Ex-Soldier Stu Mendelson and the Military Wives Choirs Bid for Christmas No.1 With We're Still Here
The race for Christmas No.1 usually means big-budget adverts and pop stars in knitted jumpers. This year there's a very different contender. 'We're Still Here' is an original single by former British soldier Stu Mendelson, recorded with fellow veterans and singers from the Chicksands and Henlow Military Wives Choirs, and released on Armistice Day, 11 November, at 11am.
Listen to 'We're Still Here' on Spotify
Mendelson wrote, composed and arranged the song, and sings the lead himself. He has organised and paid for the whole project without a label or a big backer, from writing and production through to recording and distribution.
"I didn't want to simply write a song about veterans," he says. "I wanted the Armed Forces community to be part of making it. The song is about reminding the nation that we're still here, and that for many veterans and their families, the battles continue long after the fighting ends."
From Afghanistan to the recording studio
Mendelson knows those battles first-hand. He joined the British Army as a Royal Engineer in 2005. In December 2009, while deployed in Afghanistan, he was seriously injured by a Taliban improvised explosive device. He lost his right eye and was completely blind for several weeks before the sight in his left eye came back.
The hardest fight came after the Army. He struggled with PTSD, mental health difficulties and addiction. Clean and sober since 2023, he has turned what he went through into helping others, co-founding The Muster Point, a veterans' community group in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, that helps former service personnel make friends, feel less alone and find support.
He has since become a strong voice on veterans' affairs, speaking in Parliament and working with MPs and government departments to highlight the gaps in support for people leaving the forces.
A Band Aid blessing
The single began with a joke. Last Christmas, a light-hearted idea for a charity record became 'Do They Know It's Muster Time?', a military-themed rewrite of Band Aid's famous hit. It won the approval of Sir Bob Geldof, and that encouraged Mendelson to take songwriting seriously.
He never imagined he'd one day write, compose and sing an original Christmas single. For 2026 he wanted something completely new, made by the people it's about, so 'We're Still Here' brings together veterans from The Muster Point and Veterans in Crisis Sunderland with voices from the Chicksands and Henlow Military Wives Choirs.
Military Wives and the Christmas chart have history, too: the original Military Wives choir took 'Wherever You Are' to Christmas No.1 in 2011.
Why Christmas matters
Recognition is part of the song's message. So is the loneliness many people feel at this time of year. Christmas can be hardest for anyone dealing with loss, isolation or personal struggles, and the song's message is simple: nobody should have to face those times alone, and friendship and community make a real difference.
As the campaign puts it, conflicts may disappear from the headlines, but the experiences of those who served, and the families who stood beside them, don't simply come to an end.
Every stream helps
Money raised by the record will support three organisations: the Chicksands and Henlow Military Wives Choirs, The Muster Point and Veterans in Crisis Sunderland.
The campaign builds through November and into December, with more performances alongside the Military Wives Choirs being explored for their Christmas events. The chart battle will be tough, but this underdog has a story that's hard to ignore. Every download and stream between now and Christmas helps carry it further.
The details
- Artist: Stu Mendelson, with members of the Chicksands and Henlow Military Wives Choirs, The Muster Point Veterans and Veterans in Crisis Sunderland
- Single: We're Still Here
- Released: 11 November 2026
- Supporting: Chicksands & Henlow Military Wives Choirs, The Muster Point, Veterans in Crisis Sunderland
- Website: themusterpoint.org.uk
