A locked down choir and orchestra from the Wells area have joined forces with one of the largest Facebook Covid groups to release a new Christmas version of Together In Electric Dreams to mark all of the lives lost in the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Released as a charity single under the artist banner Shine A Light To Fight, the song's proceeds will go to mental health and bereavement charities MIND and Cruse Bereavement Care, and the accompanying video is full of the names and faces of people lost during 2020.

Producer Jeremy Millington, of Wells music duo The Portraits, explains the motivation behind the single: "We were so moved when we stumbled across the Shine A Light To Fight group, overflowing with real stories of lost loved ones.

"We were inspired to use the power of music at Christmas to remind people who haven't lost anyone to the disease that each of the daily death statistics is a lovely mum or son who will be absent from the Christmas table this year."

The Shine A Light To Fight Coronavirus group received media coverage in March when it reached a quarter of a million members within days of its launch.

The brain child of Lisa Bailey, a medical staffing advisor for the Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, it quickly became an online meeting place for those affected physically or emotionally by the disease and notably a poignant shrine to lost loved ones, as founder Lisa explains.

"It started by members of our group shining lights in gardens or windows to remember those lost to Covid-19," she said.

"People now come to us for support, to share memories and remember loved ones and I now have a large team who I owe huge thanks to for keeping the group so special.

"I'd love the song to reach Christmas number one to honour all those lost, just when their loved ones will need it the most."

Together In Electric Dreams is being released as a download by Lifelines Records on December 18 via iTunes and all major digital music stores.

It features Somerset ensembles the Wells Lockdown Orchestra, the Skylarks Choir and singer/song-writing duo The Portraits.

All musicians contributed their performances as videos recorded on their phones at home during the November lockdown and submitted digitally to producer Jeremy via Dropbox or WhatsApp.