He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother

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Track list

Disc 1

1.

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother

Written by Bob Russell, Bobby Scott

4:33 • Studio version • A

Paul McCartney :

Electric guitar solo, Lead vocals

Gerry Marsden :

Lead vocals

Steve Sidwell :

Strings arrangement

Holly Johnson :

Lead vocals

Robbie Williams :

Lead vocals

Rebecca Ferguson :

Lead vocals

Paloma Faith :

Lead vocals

Eliza Doolittle :

Lead vocals

Beverley Knight :

Backing vocals, Lead vocals

Melanie C :

Lead vocals

Andy Brown :

Backing vocals, Lead vocals

Mick Jones :

Electric guitar

Peter Hooton :

Lead vocals

Chris Sharrock :

Drums

Ren Harvieu :

Lead vocals

Dave McCabe :

Lead vocals

Paul Heaton :

Backing vocals, Lead vocals

Hollie Cook :

Backing vocals

Jon McClure :

Lead vocals

John Power :

Backing vocals, Lead vocals

Guy Chambers :

Piano, Producer

Andrew Davitt :

Acoustic guitar

Cyrus Reynolds :

Brass arrangement

Ian Davidson :

Choir arrangement, Choir conductor

David Catlin-Birch :

Bass guitar

Alan Hansen :

Choir

John Bishop :

Choir

Kenny Dalglish :

Choir

Neil Fitzmaurice :

Choir

Peter Reid :

Choir

Steve Rotheram :

Choir

LIPA Gospel Choir :

Choir

Vasily Petrenko :

Strings conductor

Richard Blake :

Cornet, Flugelhorn

Matthew Lewis :

Euphonium

Meredith Moore :

French horn

Will Pound :

Harmonica

Glenn Tilbrook :

Lead vocals

Shane MacGowan :

Lead vocals

Richard Flack :

Mixing engineer, Producer, Recording engineer

Oliver Som :

Recording engineer

Paul Stanborough :

Recording engineer

Liam Nolan :

Assistant recording engineer

Alec Brits :

Assistant recording engineer (choir)

Tony Draper :

Recording engineer (choir)

Jon Withnall :

Assistant recording engineer (strings)

Chris Taylor :

Recording engineer (strings)

Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra :

Strings

Adi Brett :

Strings

Amelia Jones :

Strings

Anthony Banks :

Strings

Catherine Marwood :

Strings

Daniel Sanxis :

Strings

David Rimbault :

Strings

David Ruby :

Strings

Fiona Stunden :

Strings

Gemma Bass :

Strings

Gethyn Jones :

Strings

Hilary Browning :

Strings

James Justin Evans :

Strings

James Pattinson :

Strings

Kathryn Cropper :

Strings

Lesley Gwyther :

Strings

Olga Muszynska :

Strings

Paula Muldoon :

Strings

Paulette Bayley :

Strings

Rachel Jones :

Strings

Rakhvinder Singh :

Strings

Rebecca Walters :

Strings

John Hebbron :

Strings

Sarah Hill :

Strings

Simon Denton :

Strings

Stephan Mayer :

Strings

Stephen Mann :

Strings

Susanna Jordan :

Strings

Thelma Handy :

Strings

William Roberts :

Tuba

Session Recording:

November 2012 ?

Studio :

Hog Hill Studio, Rye, UK

About

From paulmccartney.com, November 22, 2012:

Paul has been working with The Justice Collective for the Hillsborough tribute single, ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’ released 17 December 2012.

A strong contender for the coveted Christmas Number One spot, ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’ features a stellar line-up of artists including Paul McCartney, Robbie Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Paloma Faith, Eliza Doolittle, Beverley Knight, Melanie C, Andy Brown (Lawson), Holly Johnson (Frankie Goes to Hollywood), Mick Jones (The Clash), Peter Hooton (The Farm), (The Justice Tonight band), Chris Sharrock (Beady Eye / Oasis), Glen Tilbrook (Squeeze), Ren Harvieu, Dave McCabe (The Zutons), Paul Heaton (Beautiful South), Hollie Cook, Jon McClure (Reverend & The Makers), John Power (Cast) and Gerry Marsden (Gerry and the Pacemakers), all giving their time for free to record the single.

‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’ is produced by the Award-winning Guy Chambers, with all proceeds from single sales going towards the Hillsborough Families legal costs in their fight for justice.

From paulmccartney.com, December 24, 2012:

The Justice Collective’s Hillsborough tribute single ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother’ is the UK 2012 Christmas number 1 single. The track reached the top spot in the singles charts last night with sales of over 269,000.

Last updated on December 8, 2020