were absolutely lovely, and so giving with their time and very generous.
“It’s been a positive process thinking about what the end result is going to be, creating something to make the general public happy, bring a bit of nostalgia, and giving all of the money to the childrens’ charities.”
When asked if he was dreaming of his Christmas song making it to Number One, he added: “Ultimately, let people just enjoy it, but I don’t think there’s any harm in aiming for the top, I’m not sure what the chances are, but why not go for it.”
Basil Brush is feeling festive!
Basil Brush with Hacker T. Dog.
Filming included a few miles outside of Sleaford with Mr Blobby, Basil Brush and the Rainbow crew, who all stayed in the Lincolnshire town. The local community were also involved with backing singing and behind-the-scenes work, while some children from Sleaford were among those singing the chorus.
As for working with Basil Brush, Chris said: “It’s a whirlwind. Basil is one of the nicest foxes you’ll ever come across. He’s always energetic, and very generous with my crazy ideas.”
Chris Clark and his Stay Safe virtual band performed a festive song called ‘Christmas Bubble’ in 2020.
Chris is also currently touring the country with a theatre show called ‘From Gold To Rio, alongside musician Gary Richardson, which is a celebration of Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet.
It involves a stop at the New Theatre Royal Lincoln on January 21, 2023.
Filming for the Christmas single near Sleaford, including musician Gary Richardson and Mr Blobby.
The Christmas single is a nostalgic trip of childrens’ television, including Bungle, Zippy and George from Rainbow.
The 41-year-old also loves to work with puppets and the world of children’s television and entertainment. He is doing some work with an entertainment company called Tickled Trout, doing songwriting together for amusing family-friendly music to be included in various shows next year.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
Exciting news for MyLocal app users and The Lincolnite readers! Our latest update is now available to download from your app store and comes packed with the best local news experience you can enjoy.
Revamped News Feed: Enjoy faster loading times and smoother scrolling that make catching up on local news a breeze.
New Play Video Feed: Dive into a dynamic video feed that brings local stories to life in a whole new way.
Enhanced In-App Browser: Access external links quickly and efficiently, right from the app, without any distractions.
Update your MyLocal app from your app store (version 2.73) now and start enjoying these great new features today!
P.S.: Start your MyLocal membership today to support MyLocal and The Lincolnite deliver you a better local news experience and honest journalism from across Lincolnshire.
P.P.S.: We have some huge things in the pipeline, stay tuned!
Exciting news for MyLocal app users and The Lincolnite readers! Our latest update is now available to download from your app store and comes packed with the best local news experience you can enjoy.
Revamped News Feed: Enjoy faster loading times and smoother scrolling that make catching up on local news a breeze.
New Play Video Feed: Dive into a dynamic video feed that brings local stories to life in a whole new way.
Enhanced In-App Browser: Access external links quickly and efficiently, right from the app, without any distractions.
Update your MyLocal app from your app store (version 2.73) now and start enjoying these great new features today!
P.S.: Start your MyLocal membership today to support MyLocal and The Lincolnite deliver you a better local news experience and honest journalism from across Lincolnshire.
P.P.S.: We have some huge things in the pipeline, stay tuned!