ARCTIC MONKEYS SET TO RELEASE NEW SINGLE THROUGH OXFAM
Arctic Monkeys will release their new single, ‘Crying Lightning’, through Oxfam’s network of 700 charity shops, with proceeds going to help the charity’s lifesaving work around the world. The limited-edition 7”, which is the first single from new album Humbug, features a cover of the Nick Cave classic ‘Red Right Hand’ as a B-side, and goes on sale in every one of Oxfam’s 700 high street shops on Monday 17 August.
The release marks the first time Oxfam shops have sold a new release single for 25 years – the last time was the Band Aid single in 1984. Oxfam’s illustrious musical history includes the charity’s Oxjam festival, which has raised more than £1 million through 3,000 events featuring more than 36,000 musicians, including Jarvis Cocker, Fatboy Slim, and Hot Chip. Oxfam has been one of the lead charities at Glastonbury since 1993, raising £2.7 million through stewarding the festival and signing up more than 400,000 people in support of its campaigns at the festival. Oxfam also sells around 1.8 million CDs and records every year, all donated by the British public. The largest single donation was of 4,000 vinyl albums to an Oxfam shop in Devon in 2008. The charity has been involved with everything from Live8 to its own Make Trade Fair concerts, and has worked with everyone from Chris Martin and Michael Stipe to Noel Gallagher and Klaxons
The Arctic Monkeys forthcoming album Humbug goes on sale nationwide on 24 August, and the band headline the Reading and Leeds festivals on 28 and 29 August. There will also be a 10” release featuring B-sides ‘Red Right Hand’ and a new original song ‘I Haven’t Got My Strange’. A limited number of independent record shops will also stock the 7”. The ‘Crying Lightning’ 7” will cost £2.99, and each single will come with a download code allowing fans to get an MP3 version of the songs for free. Oxfam sells around £6 million worth of music every year, enough to fund its entire programme in Indonesia for a year, buy 187,000 emergency shelters, or provide safe water for 8 million people.
Domino Records and Arctic Monkeys are also calling on music fans to bring in any unwanted albums or singles to their local Oxfam shop when they pick up their copy of the single, to help Oxfam keep turning yesterday’s hits into vital funds for years to come. Laurence Bell, founder of Domino, said, “Oxfam is a Great British institution and it’s a delight to be working together on this project. We encourage all customers to bring something of value to donate to the store when they come down to buy the new Arctic Monkeys single.”
Domino, Oxfam and Arctic Monkeys will each have a dedicated microsite to allow fans to find their local shop stocking the single. These can be found at oxfam.org.uk/arcticmonkeys, dominorecordco.com and arcticmonkeys.com.
