Courteeners Christmas Number 1 interview: "Stranger things have happened"

The story behind Courteeners' Christmas single, Winter Wonderland (out now), takes in Norah Jones' piano, a snow-covered New York and a poster of Neil Young. "At the risk of not wanting to name-drop," says the band's frontman Liam Fray, "But I was hanging out in Norah Jones’s studio, playing around on her piano - I remember there was a Neil Young poster on the wall with something about a wonderland on it - and the song just came out. It had been on my laptop for about four or five years until I played it to friends in the summer and they said it was really good…We knew we were doing the tour and it would be good to release it at Christmas time, so there you have it."

And as if that story wasn't juicy enough, the track was performed live for the first time after the late Lou Reed invited Liam to perform at his Arts club, The Stone, in Manhattan...

All sales of the single will go to Shelter, which Liam explains holds personal significance for him. "I used to work in the Fred Perry store in Manchester and as I was opening up in the morning there would literally be young men and women asleep on the doorstep and it shook me, at an early age, how unfair it was."

He continues: "People think it's bad around Christmas but these people are there in March and they’re there in August, and it’s no easier. It’s such a small gesture from us in comparison to what other charities do, but even if we raise awareness among some of our fans so that one person sees someone homeless in the street and buys them a cup of tea, that could really make a difference to someone elses’ day."

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Hear the Stephen Street-produced song below:

So what does the idea of Christmas spirit really mean to Liam? "I always think of it as kind of like a milestone birthday where you’re trying to figure out where you’re at in your life," he ponders. "it's a reflective time for me."

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Resuming our conversation about cheerier things, Liam believes they have "absolutely no chance" of winning the Christmas Number 1 race and that if their entry even makes it into the Top 100, they'd be pretty chuffed with themselves. "Stranger things have happened. It would be both ridiculous and amazing to win, although we're up against X Factor so it's unlikely. That said, it may take four boring idiots from the Midlands to chuck a bit of romance in there…"

Sales and streams of between00.01am on Friday, December 18 and midnight on Thursday, December 24will count towards the 2015 Official Christmas Singles Chart. The Official Christmas Singles Chart Top 40 will be counted down on BBC Radio 1’s Official Chart Show with Greg James between 10 and1pm on Friday, December 25, and with Top of the Pops this year returning to BBC One where the Number 1 will be announced live. More info here.

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