By Juliette MaxamA FORMER mayor is hoping to have a Christmas number one chart hit with a single he is bringing out in memory of his wife who died of cancer.

By Juliette Maxam

A FORMER mayor is hoping to have a Christmas number one chart hit with a single he is bringing out in memory of his wife who died of cancer.

Ivan Trusler, who was Mayor of Colchester from 1993 to 1994, is re-releasing a hit from the 50s, which was one of the first records he bought with his wife, Brenda, who died last year.

Mr Trusler, of Highwoods, Colchester, has set up his own record label, Brevan - a mixture of his name and Brenda's - to re-release Santo Natale by David Whitfield.

Orders are already flooding in for the CD single, which will also include Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful) and two previously unreleased tracks, The Truth and Say Maybe.

Mr and Mrs Trusler met in 1952 when they lived in Ipswich. They were both music lovers and used to go to record shops and listen in booths to the hits of the time.

They were big fans of David Whitfield and Mr Trusler said they bought Santo Natale together from Murdoch's record shop, Ipswich, when it was released in 1954.

Releasing a CD is a complicated process and Mr Trusler had to get permission from Decca Records, the original label, and obtain a copyright licence to enable him to press the CD. Then he has had to organise artwork and a distribution network.

"It's been very therapeutic. It's kept Brenda in my mind, but given me something else to do," said Mr Trusler.

The CD, priced at £2.95, will be available by mail order, from Virgin Megastore, Cancer Research charity shops and Williams and Griffin in Colchester. He is also planning to release it in Spain, which is where his 68-year-old wife fell ill and was treated in hospital for 12 days.

It will be officially released on November 11 - 50 years to the day since it first went on sale - in a ceremony at Colchester Town Hall, supported by the borough's mayor and mayoress, John and Shelagh Bouckley.

Mr Trusler needs to sell 1,000 copies to break even and £2 from each copy will be donated to Cancer Research.

"We'd love to get it in the charts. We think we are going to have a bestseller this Christmas," said Mr Trusler.

Anyone who would like to help with the CD can contact Mr Trusler on 01206 515280 or through his website at www.santonatale.co.uk.

juliette.maxam@eadt.co.uk