Girls Aloud dedicate new song to Sarah Harding for Children in Need

Girls Aloud will release a new edition of their hit charity single I’ll Stand By You to honour their late bandmate Sarah Harding for BBC Children In Need.

Their new song I’ll Stand By You (Sarah’s Version) features the late singer on lead vocals. They have used clips from original recording sessions which were discovered when the group pulled archive material together for their reunion tour earlier this year.

The tour, which consisted of Nadine Coyle, Cheryl, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh, was dedicated to Harding, who was diagnosed with cancer and died in September 2021 aged 39.

READ MORE: Girls Aloud to 'remember Sarah Harding together' with UK as huge ITV announcement made after tour

They included a version of the new song on the tour track list and it was hailed as an “emotional moment” for all by the girl group.

A newly produced studio version will be released on 15 November as a new charity single in support of BBC Children In Need, 20 years since they first covered the song for the charity.

BBC Radio 2 played the track on Wednesday and Coyle introduced the song.

The Derry-born singer said: “It really is a special celebration of Sarah and also Girls Aloud involvement with Children in Need over the years.”

A new edit of the original video featuring unseen archive footage will also be released during the BBC Children in Need Appeal Show on Friday 15 November.

The girl group first released their cover of I’ll Stand By You in 2004 as the charity single for BBC Children in Need, which reached number one in the UK singles chart.

The song was originally a single for The Pretenders, written by Chrissie Hynde, Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly.

Talking about the new version, Hynde said: “How wonderful to hear I’ll Stand By You with the lovely vocals of Sarah Harding leading the way for BBC Children in Need. Happy Christmas all!”

Girls Aloud formed in 2002 after the singers won Popstars: The Rivals, before going on to achieve four UK number one singles and a Brit award for track The Promise.

They reunited with new music for their 10th anniversary in 2012, and the second reunion was planned for their 20th anniversary when Harding was diagnosed with cancer.

Following Harding’s death, Girls Aloud have raised more than £1 million for breast cancer charities through various initiatives.

Earlier this year, the girl group reunited to tour across the UK and Ireland, performing hit tracks from their back catalogue including Love Machine, Sound Of The Underground and The Promise.

A one hour special, titled The Girls Aloud Show: Live At The O2, will air later this autumn on ITV1 and the full extended arena show will be available to stream on ITVX.

I’ll Stand By You (Sarah’s Version) will be available to download from November 15 in support of Children in Need.

Proceeds from the single will go towards Children In Need projects which fund family centres, community spaces, youth clubs and refuges, homeless shelters, hospices and helplines across the UK.

BBC is putting together a three-hour extravaganza for Children in Need which will be broadcast live from Media City, Salford, starting at 7 pm.

Presenters include Ade Adepitan, Mel Giedroyc, Rochelle Humes plus more familiar faces.

The night will consist of comedy, music, and surprise guests - all to raise money for a brilliant cause.