SOME artists wait a lifetime to go viral but one talented Glasgow duo has defied the odds...by doing it twice. 

Phil Ford and Tim Kwant have proven a smash hit online with their festive tune Hope Christmas Gets You to Me, a song dedicated to the struggles of the pandemic but sharing a message of hope. 

It’s been a whirlwind few weeks for the duo, who have received messages from across the world, been shared by the likes of Lorraine Kelly and Graham Norton, and debuted the song on BBC Radio 2 yesterday. 

“It has all come out of the blue and wasn’t anything we expected,” Phil, 39, said. “We can’t quite believe the reaction the song has had.

“People are playing it all over the world and that is crazy."

Glasgow Times: Tim in the song's video Tim in the song's video

The ballad's video clocked up hundreds of thousands of views after being released at the start of the month and showed no signs of slowing down. That was until disaster struck when a tech issue deleted the city teachers’ clip and forced them to start from scratch.

However, a reposted video by the pair – known as Lapwing – has made up for lost time and is soaring up the viewing charts. 

“It must be because I am a teacher that I am a complete technophobe and we’re still not really sure what happened [when the clip was deleted]," Phil said. "We had around 320,000 views by that point but just decided to put it back on and it’s already got more than 120,000.

“We just want to acknowledge how difficult a year it’s been while also offering a message of hope at the end.” 

Phil, an English teacher at the High School of Glasgow, and Knightswood Secondary physics teacher Tim, 33, had spoken for years about releasing a Christmas song but inspiration finally struck last month. 

When Phil, a father-of-three, was walking through a supermarket in Maryhill an idea popped into his head and soon the pair had the first version of their song. After it was given the royal seal of approval from Phil’s wife, they released it online and were gobsmacked by its success.

It was thanks in part to the dedication of friends and family, who all chipped in to the making of the video. 

Neighbours from Broomhill were included in the socially distanced clip, filmed around the city centre, while pals shared their expertise in the editing suite. 

“We have received so many messages online from all over the world,” Phil said. “It has been unbelievable.

Glasgow Times: Graham Norton shared his support online Graham Norton shared his support online

“I was sent a clip from a woman on social media of a man in uniform in an airport, it could have been Glasgow, being reunited with his son and our song was playing over the background.

“It was so heartwarming and I was really blown away by it. We never expected any of this.”