Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Rock the hospice
Fundraiser has star appeal
A musician who has performed on stages around the world with stars including Calvin Harris, Faithless and Groove Armada has launched an online fundraiser featuring star names in support of St Andrew’s Hospice.
David Devine has set up Rock the Hospice on Facebook, which has already collected nearly £9000 for the Airdrie charity – in memory of his sister, Karen Derbyshire, who spent eight months being cared for there.
He is also donating the proceeds from sales of his new single One Last Time, which was written for Karen, to support the hospice at a time when their fundraising income has been impacted by the coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
As well as his online fundraiser coming to the attention of a growing list of famous names, dentist David – who left the music industry to retrain in his new profession, qualifying five years ago – is also being supported with a donation from his bosses at Clyde Munro dental group, for whom he runs their practice in Baillieston.
Guitarist and singer- songwriter David said: “Like many other charities, St Andrew’s Hospice has been feeling the strain on its funds during Covid-19, as 80 per cent of its income comes from fundraisers.
“At a time where you can feel helpless, I wanted to do something positive to give back to a hospice which I hold close to my heart.
“Music is one of the best ways to cheer people up and bring communities together, so I couldn’t think of a better way to start raising money.
“The idea behind Rock the Hospice is that people will record themselves performing a song, post it on our Facebook group, nominate people to take part and then donate what they can on our JustGiving page.
“I was amazed that within the first day of having everything up and running, we had already raised £1000.
“It has the ability to spiral into something much bigger and reach a wide audience, hopefully continuing long into the future.”
David is showing his gratitude to staff at St Andrew’s Hospice after he and his family saw the care and devotion they gave to Karen, who sadly died of breast cancer in December 2017 at the age of just 50.
Karen, who was a cancer nurse at Wishaw General, is survived by husband Lenny and daughter Stephanie, who has since given birth to baby Beck.
And it was the song written in her honour with which her brother began the Rock the Hospice project.
Fellow musicians have since joined in, sharing their own performances and nominations – and David is hoping that some famous names with whom he crossed paths during his previous career will also be joining in.
The guitarist previously spent two years touring with Scots star Calvin Harris after helping to arrange music on the DJ’s debut album, I Created Disco, and went on to rub shoulders with stars as they performed together, touring across Europe and America.
David’s career as a full-time musician included stadium shows, an arena tour with Faithless and Groove Armada and taking to the stage at Glastonbury and T in the Park.
The 40-year-old then left the industry to study dentistry at Glasgow University, beginning his career in 2015 at a practice in Coatbridge before moving on to his current post two years ago.
Now he combines his busy job with pursuing music in his spare time, recording the soon- to- be- released album which includes poignant track One Last Time, from which 99p of each purchase of the single will go directly to St Andrew’s.
He said of the Rock the Hospice lineup: “We’ve confirmed some musicians and TV stars to perform over the next few weeks, so we’d encourage anyone interested in finding out more to join the Facebook page to be among the first to know who they are.”
One of the first nominees to share a performance on the fundraising site is Pennyworth and former River City actor Ryan Fletcher, who concluded his song by nominating singer Paloma Faith and Deacon Blue duo Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh to take part to help St Andrew’s.
Among the first donations to Rock the Hospice was a £500 contribution from David’s employers, who found out about his fundraising efforts as he performed in an online concert for Clyde Munro staff across Scotland.
He added: “Many people see the transition from a full-time musician to dentistry as being really bizarre, but I’ve always been interested in both – and there are actually a lot of similarities in terms of the artistry and creative aspects.
“I’m the only dentist in the practice at Baillieston. I love it and the whole community has really taken me under their wing.
“Clyde Munro made one of the first donations to the hospice when I started fundraising, which I’m really grateful for.”
Dental group founder Jim Hall added: “David recently treated us to one of his original songs on our online concert and his talent is incredible, so I’m sure this fundraising campaign will be a major success, and we were delighted to contribute to help the hospice continue its amazing work during this tough time.”
St Andrew’s deputy head of fundraising, Louise O’Donnell, said: “It’s great David has pulled this together so quickly and we appreciate his efforts – he’s been a big supporter of the hospice over the years.
“We rely on fundraising through our shops and organised nights, so coronavirus has had a major impact on our finances and we’re having to turn to digital means.”
David’s fundraising page is at www. justgiving. com/ fundraising/ rock4thehospice, and Rock the Hospice can be found on Facebook.