The Big Issue - UK (2020-04-30)

CULTURE |

MUSIC &

HEALTH

M

usic has always been a touchstone that we go to at times of

great jubilation and at times of great tribulation. If we’re

in high spirits we can put on music to take us higher. If

we’re feeling low, we’ll put on something that will resonate. I

think music’s role in the middle of all of this is to uplift, is to keep spirits

high, to motivate, to energise, to encourage.

That’s the name of the game with this single, a charity recording of

Lean on Me to raise money for the NHS Relief campaign and mental

health charity You Okay, Doc? It was an idea by two brothers, Dominic

and Alexander Lyon, who have their own entertainment company,

Young Guns. They were constantly hearing sirens from ambulances

before the lockdown even happened, and it occurred to them that while

the entertainment industry had been completely sidelined there were

still things that they could do.

They spoke to a friend of mine called Ben Mitchell, who is a

multi-instrumentalist and producer, and they spoke about recording

the song Lean On Me, with everybody doing their part virtually. My

mum was an NHS nurse, now retired; my sister works at NHS 111. I have

Soul of the nation

Knight is joined by NHS

workers in the video

aunts working in walk-in centres, I’ve got

a couple of uncles who work as registered

nurses for mental health charities. Then

my mum and my brother both got taken

very ill with suspected Covid-19 so it all

became very personal very quickly.

I popped my iPhone on an ironing

board so that it was the perfect height.

I knew I was going to be filming at the

same time so I wanted to make sure that

the lighting looked decent. I did it in

my kitchen, which is lovely and airy

with good acoustics. And that’s what

every single person involved in this

project did – more than 100 artists –

from the violinists to the bassist,

sending material to Ben, who

stitched it together.

Lean on us

More than 100 stars have come together to make a special musical thank

you to the NHS. After Bill Withers’ death it’s also a tribute to the great man.

Singer Beverley Knight explains why she had to be involved

38 | BIGISSUE.COM 3 0 APRIL-06 MAY 2020