‘Colours are Brighter’

Bailey, who's six and attended the charity album launch,

liked the Ninja Dinosaur song by Four Tet.

Mike Cooke (Belle and Sebastian) - “I woke up one morning with a song in my head about monkeys breaking out of the zoo. Having recorded the song, the band began to decide what on earth to do with it. Someone suggested compiling an album of songs for children by lots of different bands, with the proceeds going to Save the Children. Save the Children were an obvious choice of beneficiary, as they are, perhaps, the best children’s charity. The work they do is global, concentrating on helping children in developing countries, and in areas which have been torn apart by war. Their workers put their lives at risk every day to save lives and educate."

Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand) - ‘We were very happy to record for the Colours Are Brighter album since, like most people in bands, we tend to think like children anyway. I had a safe and happy childhood, but not everyone is that lucky. Save the Children is a charity that quietly works hard at making life better for children around the world who suffer because of the situation around them.’

Luke Pritchard (the Kooks) - It was very flattering to be asked to be involved in this project. One of the good things about being successful is to be able to do something positive with your music. When you are on the road for so long, it's easy to forget that you can. I wrote the song on the bus while in Europe, I wanted to make a song that was fun but had a message and had this idea of using an 'evil King' as a metaphor.

Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol) - We wanted to make our version of the song sound as if it was made in space. There are two ways to do this. Either, you can make it in space. This is tricky as it involves actually becoming an astronaut and the training alone takes years and I've heard you need to be very good at mathematics. This only leaves one more option, that we give the song a spacey feel. So we sprinkled some space dust (that we bought at a special market) on top of the song and now it sounds like it was made far above the earth. Really it was made in a studio in Ireland but if you don't tell anyone I won't either.

Jasmine Whitbread (Save the Children) - ‘I listened to the album in the car on the way to school with my own children, they love it! Everyone involved in making Colours are Brighter has been incredibly generous with their time, ensuring all profits will be used to re write the future for children whose lives, until now have been turned up-side by conflict.’ For more info go to Colours are brighter

Franz Ferdinand, Snow Patrol, The Kooks and Four Tet are amongst the artists contributing to a collection of children’s songs curated by Belle and Sebastian, to raise funds for children’s charity, Save the Children. ‘Colours are Brighter’ will be released on Rough Trade on October 16th, with all profits and artist royalties from the record being donated to the charity.
Tracklisting:
1. Four Tet featuring Princess Watermelon - Go Go Ninja Dinosaur
2. Rasputina - A Skeleton Bang
3. Franz Ferdinand - Jackie Jackson
4. Snow Patrol - I am an Astronaut
5. The Divine Comedy - Three Cheers For Pooh, Cottleston Pie, Piglet Ho
6. The Kooks - The King & I
7. Half Man Half Biscuit - David Wainwright's Feet
8. The Barcelona Pavilion - Tidy Up Tidy Up
9. Jonathan Richman - Our Dog is Getting Older Now
10. Belle and Sebastian - The Monkeys are Breaking Out the Zoo
11. Ivor Cutler Trio - Mud1
2. The Flaming Lips - The Big Ol' Bug Is The New Baby Now
13. Kathryn Williams - Night Baking

Source: Save the children
Colours Are Brighter