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Girls Aloud star Kimberley Walsh features on official Tour de France Grand Départ song (+ videos)

Teams up with fellow Yorkshire native Alistair Griffin

Former Girls Aloud singer Kimberley Walsh is teaming up with fellow Yorkshire native Alistair Griffin for the official song of the Grand Départ of the 101st Tour de France, called The Road.

Walsh, who is expecting her first child, has been involved in songs marking major sports events before. Ahead of the London 2012 Olympics, she recorded a cover of Queen’s One Vision with the tenor Alfie Boe, used as the anthem of Team GB.

Just last month, she joined fellow pop stars and several former England footballers to record a version of Take That song Greatest Day, the FA’s official song for the FIFA World Cup in Brazil this summer.

She broke the news of her involvement in The Road on Twitter, posting a series of pictures of the video shoot.

A short video preview of the song has already been released, incorporating footage from a promo film shot for Welcome to Yorkshire that was shown at the presentation of the route of this year’s race last October in Paris, featuring York-based frame builder Ricky Feather and some spectacular scenery.

Both videos appear below. The Road will be released on 30 June and can be pre-ordered for £3.99 here.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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16 comments

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Argos74 | 10 years ago
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OMG, haven't cringed so much since the opening credits/title track for Star Trek Enterprise.

Jerusalem. Yesyesyes. The Dubstar version? Is even sung in a Yorkshire accent.

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Cyclist | 10 years ago
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Sounds like the theme to a shite 2pm soap...  20

the obvious one would have been... Jerusalem: And did those wheels in ancient time ride upon England's mountains green......

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Bob's Bikes | 10 years ago
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What about Dvorak's largo from symphony No 9

(For the benefit of the uneducated that's the piece of music used on the old Hovis adverts.)

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The Acai | 10 years ago
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WHY?  31

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Flying Scot | 10 years ago
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Old Emmerdale Farm Music not good enough then?

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jova54 replied to Flying Scot | 10 years ago
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Flying Scot wrote:

Old Emmerdale Farm Music not good enough then?

Or 'Last of the Summer Wine'?

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FluffyKittenofT... replied to jova54 | 10 years ago
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jova54 wrote:
Flying Scot wrote:

Old Emmerdale Farm Music not good enough then?

Or 'Last of the Summer Wine'?

Now I have a vision of them racing around in wheeled bathtubs.

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Vili Er | 10 years ago
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Did nobody think to phone Pete Shelley?

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bobbypuk | 10 years ago
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Is there anything wrong with just using the old ITV theme music? I'm sure it would make more of us think of cycling than this dirge.

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andyp | 10 years ago
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Jebus. NO NEED.

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jasecd | 10 years ago
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The music does not do the images justice. I have to ask though - how important is the official song?

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aslongasicycle | 10 years ago
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Hello Ricky! I just watched the ad, not the film.

Apart from lovely Ricky Feather doing his thing I want to stab myself in the face with the whole standardised, homogenised, lifestyled, catalogue modelled, Daily Mail dull-a-thon.

The music hurts. You couldn't even make it into a throbbing dark techno remix without throwing yourself under the nearest flaming copy of The Daily Express for the sheer numbing NOTHINGNESS of it all.

(I wasn't keen)

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antonio | 10 years ago
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'Made in Yorkshire', brilliant, mood music captures it all.

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mad_scot_rider | 10 years ago
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One response to the article

... and ?

The whole thing is a giant "meh"

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Alex14 replied to mad_scot_rider | 10 years ago
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I think we could of done a better job in Scotland

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Emmyloolah | 10 years ago
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Did I fall off my bike and wake up in 1971? It was ok for John Denver back in the day, but for a momentous occasion and event as Le Grand Depart? I don't blimming think so.

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