Bookies have slashed the odds on firefighters reaching Christmas number one alongside one of Sheffield’s best loved bands after half a million people viewed their music video online in less than a week.
William Hill have halved the odds on The Everly Pregnant Brothers’ chart topping tilt after a video recorded with red watch firefighters and 999 operators at South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s Central fire station went viral.
The 25-to-one shots are now above early favourites Cliff Richard and The Pogues in the chase for the coveted festive number one spot.
The parody band’s catchy reworking of a popular hit tells the cautionary tale of a man who sets his house alight after a night out drinking- which fire officers hope will raise public awareness of one of the biggest causes of kitchen blazes.
The track has also been released to remind people of the contribution of thousands of firefighters and other emergency services workers who will be on duty this Christmas Day.
Good causes will benefit from the assault on the festive song summit, with cash raised from sales of the single going to charities Age UK and Shelter.
William Hill spokesman Rupert Adams said: “Every now and then you come across a song that should have no chance but this is great fun and ticks many boxes. We have already slashed the odds from 50/1 to 25/1 and this could be one of the greatest shocks in chart history.”
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Martin Blunden, said: “Chip pan fires are no joke and we attend dozens of serious house fires caused by unattended cooking every year- but sometimes there’s a place for trying to get an important safety message across in a slightly different way, which is why we teamed up with Everly Pregnant Brothers.
“We’re going for Christmas number one to remind people that tens of thousands of firefighters and other emergency services staff across the country will be working this Christmas Day to keep you safe, including red watch firefighters and control staff who helped to make this video.
“The fire service’s ethos is all about helping the most vulnerable people in our communities, so it’s also fitting that the record is raising money for Shelter and Age UK, both of whom are fantastic causes important partners of ours.”
Everly Pregnant Brothers’ lead singer Shaun Doane, said: “Like most things with the Everly Pregnant Brothers, this started as something small, a tweet in fact, and it’s grown and mutated into something pretty cool. Hopefully we can help raise a few quid for two great causes.”
The Everly Pregnant Brothers are a ukulele band formed in 2009 and kicked off their number one campaign this weekend with a gig at Sheffield’s O2 Academy- where they were joined on stage by Central red watch firefighters, who starred in the video.
The ‘Chip Pan’ track is available to pre-order on iTunes, Google Play Music, Amazon, Spotify and Deezer. But to give the song the best chance of reaching number one when the official Christmas chart is released, the public are asked to only download the song after 16 December.