Disco Mister, the teacher duo behind last summer’s unofficial World Cup song ‘Bring It Home’, have realised a Christmas single – this time helping raising funds to build a school in rural Kenya.
York teachers Robin Parmiter and Ian Wilson sneaked into the charts in July with the football sing-along that racked up 100,000 views on YouTube and became Amazon’s most downloaded song of the 2014 tournament. It even beat Gary Barlow and Gary Lineker’s official FA-backed attempt!
Now the pair are back, and ready to challenge ‘X Factor’ winner Ben Haenow and Band Aid 30 for the Christmas number one spot with ‘Everybody Dance (Happy Christmas)’.
Build Africa is proud to announce that proceeds from the festive fundraiser will go towards a two-year scheme to support Mbombo Primary School in the Gilgil district of Kenya. The fundraising for the project is being led by York-based business Webcertain, and will help renovate two existing classrooms and build a new nursery to establish early learning opportunities at the rural school.
“Unlike England’s World Cup glory, we know that Christmas will definitely happen and doesn’t rely on the ability of 11 men on a football field,” philosophy teacher Mr Parminter told the Times Educational Supplement (TES).
The YouTube video for Disco Mister’s new seasonal song features the teachers from Huntington School roaming the countryside dressed as a shepherd and a king. And, in a reference to cult movie ‘Pulp Fiction’, opening a box with mysterious unseen contents.
“We wanted to capture some of the mystery of Christmas and we also thought it was a good way to drum up interest and get the community engaged, so there is a #WhatsInTheBox? hashtag,” said Mr Parminter.
The funds raised will also help support the livelihoods of parents in the Mbombo community by developing a savings and loans scheme, making it more likely they will be able to send their children to school. Like all of Build Africa’s work, it’s hoped this combined approach of improving both education and livelihoods will empower the community to work their way out of poverty, together.
Good Luck Disco Mister! We’ll be dancing round the office!
Watch the video on YouTube to take a guess at #WhatsInTheBox?
Merry Christmas from the Build Africa team!