THE Hillsborough charity single could be on its way to Christmas number one as more than 100,000 copies have already been pre-ordered.

The single, a cover of The Hollies’ He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother, goes on sale on December 17 with the aim of making it Christmas number one.

The record by the Justice Collective aims to raise money for the fight for justice for the 96 who lost their lives in the 1989 disaster.

Produced by legendary record mogul Guy Chambers, it features artists including Robbie Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Paloma Faith, Beverley Knight, Melanie C, Andy Brown, Holly Johnson, Mick Jones, Chris Sharrock from Oasis, Ian Prowse, Glen Tilbrook, The Zutons, Paul Heaton from The Beautiful South, John Power and Gerry Marsden.

The musicians were joined by comedians John Bishop and Neil Fitzmaurice, and football favourites Kenny Dalglish, Peter Reid and Alan Hansen, who make up what they describe as ‘the cats’ choir‘.

“There was a difficult moment where Guy had to choose between a solo by Robbie Williams or one by John Bishop,” joked Liverpool MP Steve Rotheram, one of the key figures behind the project. “Thankfully for us all he chose the Robbie one.”

More than 400 people have been involved in the recording on the single. They have all given their time for free and all proceeds from the sale of the single will go towards the Hillsborough families’ legal costs.

“Some people may have felt that the fight was over after the Hillsborough Independent Panel delivered its findings,” said Mr Rotheram. “This single is about raising awareness . We are doing really really well with that and want people to keep ordering to make this Christmas number one.

“We need people to buy the song. Don’t just buy one copy – buy one to give as a present, buy more if you can.

“If my ma was still alive, there were eight of us and we’d all wake up on Christmas morning to find a copy in our stockings.

“Please, please buy it and show your support.”