Self Esteem is set to record the theme song for Channel 4‘s upcoming Christmas special of Mog’s Bad Thing.
The artist – real name Rebecca Lucy Taylor – has joined forces with James Bond composer David Arnold and Oscar winning lyricist Don Black for the wistful song ‘I Wish That Things Could Be That Way Again’ for the latest instalment of the animated adaptation of Judith Kerr’s classic picture book of the same name.
“I’m delighted to be part of Mog’s Bad Thing. It’s been such a joy recording the theme song and working alongside David Arnold and Don Black. I can’t wait for everyone to hear it!” she said.
Arnold added: “I love Mog’s world. I think we’d all like to live there if we could. Luckily those very clever people at Lupus Films have made another beautiful film of a very well-loved book and have asked me back to write the music and song for it, alongside my friend the great lyricist Don Black and the glorious and brilliant Self Esteem. It’s such a joy to be back with them all, it’s where I belong.”
Black went on: “I’m very happy to be back working on Mog again. Mog, David Arnold, Self Esteem – it’s the perfect mogtail!”
Returning for the latest seasonal special are narrator Adjoa Andoh (Bridgerton), Benedict Cumberbatch as Mr Thomas, Claire Foy as Mrs Thomas, Amelie Law will play Debbie and Teddy Skelton takes up the role of Nicky.
They will be joined by John Thomson from Break Clause as Mr Bunce, Katherine Parkinson (Rivals) as Mrs Ramsbottom, Mawaan Rizwan from Juice as Ali and Amelia Theodorou as Amy.
The latest festive episode which follows Mog’s Christmas sees the Thomas family hosting a cat show in their garden but in all the excitement Mog does a “bad thing” according to a synopsis, which leads to him hiding in the attic.
Mog’s Bad Thing will be produced by Ruth Fielding and Camilla Deakin, who worked on The Snowman And The Snowdog, for Lupus Films and it is written by Joanna Harrison (We’re Going On A Bear Hunt). It will directed by Robin Shaw who helmed Mog’s Christmas.
Elsewhere, Self Esteem recently spoke to NME about her plans for a hiatus – revealing that she wants to take time away from the hectic pace of the music industry and make something “beautiful and interesting”.
Earlier this year, she spoke candidly about the physical and mental toll that promotion cycle for the album had on her, revealing that it left her feeling “knackered”, “fed up” and “rock-bottom depressed because of music”.
Taylor then told NME that she is in “need of a bit of a breather” and will be using the time after festival season to “take a few months off to have a think” about what comes next.
She is set to release a live record of her recent album entitled ‘A Complicated Woman – Live From Brixton Academy’ on December 4. You can pre-order it here.
