HND Music students from New College Lanarkshire have released a cover version of ‘Loch Lomond’ to raise money for the Cash for Kids charity.

The track is available to available to purchase via iTunes, with proceeds going to Cash for Kids.

The track was recorded as the finale to the college’s recent Virtual Awards Ceremony and the video of the performance quickly amassed 18,000 views across social media.

HND Music student Lauren Kelly came up with the idea of building on the success of the video to help raise money for the charity, which aims to improve the lives of local children affected by poverty. Last year, it helped 40,025 youngsters across Glasgow and the West.

Kelly, who lives in Coatbridge, said: “We are always being encouraged to think outside the box and be entrepreneurial, so I suggested that we release the song as a single and help raise money for a charity that’s close to all of our hearts.”

Featuring Alexandra Romeo Imade and Lauren Kelly on vocals, Steven Mclaren on guitar, Jay Dalton on bass and NCL lecturer Stuart Coleman on bagpipes, the song was recorded at the Foundry Music Lab in Motherwell.

Grace Reilly, Charity Manager for Radio Clyde Cash for Kids, said: “We want to thank the HND Music students for their support and for kindly donating the money raised from their version of the song ‘Loch Lomond’.

“Christmas is an extremely challenging time for many children and families across Glasgow and the West. Unfortunately, that is even more the case this year due to the impact of the pandemic, so any support for our Mission Christmas campaign and Clyde Cash for Kids is very much appreciated.”

Recent graduates of New College Lanarkshire’s Music courses include Lewis Capaldi, Paige Turley, Yungblud’s Adam Warrington and The Vegan Leather.

Music lecturer Scott Cowie said: “Despite the difficulties the world continues to face this year, it has been quite an unbelievable year for our Music students, past and present.

“It’s great to see the course going from strength to strength, and our students are continuously inspired by the successes of the course in recent years.

“This current group took a lot of confidence from the guest lecturers and live performances we had last year, such as performing live on stage with Jack Whitehall at the Hydro. It’s evident that their experience and confidence is growing.”

Lecturer Stuart Coleman, who played bagpipes on the single, added: “The opportunities on the NCL Music courses continue to come thick and fast for our students.

“It’s testament to their creativity and talent that they are taking those chances and capitalising on them to such a high level, and with all that being said, it still feels like there is so much more to come going forward.”

The track can also be streamed via Spotify (although that seems rather uncharitable!) and the video can be viewed below.

Find out more about New College Lanarkshire’s courses in Music and Music Business. For more on the college see www.nclanarkshire.ac.uk / facebook.com/NCLanarkshire