Co-op Christmas ad: Meet the real-life Leeds brothers behind the Round Are Way cover

28 December 2020, 11:00

12-year old Austin from Leeds and his six-year-old brother sing the Oasis B-side in this year's Co-op Christmas advert.

This month saw the Co-op unveil their Christmas ad for 2020, and - much to the delight of Oasis fans - it featured one of their much-loved B-sides.

Well, did you know that the advertising campaign - which sees two brothers spreading a bit of Christmas cheer by singing Round Are Way outside their local supermarket - are actually brothers in real life?

12-year old Austin and his six-year-old brother Rocco are the pint-sized Leeds rock stars who sing the track and they've explained how they got the opportunity to appear in the ad.

Watch them in action here:

Co-op Christmas Ad 2020

Asked in a special Q&A with Leeds Live Austin revealed he's been acting since he was seven years old and has been playing guitar for two years.

His little brother Rocco, isn't far behind, and has been acting four four years, since he was three years old, telling the outlet: "I am catching up to my big brother!"

Explaining how they got the part, they revealed: "We had to audition through a self-tape at first, then we had two zoom call meetings with the Casting Director and the Director.

"We were quite nervous, but Sue and Billy were really nice which made us feel at ease. We had to learn the final song really quickly, but we did it! We really hope everyone likes the end result."

When it came to the day of filming, it wasn't all hard work as they were allowed to get behind the camera too.

"It's really fun," said Rocco. "The camerawoman Molly on the Co-op Advert was ace!

"She let us have a go at working the huge camera, then she had to chase us up a hill with the camera on her shoulder. It was really funny."

The boys were even given the opportunity to record their cover in a real recording studio, where older sibling Austin got to play the drums and the Mandolin.

He recalled: "I got to play guitar and sing all day long which was amazing, I felt like a rock star.

"I couldn’t say what my best bits are because everything about the experience was very special and I won’t ever forget it. It was just nice to make people smile."

READ MORE: The best Oasis B-sides

The boys have certainly put a smile on people's faces, with viewers rushing to praise the ad on Twitter.

One wrote: "This is beautiful @coopuk - really touched me as the community is everything".

Another simply wrote: "Love love love this ad".

One fan joked on YouTube: "What if this is a message for the gallaghers to reunite like the bros in this video?"

Another said: "Well done who ever created this Advert. Simple, no fuss and with plenty of heart. Loved it."

See some more of the reactions below:

READ MORE: When and why did Oasis split?