South Devon RNLI stations champion 200th Anniversary single to top Xmas charts

All five South Devon RNLI stations; Exmouth, Teignmouth, Torbay, Dartmouth and Salcombe are supporting the song and urging RNLI supporters to help drive Pull Away all the way to the top of the UK’s charts this Christmas!

Folk band Police Dog Hogan have released their new single, Pull Away, to celebrate the RNLI’s 200th anniversary. The song was written by lead singer James Studholme, a local lad brought up and living on the edge of Dartmoor, and Chris Hoban, renowned Devonian lyricist living in Topsham near Exeter.

All five South Devon RNLI stations; Exmouth, Teignmouth, Torbay, Dartmouth and Salcombe are supporting the song and urging RNLI supporters to help drive Pull Away all the way to the top of the UK’s charts this Christmas!

James Studholme, lead singer of Police Dog Hogan, says;

‘We couldn’t be more excited to have created a Christmas song to commemorate the RNLI’s 200th anniversary! The great Devon songwriter, Chris Hoban from Topsham, crafted the lyrics recounting a fictional tale of a dramatic successful Christmas Day rescue. We very much hope this one finds a tiny place in the pantheon of Christmas singledom.’

‘The band and I were inspired by the fact that RNLI lifeboat volunteers are on-call, 365 days of the year, ready to drop everything to go to the aid of others at sea. Christmas is just another day, now and just as it was back in the nineteenth century, where the song Pull Away is set.’

The opening verse sets the scene of lifeboat crew members being woken in the middle of the night, to launch the lifeboat and go to the aid of a ship in distress in violent sea.

The accompanying music video was filmed at Selsey RNLI lifeboat station and features the band playing inside the boathouse, interspersed with RNLI archive footage. It can be seen online at RNLI’s site with additional behind-the-scenes footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehv5z80ZwOY&ab_channel=RNLI

James goes on to say:

‘It is a very great honour to create a Christmas song to celebrate this extraordinary institution’s 200^th anniversary. The work they do, entirely funded by the generosity of the public, is astonishing. The closing line of the song, “There’ll be 12 more at the table for lunch on Christmas Day”, reflects that. Without them, we’d quite literally be sunk.’

Anjie Rook, RNLI Associate Director, who is overseeing the charity’s 200^th anniversary activity, says:

‘Christmas is a time for family, but RNLI volunteer crews are ready to drop everything to help others in danger at sea, no matter what the weather, or the time of day or night. The RNLI is marking 200 years of saving lives at sea this year – that’s 200 years of depending on the bravery and sacrifice of volunteers giving their time to save others.

‘Pull Away is a powerful song which really captures how life can be for our volunteers – being woken in the middle of the night, facing terrible weather and rough seas, heading into the unknown to try and save others in distress, even at Christmas. The song also conveys the wait and worry of family members who are left at home waiting for their loved ones to return safely from a rescue.’

Andrew Medley, Coxswain at Torbay Lifeboat station, says:

‘If Pull Away makes it to number one, it will frame a fitting end to the charity’s 200^th anniversary year. The band has also promised if they do, to play a free gig here on the coast next summer. So, let’s do it for Devon and the RNLI, and spread the word.’

RNLI lifeboats were launched, on average, over 100 times each year during the festive period* for the past five years.

Founded on 4 March 1824, the RNLI has been saving lives at sea for 200 years. Since the charity was founded, the charity’s lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

While much has changed in 200 years, two things have remained the same – the charity’s dependence on volunteers, who give their time and commitment to save others, and the voluntary contributions from the public which have funded the service for the past two centuries.