Becky Mills provides a sober Christmas reminder to look out for our loved ones, particularly during these difficult times. A chance for us to support a worthy cause, in this case, Andy’s Man Club.

Release date:  Out now

Label: Own release

Formats: Download

Regular At The Barrier visitors will be familiar with Becky Mills.  She last made an appearance on these pages in our review of Ashley Hutchings’ Christmas 2020 album A Midwinter Miscellany (see review here ).  In that review, we described Becky as: “A terrific singer with a voice that pleasingly hints at her North Yorkshire origins, an excellent guitarist and a truly magnificent songwriter.”

Well, she’s here again, demonstrating all those skills to awesome effect on her new single, the delightful and highly poignant Carols Out Of Season.

The single is a fundraiser for the men’s’ charity Andy’s Man Club which, if the name is new to you (as it was to me) is a talking forum for men who are have been through a storm, are currently going through a storm, or have a storm brewing in their life.  The forum started as one small group in Halifax and now comprises 28 groups, located all over the UK, particularly in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Eastern Scotland. 

Last year, over 10,000 men used the charity.  Men are notoriously reluctant to speak openly about their mental health issues and Andy’s Man Club is run by a group of Trustees who recognize the benefits of open dialogue in such situations and who are passionate about challenging the stigmas surrounding men’s mental health – often as a result of their own personal tragedies and experiences.

Carols Out Of Season is a beautiful song.  As usual, Becky’s voice and the accompanying guitar are flawless, but it’s the lyrics that really drive home the message.  They concern a close friend, Noel (real, or imagined, it doesn’t matter…) who was formerly feted as a fun-loving individual but who was unable to share his personal traumas until one day, it was too late.  The moral of the story is to look out for each other and never be afraid of asking “Are you OK?” Especially of those amongst us who seem fine.  The song concludes with Becky’s lovely, poignant rendition of The First Nöel.  Stunning – and the accompanying video of a walk through a snow-laden wood is pretty good too!

Carols Out Of Season is downloadable from Becky’s Bandcamp site (see below) for just £2 (or more if you like) and half of everything that’s earned by the single will go the Andy’s Man Club.  Please check this one out – you’ll love the song, and it’s a wonderful, worthy cause.

Watch the video for Carols Out Of Season here:

See Becky’s comments relating to the new single and to the Andy’s Man Club charity here

Becky Mills Online: Website/ YouTube/ Bandcamp / Facebook

You can follow At The Barrier on Twitter here, and like us on Facebook here. We really appreciate your continued support.