Fast-rising, crowd-pulling indie poets The Lathums are to harness their burgeoning popularity for the greater good, by releasing a specially recorded cover of Al Wilson’s Northern Soul classic, The Snake on 7” vinyl in a limited edition of – ONE COPY. Just a single copy of the one-sided release will ever exist, creating a ‘holy grail’ for fans who must buy a raffle ticket to support the community-driven fund to save Wigan Athletic Football Club to have a chance of owning it.
Having reached number 14 in the UK Album Chart in July after selling thousands of copies of their yellow 12” vinyl EP compilation, The Memories We Make, the ultra-limited cut of The Snake has been recorded and cut to vinyl to help Wigan Athletic Supporters Club to support the activities of the club’s Community Trust and pay for essential club outgoings after it went into administration.
The eventual owner of the solitary record will have the opportunity to hear it forever, but all other fans will have to make do with stolen moments leaked by the band on social media to support the fundraising push. A future release in any format has been ruled out by the band, making the vinyl a sought-after item for all vinyl collectors.The Lathums’ singer and songwriter, Alex Moore, says: “My life isn’t football at all, but I understand how important for my hometown it is to have Wigan Athletic survive. It’s not the fan’s fault, nor that of staff who face a loss of wages or worse, that so many bad decisions are made about who owns and runs football clubs. Like music, football makes memories for generations of people, their lives intertwined by the game. Even non-football fans must know how important it is.”
To be in with a chance of winning the one-off copy of The Lathums’ The Snake visit https://shop.thelathums.com/ Raffle tickets cost £5 each per donation, with the draw being made on Mon 9 November 2020.
Funds raised will be split between the Save Wigan Athletic fundraising appeal and Wigan Athletic Community Trust.
Originally released in 1968, The Snake became a classic on the dancefloor of Wigan’s legendary Northern Soul club, Wigan Casino and was chosen by the band as being synonymous with their hometown. Each member has the track ringing in their ears as it was omnipresent at weddings, christenings and birthday parties for as long as they can remember.
