Pop stars release song to raise funds for London fire victims
LONDON: Some of the biggest names in British music, including Stormzy, Robbie Williams and The Who, released a charity single on Wednesday to raise funds for people affected by the fire at a tower block in west London.
The song, a cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, also features performances from Leona Lewis, James Blunt and a large choir made up of local people, some of whom survived the blaze.
A total of 79 people died in the fire, which swept through the 24-storey Grenfell tower on June 14th. Many people are still unaccounted for and authorities have suggested that the death toll will continue to rise as rescue workers continue to search.
The single is an initiative of pop impresario and TV talent show judge Simon Cowell.
In a departure from the original version of the song, Cowell’s version opens with grime artiste Stormzy rapping: “Yeah. I don’t know where to begin so I will start by saying I refuse to forget you.
“I refuse to be silenced. I refuse to neglect you. That’s for every last soul up in Grenfell even though I’ve never even met you.
“That could have been my mum’s house or that could have been my nephew. That could have been me up there waiving my white plain tee up there with my friends on the ground trying to see up there.
“I just hope that you rest and are free up there. I can’t feel your pain but I see what it is. I went to the block just to chill with the kids. When troubled waters coming running past I’m gonna be right there...”
James Blunt then chimes in with the original lyrics to the Simon & Garfunkel classic followed by Emeli Sande and Bastille.
Paloma Faith has a line, but Sande has the biggest part in the song and reappears throughout.
James Arthur and Ella Eyre then sing their dramatic parts, before the star-studded contributors, which includes Williams, Leona Lewis, Rita Ora, Craig David, The Who’s Roger Daltrey, The Libertines’ Carl Barat, Matt Terry, Stereophonics frontman Kelly Jones, Louisa Johnson, Gareth Malone, Geri Horner and Jessie J among many more, perform the climatic chorus.
They collectively sing: “Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down.”
And Sande finished off the 3.54 track repeating the poignant words.
Instrumentation is provided by ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ winner Tokio Myers, The Who guitarist Pete Townshend, Nile Rodgers and Queen’s Brian May.
Reaction to the song on social media was generally positive, with Twitter user Sarah Styles saying the song was “absolutely beautiful”, while user Amy Elizabeth said the song left her “covered in goosebumps”.
The song was made available for sale and radio play on Wednesday and Cowell tweeted that a video would premiere on British television that evening. All proceeds from the song are to go to the London Community Foundation. Meanwhile, Williams felt it was “really important” for him to record the charity single.
Though Williams is in the midst of his tour, he felt it was important for him to be there and lend his voice.
His wife Ayda Field shared: “It was really important for him to be involved, he came in and he recorded it on Monday. It’s an amazing feat that all these artistes came together to do this. It’s a worthwhile cause and I hope everyone buys (the single)” — Reuters/BANG Showbiz