'If we can achieve a tenth of Slade's success - we would be absolutely ecstatic': Walsall band The Assist release their first Christmas song
They have toured all over the world, played all of the UK’s biggest festivals and now The Assist have followed in Slade’s footsteps by writing their first Christmas song.
The Walsall band, who released their second album Disconnections in May, will celebrate the track’s launch with a gig in Birmingham tonight.
Christmas is the time of year when we’re expected to be our merriest and most joyful.
But lead singer Mikey Stanton wanted to acknowledge that the festive period can actually be a difficult time for many people. “I wrote the song in January this year and it’s a nod to those people who don’t have the most amazing Christmases.
“The films at Christmas portray everyone to be from happy and functional families but that’s not necessarily true for everyone,” he says.
“At Christmas we’re so caught up with spending time with loved ones that we don’t realise that some people are lonely or going through a hard time. Unfortunately, a lot of people will be able to relate to it,” adds the 29-year-old.
He spent a month writing the song before the band, which also includes Mikey’s brother and guitarist, Ryan, 32; drummer Luke Forde, 26; bass player Jorge Poole, 28; and guitarist Louis Davies, 28, recorded the track.
“It’s about a mum at home with her kids setting up for Christmas while the father is out drinking and playing away,” explains Mikey.
“There’s an element of exaggeration in it. It’s not necessarily a true story but it reflects those kinds of things that can go wrong in families.
“It’s very light-hearted despite the fact it touches on what could be considered a sensitive subject. It’s not all doom and gloom,” he adds. The song features a guest performance by Sutton Coldfield singer Rhianna Keane, who appeared on The Voice in 2022, gaining a place on Black Eyed Peas’ Will.I.Am's team.
“We had played with her at a show in Birmingham a while back.
“We reached out to her because she has a fantastic voice and she was more than happy to be part of the track,” says Mikey.
Scenes for the music video were filmed at his house and at The Pretty Pigs pub in Tamworth.
“We filmed at my house, so I’ve had my Christmas decorations up since October.
“The video came together really nicely. We released snippets on social media and the response has been really good. We had lots of people message us and say how excited they were. A lot of people said the tune was really catchy,” says Mikey.
The new release comes near the end of a busy year for the band, which saw them tour their second album, including taking to the stage at Birmingham’s O2 Institute.
“We stepped up to play these larger venues, and it paid off. We have a fantastic fanbase,” says Mikey. “The Birmingham show was one of the highlights of our time playing music, it was a really special show for us.”
The group, which has supported artists such as Happy Mondays, Blossoms and The Twang, also took to the stage at the Isle of Wight Festival for the third time.
“This time around we were a lot more established and we had a lot of people from all of the country come to see us,” he added. The band is now hoping to finish the year on a high with Divorced for Christmas already receiving support from BBC Introducing and Radio X
“We always planned to write a Christmas song at some point. The last band from Walsall to release a Christmas song was Slade. If we can achieve a tenth of their success, we would be absolutely ecstatic.”
Divorced for Christmas is available now from all streaming platforms.
The Assist play Muthers Studio in Birmingham tonight. For ticket updates, see www.facebook.com/TheAssistBand or www.instagram.com/theassistband/