THE MANAGER of a multi-national football team in Wrexham has linked up with a pop legend to record a single for Children in Need.

Delwyn Derrick, who runs Bellevue FC - which boasts a squad packed with migrants and refugees, was invited to get involved after being crowned the 2019 BBC Wales' Sports Personality Unsung Hero.

It saw him and a number of other regional winners of the award link up with Rick Astley to record a single, titled 'Every One of Us', to celebrate the Unsung Hero awards for 2020.

Captain Tom Moore and a host of sporting stars including Ben Stokes, Geraint Thomas and Dame Jessica Ennis Hill also lend their support to the campaign and there are a number of special cameos in the music video.

Delwyn himself makes a cameo appearance, alongside Olympic and Paralympic stars Tanni Grey-Thompson, Will Bailey, Kare Adenegan, Ellie and Becky Downie and Sam Quek, along with Alex Scott, Gabby Logan and Gareth Thomas.

Raising funds for BBC Children in Need, the single will be the anthem for the awards in a year where keeping community spirits high has never been more important.

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Each singer, due to the current Covid-19 restrictions, was asked to record their section of the song from home - with the video recorded in various areas of Manchester and London.

Delwyn, of Bersham, said: “To say that this has all been done remotely through lockdown and then through individual distanced video shoots, it’s a mega achievement from everyone involved. I’m hugely grateful to everyone involved in getting this done in these mad circumstances, for making something that all of us can be incredibly proud of.

"Profits from the single will be going to Children in Need which is a great cause and I’m hugely proud to have played my small part. It’s mad to say that I’m on a track with Rick Astley but haven’t actually met him in person yet, so hopefully that’s something we could do in the future.

"Of course the irony of the unsung heroes literally singing isn’t lost either.”

Speaking on the recording of the track and video, he said: "With the recording of the song having to be done remotely from home, I was lucky as I have a little recording studio at home from my past life in a band.

"But others weren't so fortunate and had to literally sing into their mobile phone - but if you hear the track you would never know this was the case. The producers have done an amazing job with it - it sounds great.

"For the video, as I'm a football coach I was taken to playing fields near Media City in Salford and was asked to dance towards the camera while singing, with my crippling anxiety that was never something I would be doing so I'm the one walking towards the camera with my hands firmly in my pockets."

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Reflecting on the project and an "utterly bizarre" last 12 months, Delwyn said: "I firmly believe that this isn’t the last thing that the 2019 Unsung Heroes will do together, we have shared in each others successes and supported each others struggles since the day we met and we’ve formed lasting friendships through it all, that I personally hope will last a lifetime.

“This has been a fun project to be involved in and with there not being any football in Wales right now, it’s been a welcome distraction from all the uncertainty and anxiety.

"I still don’t feel like a hero, unsung or otherwise, but I wasn’t going to be the one to let the side down when this idea first came about. To be considered important enough to be in a video celebrating sport alongside Tanni Grey-Thompson, Gareth Thomas, Alun Wyn Jones and Geraint Thomas is just surreal.

"Regardless of anything else, it’s a song for a great cause that was really fun to be involved in and who could say fairer than that?

“It would be great to see another Welsh Unsung Hero from the North East so I’d like to encourage everyone to nominate someone for the award and for the Young Unsung Hero award as well.

"As for the single, it’s for a great cause and Rick Astley is a great singer and an absolute gent, so definitely go and give it a listen.”

Rick Astley said: “When I was asked to launch a single in honour of Unsung Hero and to raise money for BBC Children in Need I didn’t hesitate. Both are brilliant causes and I hope the song can bring a bit of joy and solidarity during what has been a strange and unprecedented year.”

Alongside the single launch, nominations for the Unsung Hero 2020 awards will open from 6am.

This year will see a new addition, as the Captain Tom: Young Unsung Hero award will be up for grabs for one young volunteer, who like the main award nominees has made a big difference in their local community through sport during Covid 19.

The Young Unsung Hero award will be named after Captain Tom in honour of his heroic efforts raising a whopping £38.9million for the NHS while walking laps of his garden in the run up to his 100th birthday.

The young winner will be selected from nominations across the UK and must be under 15 to be eligible.

Both awards will see finalists from Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and each of the 12 English regions. Four nominees from the English regions will join the national winners to form a top seven before the winner will be announced in December alongside the Young Unsung Hero.

The single will be available to download on all streaming and download services at https://unsungheroes.lnk.to/DownloadPR

To nominate your Unsung Hero and Young Unsung Hero by video, audio, online webform or via email, simply visit www.bbc.co.uk/unsunghero..