NHS staff sang Born Free as they wheeled me out of hospital
Having survived a brush with Covid, legendary lyricist Don Black has written a new song, You Are Loved, in aid of hospices ...and Jason Manford is singing it for him
work better as a duet which is how I I came to sing it with Jason. Not that we were ever in a studio at the same time. In fact, we’ve never met! Clever music producers put our vocals together.”
Says Jason: “I’m very proud of the end result. Gloria sounds gorgeous and Debbie has done an amazing job with the music. I think it’s both poignant and catchy.” Gloria is also keen on its simplicity: “Its message is universal and timeless. And I think the sentiment ‘You Are Loved’ – particularly given what’s happened to the world in the last 18 months – is really important.
“I also very much support the decision of the royalties going to Hospice Aid. I often think that hospices don’t quite get the recognition they deserve and yet what they do is so important. It would take a special person to work there.” Jason agrees. “My dad was a carer for many years when I was a kid and I could see the stress he was under most days. I hope this song helps highlight an often forgotten yet hugely important part of our society.” A spokesman for Hospice Aid was full of praise for the initiative. “What Don Black, Debbie Wiseman, Jason Manford and Gloria Onitiri, along with so many others, have done for Hospice Aid UK is truly amazing. We work tirelessly on behalf of all UK hospices that need our financial support to care for loved ones in their final days. Hospices took a financial battering during the pandemic and some are still on the very edge.
“You Are Loved has been written especially for us and all sales proceeds to the charity will help make a real difference to the future stability of the movement.”
The whole experience has been an inspiration to Jason. “After the year we’ve all had,” he says, “I’ve decided to do three Christmas concerts this December in London, Salford and Nottingham with Joe Stilgoe’s Band to get people in the festive mood. I’m really looking forward to performing an evening of songs.”
Last word to Don Black: “I’m thrilled with the way You Are Loved has turned out,” he says. “My own story could have ended very differently. So, it’s nice to think that out of something bad has come something good.”
●●You Are Loved is out now via streaming sites