Tackling some big issues
Monsters among us
SINGER OPENS UP ABOUT DEPRESSION IN HARD-HITTING NEW SINGLE AND ITS EMOTIONAL VIDEO, WRITES SIMON DUKE
AS he sees songs he’s written pitched to some massive names in the music world, Jamie Lee Harrison is turning the spotlight back on himself with his emotionally charged new single and its equally compelling accompanying video.
Reflection draws on the very serious and ever growing issue of depression and suicide in young men, and Jamie admits that it was the song that drew on his own experiences.
Thankfully, after a great year which has so far seen him reach the semi finals of Britain’s Got Talent, perform to huge crowds at events like South Tyneside Festival and travel to Sweden to work with some top songwriters, he is doing rather well, but feels it’s an important topic to draw attention to.
“I was shocked to find out that biggest killer in men under the age of 45 is suicide,” he told the Chronicle.
“I’ve battled depression and I know people who are going through it now but they feel ashamed to talk about it or seek help.
“There’s a scene in the video when the lead actor seems fine when he’s out with his friends but breaks down as soon as he gets home. People often let all their struggles out behind closed doors but put a brave face on in front of others.
“I wrote the song with my friend Lucy Spraggan (former X Factor star) and it was a very emotional process and I think people were a bit taken aback after they heard the song and watched the video and I told them it was about something I went through.”
The day before Reflection was released Jamie headed to London after being invited to attend a songwriting workshop tasked with coming up with a song to represent the UK in Eurovision next year.
And with his song one of the two submitted for potential selection, he’s keeping everything crossed the world will soon hear his lyrics.
“We were put into groups and the one we came up with was chosen,” he explained.
“To have a song in Eurovision would be amazing, it’s watched by hundreds of million of people worldwide.
“I feel like at the moment I’m enjoying the best of both worlds. At the weekend I’m performing and I’m still working on my songs for my own album which should hopefully be out soon, but I’m also working with some great people on writing for some really big stars too.
“A few of my songs have been pitched to some really big people. I’d love them to be chosen. It might be one day soon it might still be quite a way off but I just feel really lucky that I’m getting to work with people who have written for people like Celine Dion and Anastacia.”
■ Reflection is out now on iTunes and Spotify
DINOSAURS WILL RULE THE WORLD NEXT YEAR WHEN A SPECTACULAR PRODUCTION COMES TO TOWN. BY SIMON DUKE
IT’S been a good time to be a dinosaur fan in Newcastle with Dino Jaws at Centre for Life and Jurassic Kingdom in Leazes Park and now there’s another reason for them to roar with excitement.
Dinosaurs will once again roam international soil when the globally-acclaimed production - Walking With Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular, based on the award-winning BBC Television Series, returns in 2018, starring Michaela Strachan as ‘Huxley’ the paleontologist.
Seen by over nine million people in more than 250 cities around the world, Walking With Dinosaurs The Arena Spectacular is back on the road and opening its world tour at Newcastle’s Metro Radio Arena in July next year.
The £20million production features new state-ofthe-art technology, underlining its position as the biggest and best dinosaur show in the world. This updated production will showcase spectacular and colourful changes to the dinosaurs based on the latest scientific research including the likely feathering of some species.
The 1 hour 40minute show depicts the dinosaurs’ evolution with almost cinematic realism. Walking With Dinosaurs has scenes of the interactions between dinosaurs, how carnivorous dinosaurs evolved to walk on two legs, and how the herbivores fended off their more agile predators.
Nine species are represented from the entire 200million-year reign of the dinosaurs. The show includes the Tyrannosaurus Rex, the terror of the ancient terrain, as well as the Plateosaurus and Liliensternus from the Triassic period, the Stegosaurus and Allosaurus from the Jurassic period and Torosaurus and Utahraptor from the awesome Cretaceous period.
The largest of them, the Brachiosaurus, is 11 metres tall and 17 metres from nose to tail. It took a team of 50 - including engineers, fabricators, skin-makers, artists and painters, and animatronic experts - a year to build the production.
The history of the world is played out with the splitting of the earth’s continents, and the transition from the arid desert of the Triassic period to the lush green prairies and forces of the later Jurassic.
Oceans form, volcanoes erupt, a forest catches fire – all leading to the impact of the massive comet, which struck the earth, and forced the extinction of the dinosaurs.
It is the must-see live arena experience for audiences of all ages, so book your tickets now… before they become extinct!
There are shows in Newcastle next year on Friday, July 20 at 7pm, Saturday 21 at 11am, 3pm and 7pm and Sunday 22 at 11am, 3pm and 7pm. Michaela Strachan will appear at all performances with the exception of 11am shows.
Tickets will go on sale 10am Friday, November 3 and are available online from Ticketmaster and Eventim, from the booking hotline number 0844 493 6666 or in person from the Metro Radio Arena Box Office.