Craig pens cracker of a Christmas song | This is Derbyshire
A FATHER-OF-TWO is hoping a festive song he wrote as a bet – and recorded in his living room – will top the chart this Christmas.
Craig Head wrote Pull My Cracker after a work colleague bet him he could not write song lyrics.
Craig Head, known as Secret Santa, has recorded a Christmas song called 'Pull My Cracker', with proceeds going to help a three-year-old child with cerebral palsy.
Now he has released the tune under the name Secret Santa and says all proceeds will go to charity.
The 33-year-old, of Mellor Street, Allenton, said: "I've been interested in writing songs for some time.
"Then one day, one of my work colleagues said to me, 'I bet you can't write song lyrics'. I said 'anyone can write song lyrics!' So I wrote a Christmas song, because you don't get to hear many traditional festive songs these days.
"The Christmas number one tends to be a rap song or something unrelated but as soon as you hear Slade's Merry Xmas Everyone you feel all festive and you know that's a Christmas song."
Craig, who has auditioned for the X Factor and BBC talent show Any Dream Will Do, recorded the song in the living room of the home he shares with wife Katy and children Bradley, 14, and Leighton, three.
He used a computer software programme to add in music and he recorded the lyrics using a headset.
Craig said: "I had to kick out the wife and the two kids so it was nice and quiet.
"In fact, my wife didn't have a husband for about three or four weeks because I spent such a lot of time perfecting the song. I spent every evening after work playing about with it.
"It was building the music that was the hard part. I don't play any musical instrument so I had to do it on my computer. You start with the drums and then you keep building on it."
Craig, who works as a business co-ordinator at Tarmac, in Raynesway, decided to release it as a download single. Proceeds from the 69p pop track will go to a fund to send a three-year-old with cerebral palsy to America for treatment.
Craig heard about Ollie Saxton, from Sheffield, because his grandad also works at Tarmac. He said: "I thought to myself, what can I do to help? Rather than just giving a donation, I wanted to do something unique.
Only 25 downloads have been sold so far but Craig is hoping more people will buy it in December.
He said: "It isn't a lot but hopefully more people will be made aware of it. I've just joined Twitter and I've tweeted celebrities about it, asking them to promote it. And an internet radio station called Festive Radio has played the song a few times."
Craig has set up a Facebook group, which currently has 900 members. To join, visit Connexion | Facebook. The song can be downloaded from Amazon or iTunes by going on the websites and searching for Craig Head.
A FATHER-OF-TWO is hoping a festive song he wrote as a bet – and recorded in his living room – will top the chart this Christmas.
Craig Head wrote Pull My Cracker after a work colleague bet him he could not write song lyrics.
Craig Head, known as Secret Santa, has recorded a Christmas song called 'Pull My Cracker', with proceeds going to help a three-year-old child with cerebral palsy.
Now he has released the tune under the name Secret Santa and says all proceeds will go to charity.
The 33-year-old, of Mellor Street, Allenton, said: "I've been interested in writing songs for some time.
"Then one day, one of my work colleagues said to me, 'I bet you can't write song lyrics'. I said 'anyone can write song lyrics!' So I wrote a Christmas song, because you don't get to hear many traditional festive songs these days.
"The Christmas number one tends to be a rap song or something unrelated but as soon as you hear Slade's Merry Xmas Everyone you feel all festive and you know that's a Christmas song."
Craig, who has auditioned for the X Factor and BBC talent show Any Dream Will Do, recorded the song in the living room of the home he shares with wife Katy and children Bradley, 14, and Leighton, three.
He used a computer software programme to add in music and he recorded the lyrics using a headset.
Craig said: "I had to kick out the wife and the two kids so it was nice and quiet.
"In fact, my wife didn't have a husband for about three or four weeks because I spent such a lot of time perfecting the song. I spent every evening after work playing about with it.
"It was building the music that was the hard part. I don't play any musical instrument so I had to do it on my computer. You start with the drums and then you keep building on it."
Craig, who works as a business co-ordinator at Tarmac, in Raynesway, decided to release it as a download single. Proceeds from the 69p pop track will go to a fund to send a three-year-old with cerebral palsy to America for treatment.
Craig heard about Ollie Saxton, from Sheffield, because his grandad also works at Tarmac. He said: "I thought to myself, what can I do to help? Rather than just giving a donation, I wanted to do something unique.
Only 25 downloads have been sold so far but Craig is hoping more people will buy it in December.
He said: "It isn't a lot but hopefully more people will be made aware of it. I've just joined Twitter and I've tweeted celebrities about it, asking them to promote it. And an internet radio station called Festive Radio has played the song a few times."
Craig has set up a Facebook group, which currently has 900 members. To join, visit Connexion | Facebook. The song can be downloaded from Amazon or iTunes by going on the websites and searching for Craig Head.
