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British comic banks on sausage rolls for second hit Xmas charity song

by Giulia Basana | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Tuesday, 10 December 2019 14:00 GMT

The logo of YouTube Music is seen during a conference at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, in Cannes, France, June 19, 2018. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

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LadBaby, a self-described 'dad-blogger' whose real name is Mark Hoyle, wants to raise money to help feed people in need

By Giulia Basana

LONDON, Dec 10 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A British YouTube comedian is banking on his obsession with sausage rolls to serve him up a second chart-topping hit this Christmas – and raise money to help feed people in need.

LadBaby, a self-described "dad-blogger" whose real name is Mark Hoyle, surprised music-lovers by scoring the coveted No.1 slot in the charts last Christmas with his version of "We Built This City" which replaced rock and roll with sausage rolls.

The song went viral and topped sales by the likes of U.S. star Ariana Grande, with all profits going to food bank network The Trussell Trust which supplied more than 70,000 emergency food packages over the holiday period last year.

The Trussell Trust said food banks in its network provided a record 1.6 million food supplies between April 2018 and March 2019, a 19% increase on a year earlier, with data showing one in five people, or 14 million in Britain are living in poverty.

Due to release his latest Christmas song on Dec. 13, Hoyle has rewritten "I Love Rock & Roll" which again focuses on the British pastry and is packed with meaty puns and the chorus: "I love sausage rolls, so put another one in the oven, baby".

Hoyle, 32, said he had not planned to do another song.

"But when you think that we have the ability to change the lives of that many people then why would we not?" Hoyle said in a message on YouTube to more than 745,000 subscribers.

(Reporting by Giulia Basana, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith, )

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