BOLTON today became the first town in Britain to have its own "image boosting" song.

The song - "Bolton - Altogether Better," - named after the borough's recently adopted official slogan, was commissioned by marketing bosses.

And they are confident the upbeat and catchy 60-second song will prove so popular that proud Boltonians will be singing it from the terraces at the new multi-million pound Reebok Stadium.

Bolton's Town Centre Manager, Maria Appleton, said she and her marketing colleagues decided that a song was just what Bolton needed to promote itself.

She said: "The writer, John Craig, spent the day in Bolton to get the feel of the place before composing the piece.

"He wanted to get across his initial feelings about Bolton and he has created a song that tugs on the heart strings. "It will hopefully create a sense of pride for Bolton people and make people from out of town want to visit."

And Maria added that the song, sung by Ian Harrison, who accompanied Tom Jones at last year's Royal Variety Performance, will be featured during forthcoming radio and TV advertising campaigns.

"Bolton - Altogether Better," will be officially launched in the town centre on Tuesday, July 15.

So far only the town's VIPs have heard the piece and according to Maria they have given the song the thumbs up.

Musical director and composer John Craig, who is based in Gateshead, believes "musical idents" are the way forward for councils and businesses to promote themselves.

He stressed that such pieces were now considered the sophisticated form of advertising.

"Jingles, where the names of songs and phone numbers are put to music, are a thing of the past.

"Music idents give a musical identity to a product, in this case a town. I tried to create an attitude. I used emotive lyrics and talked about home and feeling proud," said John.

Although it rained during the composer's visit, he was still able to get a feeling about the town.

He added: "In some respects it was better that I was not from Bolton. I looked at the town in the same way as any visitor would.

"The project was made a lot easier thanks to Maria's undoubted enthusiasm."

If the song proves successful, a CD will go on sale in town centre music stores later in the year.

Although John Craig is the main talent behind the song he was assisted with the music by Alan Moran and Anthony Adams. "Bolton - Altogether Better" These are exciting times, as we look to the future...

This town is yours and mine, no matter where we may go!

'Cos there's a vision we share that brings us all together,

We're proud and we care

That the feeling in Bolton feels like home!

(instrumental)

Bolton - Altogether Better

Bolton - Altogether Better

The feeling in Bolton feels like home....

Bolton - Altogether Better.

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