GIRLS ALOUD singer Kimberley Walsh and Fame Academy contestant Alistair Griffin are set to launch a song to mark Yorkshire’s Tour de France Grand Depart.

The pair recorded The Road with Grimethorpe Colliery Band, which featured in the film Brassed Off as the official anthem for the Grand Depart after being commissioned by Welcome to Yorkshire, which led the bid to bring the race to the region.

The single will be released today (Monday, June 30), and the pair will perform at the Grand Depart opening ceremony First Direct Arena in Leeds on Thursday and at a tour event in York on Friday.

Mr Griffin, who was raised in Castleton, on the North York Moors, said: "It’s going to be a very special weekend, and I would love for the whole of Yorkshire to hear the song being played as the world’s sporting eyes focus on the Grand Depart spectacle.”

"If the Tour Makers show as much energy and enthusiasm on the streets and the roads of Yorkshire as they did in the recording studio, then we are all going to be in very safe hands."

Gary Verity, chief executive of Welcome to Yorkshire added: "All the performers on the recording are from Yorkshire, which reinforces the fact that Yorkshire is united in promoting the county and welcoming the Tour."