EXCLUSIVE: Middle Kids Share Festive Single 'Driving Home For Christmas'

Middle Kids have exclusively premiered their latest number with The Music, and it’s a festive one: just in time for Christmess, the movie that stars singer Hannah Joy, premiering on Thursday, 30 November.

Taking on Chris Rea’s classic tune, Driving Home For Christmas, Middle Kids put a spin on it with their signature, gently swaying brand of indie rock. The visualiser, which you can watch below, is a relaxing ride in the car with Middle Kids, with a toy koala on the dashboard.

Joy said about the band’s rendition of Driving Home For Christmas:

I love Christmas, and Tim [Fitz, bass] has always loved the original Chris Rea version of this song; it’s cheesy in the perfect way. We recorded this version in our home studio and tried to only add instruments that sounded warm and welcoming. We added a real string section to make it extra festive. The intro was recorded onto an old dictaphone cassette, which had a warbly sound, so the song feels like a faded memory of Christmas.

In Christmess, Steve Le Marquand (Wentworth, Rake) depicts a washed-up actor, Chris Flint, who’s just out of rehab and starting a mall Santa job.

At his new job, Flint reunites with his estranged daughter (Nicole Pastor) and attempts to stay sober to win his daughter’s forgiveness. The love and support of sharp-tongued musician Joy (Hannah Joy) keep him going, while comic actor Darren Gilshenan (No Activity, Colin From Accounts) also stars as Flint’s best mate.

Director and writer Heath Davis said about Joy’s performance, “Hannah is a complete delight. Her dedication, hard work and courage blew me away. She’s just a natural performer and soulful artist.

“She really steals the show and is going to set tongues wagging, and not just because of the songs she performs either. She’s the best creative risk I’ve ever taken. I want to write something again for her. Life is that much better with Hannah in it.”

Last month, Middle Kids announced the extension of their relationship with Mushroom and the release of their third album, Faith Crisis Pt 1, which lands on Friday, 16 February, via EMI.

So far, they’ve released three singles from it: Bootleg Firecracker, Highlands and Dramamine. You can pre-order the album here, with vinyl, t-shirt, CD and postcard bundles available.