Three Catholic priests are going for the record industry's holy grail - a Christmas No1.The trio of 40-somethings from Northern Ireland have been signed up by Sony BMG, who are keen to tap into a global market of 1.1bn Catholics.
They sing holy songs such as Ave Maria for their flock and have even performed at the world's biggest Catholic gig venue - the Vatican.
The 'band' are made up of Father Eugene O'Hagan, 48, from Ballyclare, his brother Father Martin O'Hagan, 45, from Cushendun, and their old school friend, Father David Delargy, 44, from Hannahstown.
They've called themselves 'The Priests' and their debut album goes on sale on 24 November.
If you think this all sounds like a novelty CD though, think again.
A clip of the priests performing at the Vatican spent several weeks as YouTube's most-watched clip globally. And the album itself is to be released in 32 countries.
In hard economic times, albums of religious songs often sell well.
'We're living in a very frenetic world,' says Father Martin.
'The pace of life is getting faster and faster, technology brings its own demands.'
Eugene told Sky News that as well as spreading the message, the album solves a long running problem.
'Friends of ours had often been saying, 'have you got a CD, have you got a record?' and we'd often said 'no, won't don't really have them'.
'So way in the back of our minds, that was an aspiration we had,' he added.
Despite the CD and the record deal, the priests insist their day job comes first. So much so they've had a clause to that effect written into their contract.
They've also recently turned down a lucrative tour in America on the grounds it would take them away from their parishes for too long.
And even though they are now label-mates with Justin Timberlake and AC/DC, these new music stars have no rock star demands.
Where others would ask for personal assistants, private jets and backstage riders, these three have more modest requirements.
'Maybe a little bottle of water would be nice to keep the throat lubricated,' says Father David.
'And if we're really pushing the boat out,' laughs Father Eugene, 'maybe, sparkling water'.
SV: CD now available in Veritas nationwide (€19.95), and as a treat for CW readers, we have posted little snippets of the Priests in action throughout todays postings. Enjoy!!
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(Source: SKYN)