Pete Doherty, Billy Bragg ragein silence

Tue 7th Dec, 2010 in International News

A gang of England’s musical stars is heading to London’s Dean Street Studios to sit quietly with their instruments as they record a charity cover of John Cage’s 4,33.

The recording is part of a campaign seeking to push the avant-garde track to the top of the Christmas charts and prevent reality show contestants from winning the end of year chart. Last year a similar campaign secured a number one placing for Rage Against the Machine’s Killing in the Name Of, nearly two decades after its original release in 1992.

According to The Guardian the super (silent) group includes Pete Doherty, Billy Bragg, Imogen Heap, Mr Hudson, Jon “the Reverend” McClure, Dan Le Sac, Fyfe Dangerfield, plus members of the Kooks, Orbital, UNKLE, Enter Shikari, Guillemots, Aeroplane, the Vaccines, the Big Pink, Coldcut, Does It Offend You Yeah?, Heaven 17, Crystal Fighters, Penguin Prison and Fenech-Soler.

The finish product, complete with remixes by Mr Scruff, Hot Chip, Alex Metric, Hervé and Adam F, will be released on Monday 13th December, with proceeds going to charities including the British Tinnitus Association, Nordoff Robins Music Therapy, Youth Music, Sound and Music, and the Campaign Against Living Miserably.

The fast growing Facebook fan page pushing for the 4 minutes and 33 seconds of ambient creaks and accidental coughs to reach the UK’s Christmas number one spot already has nearly 70 000 fans. X-Factor contestants beware!