Girls Aloud have announced they’re marking 20 years of their number one hit I’ll Stand By You with a new version of the song.
On their 2024 reunion tour, the chart-topping girl group performed a special rendition of I’ll Stand By You, featuring their late bandmate Sarah Harding on lead vocals.
It was revealed on Wednesday that this version of the track will be getting an official release later this month, with all proceeds going towards Children In Need.
An official press release explained: “In 2004, Girls Aloud released I’ll Stand By You as the official BBC Children In Need single, reaching number one in the UK Singles Chart for two weeks.
“Now 20 years later, the band are set to release a brand-new version of I’ll Stand By You with their beloved Sarah Harding featuring exclusively on lead vocals throughout.
“The vocals were discovered in the Girls Aloud vault while the band were pulling together archive material for their sell-out The Girls Aloud Show arena tour earlier this year.”
A post on Girls Aloud’s official Instagram page said: “I’ll Stand By You (Sarah’s Version) features Sarah on lead vocal throughout using vocals we discovered in the Girls Aloud vault from the original recording sessions.
“The track played a key part in our The Girls Aloud Show arena tour this summer and was an emotional moment for us all.”
A new version of the I’ll Stand By You music video, featuring never-before-seen archive footage from the original shoot, will also premiere during the Children In Need telethon on Friday 15 November.
Chrissie Hynde, who wrote the song and performed the original version as the frontwoman of The Pretenders, enthused: “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!”
Sarah died in September 2021, a year after disclosing that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Last year, her bandmates toured the UK with a show that paid tribute to her on several occasions.
A recording of the tour will premiere on ITV1 later this year, with a special extended version then available to stream on ITVX.