St Teresa’s Hospice in Darlington will benefit from sales of the Darlington-based indie band Apex cover of ‘Last Christmas’, originally a hit for 80s stars Wham!. The band decided to give away all proceeds from online downloads to charity, and St Teresa’s was close to their hearts. The single will be launched with a special event at The Forum in Darlington on Tuesday 13th December. This one-off gig will see the premier of the recording, with all proceeds from the concert being donated to the Hospice.

Dan Martin: “When we chose to record the cover of ‘Last Christmas’ we knew we wanted to do something that would benefit the community, and I knew someone who was cared for by St Teresa’s Hospice so it felt right to do something for this important local charity”. The band have also been added to the programme of the Hospice’s annual Christmas Cracker concert which will this year take place at the Education Village, Darlington, on Saturday 17th December.

Director Jane Bradshaw said: “We are fortunate to be supported by many organisations throughout the communities we serve, we’re delighted that for the first time ever a charity single is being released in aid of the Hospice. Music is an important part of our fundraising at Christmas, and I am looking forward to seeing Apex perform at our fabulous Cracker concert.” The track will be available to purchase on Amazon, Google Play and iTunes. Around 69p from every sale will be donated to St Teresa’s Hospice.