Kasabian are covering 'The Snowman's classic anthem, 'Walking In The Air'.

The guitar band are teaming up with Editors and a host of other indie stars to form an alternative ''choir'' and give a rock 'n' roll edge to the Christmas cartoon's signature song, made famous by Aled Jones.

A source told the Daily Mirror newspaper: '''The Snowman' animated film, from which the song comes, is getting a modern twist and there are a lot of beardy blokes, who remember the film from their childhood, who are really keen to get involved. Everybody wants to pay homage to the Yuletide carrot-nosed legend.''

The 1982 animated film - based on Raymond Briggs' book - tells the story of a boy who embarks upon a magical adventure with a snowman, and the classic song was originally performed by choirboy Peter Auty from St Paul's Cathedral.

The tune is going to be given a complete makeover and producers are also hoping to get Noel Gallagher on board, in an attempt to get the track to the Christmas number one slot in the UK singles chart.

The insider added: ''Tom Meighan and Serge Pizzorno from Kasabian were among the first to be asked but the producers hope to rope in the likes of Noel Gallagher and the indie elite, too.

''Nobody wanted to do a straight cover of such a classic song, so it had to be a bit different. This was the only way 'The Snowman' could possibly get any cooler.''