Yorkshire’s best known song could be on its way into the charts with the help of a star-studded array of performers.

The new version of On Ilkla Moor Baht ‘At is being released today – Yorkshire Day – by tourism organisation Welcome to Yorkshire, to showcase the county worldwide.

Soprano Lesley Garrett and actor Brian Blessed, both Yorkshire born and bred, have guest appearances in the remake of Yorkshire’s self-styled national anthem.

The song will be available to download from today and money raised is going to two charities – the Heroes Children Fund charity and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Clair Challenor Chadwick, managing director of Cause UK, a Harrogate consultancy which supports the charities and arts sector, said the idea came about following a conversation about how few children actually knew the song these days.

She said: “It all started in the pub like many a great plot at the start of 2012.

“An associate of Cause UK, Mark Dexter, was telling us about his friend Gordon Eddison, a schoolteacher and brass band director. Gordon had complained to Mark only about ten per cent of his students knew the song.”

Cause UK issued a press release to help raise awareness of the Otley brass band’s work and the details were reported in a variety of media.

“We knew this touched a nerve,” Clair said.

“So we mulled it over and came up with the idea of a video-song-remake to engage younger people that could go viral. We pitched the concept to Welcome to Yorkshire, and that was that.”

What followed was an intensive six months.

Clair had contacted her friend, the Sheffield songwriter Eliot Kennedy, to see if he would re-write the song. His response, as a proud Yorkshire man was: ‘Awesome’.

Clair said: “The thing about Eliot is he’s a man with a heart and soul as big as the county he was born and bred in – Yorkshire.

“He may have recorded and written songs for his mates Gary Barlow and Bryan Adams and worked with Aretha Franklin and Celine Dion, and been an Artistic Director on The X Factor, but his feet are firmly on Yorkshire ground.

“Eliot is an incredible visionary. We knew we needed Yorkshire celebrities, so we began a charm offensive.

“Brian Blessed was the first to say yes, and Eliot convinced him to rap on the song. He wanted a soprano, so naturally we approached Lesley Garrett.

“But the real stars were the Yorkshire community at large – Gordon Eddison himself, Harrogate’s Rock Up and Sing, the Yorkshire Regiment, Bradford Council, they all played a part.”

Eliot had just returned from recording music from around the Commonwealth with Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber for the Queen’s Jubilee song ‘Sing’.

Clair said: “I remember Eliot telling us about recording Prince Harry playing the tambourine in Jamaica, then telling Rock Up and Sing he would be recording their choir on the same mini-recording device that he took on his royal mission. What was even more exciting was when he tweeted the Ilkley song could even rival ‘Sing’.”

The filming which took place on Ilkley Moor was a huge challenge.

Clair said: “We had to go through all the health and safety, hire St John’s Ambulance, find a PA system for the moor, sort out parking and coach-loads, and, of course, worry about the weather. It was a huge success, and featured on the BBC World Service that night, so we hope it has global as well as local appeal – for all the ex-pats.”

The song features former Fame Academy singer Alistair Griffin, and has a Beatles-esque sound.

It then breaks into Brian Blessed rapping before the sounds of Lesley Garrett and Blessed’s voices soar into a different stratosphere with a bombastic ending, bolstered by Rock Up and Sing.

Eliot explained at the time why he wanted to do the song: “It’s a beautiful song, it’s a gorgeous folk song. Yes, there’s funny and quirky bits with ducks eating worms, but it’s about courting Mary Jane, it’s actually incredibly romantic.

“You can see we’ve been having a lot of fun. I’ve never laughed so much than when Brian was recording.

“It’s a really great song, you can’t help sing along. It’s been in my head all the time since we started this project.

“I think this song will last for decades. It’s going to stand the test of time.”

The new version includes music from the Grimethorpe Colliery Band and X Factor singer and Yorkshire Regiment soldier Jonjo Kerr also features on the track.