A band of weekly newspaper journalists have released a Christmas single for charity.

Off The Record, a four-piece band whose members work at the Ulster Herald, are aiming to raise funds for two mental health charities, Zest and support2gether, with their up-tempo version of ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’.

The band’s members are editor and rhythm guitarist Nigel McDonagh, Victoria Housden and Darren Pritchard on vocals and Michael Devlin also on rhythm guitar.

Nigel shared his hope the single would “bring 2020 to a close on an optimistic note”.

Off The Record performing the single

He said: “It’s been such a challenging year for so many people, we wanted to do something that could raise some funds for local groups that need it and also, put a smile on people’s face.

“If we can do those two things, it’ll be a job well done.”

A video, which shows the band playing with Father Christmas on lead guitar, has also been produced to accompany the single’s launch.

Nigel added: “We have so many charities who do amazing work in the local community.

“However, mental health is always an important issue, especially given the year we’ve just had.

“Hopefully we can raise as much money as we can for Zest and support2gether, which both do vital work in the community.

“And hopefully people will enjoy the song and the video. We had great fun recording both and who knows, this might even be the start of an exciting musical journey for Off The Record.”