The British melodic hard rock groupMAGNUMhave confirmed the release of a new digital single"On Christmas Day"onSteamhammer / SPV. The digital version contains a long version and a radio edit of the song and another track named"Born To Be King".The digital version will be availableworldwide onOctober 24thtogether with the limited 10" vinyl version.

Guitarist and songwriterTony Clarkintells how it all happened:"It was Olly Hahn at SPV/Steamhammer who said that he a great idea, and could I write a Christmas song? I replied we had already had done that in the past and told him about "On Christmas Day" and that it was on the "Rockart" album.So if he wanted to check that out to see if it was suitable because it`s not the normal Christmas song that people would expect. I had not heard it myself for a long long time. We were in Germany at the time and so we all sat round the computer to listen to the track and we were all impressed and I was really looking forward to re doing it. That's really the story of how it came about, but I also thought "Born To Be King" could also fit with On Christmas Day as a strong B side for the whole package.!"

Bass playerAlan Barrow, who also created the artwork, explains the idea behind the cover:"Based onwas a series of widespread, unofficial ceasefires that took place along theWestern FrontaroundChristmas1914, duringWorldWar I. It`s documented thatGermanandBritish soldiers began to exchange seasonal greetings andsongs between their trenches. OnChristmas Day, many soldiers from both sidesindependently ventured into "no man's land", where they mingled, exchanging food and souvenirs. Several meetings ended in carol-singing. Troops from both sides would also play games offootballwith one another."