Family aim for Christmas No1 with tribute to medics
THREE GENERATIONS ON SONG
THREE generations of a Derbyshire family have launched their bid to be Christmas number one with the release of their charity single for the doctors who helped pioneer genetic services.
Wendy Watson, daughter Becky Measures and granddaughter EvaMay, all from Chesterfield, recorded the single “Thankyou (It’s because of you)” at Steelworks Studios Sheffield, thanking all the doctors who believed Wendy that breast cancer could harbour a hereditary gene, something which has now changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of women.
That was 25 years ago when Ms Watson launched the National Hereditary Breast Cancer Helpline (NHBCH).
To mark the quarter-century of the helpline and by way of saying thank you to those doctors, her daughter, Becky Measures, put pen to paper along with acclaimed music producer Scott Ford, to come up with the lyrics for “Thankyou (It’s because of you)”. “Becky gave me the words she had written; I wrote the arrangement and restructured the lyrics slightly to structure the song,” said Scott.
“I’ve worked with Becky before on previous musical endeavours and we have a great rapport, so it was an honour to get involved. “I wrote the piano piece in
Waterloo station, actually, on their piano. It was a moment of pure inspiration and I feel it is a beautiful piece to have composed.”
The charity single was premiered at the sold-out NHBCH 25th anniversary ball at the Technique Stadium in Chesterfield on Saturday, November 13 and has now been released for people to download as it bids to beat a host of others to the iconic Christmas number one spot.
Doctor Julian Barwell, consultant in clinical genetics, said: “The NHBCH is an invaluable service to the community. It is clear that the helpline has directly helped many thousands of women in the UK
and indirectly – many hundreds of thousands throughout Europe – keeping families together for longer.
“The helpline has been built over the past 25 years around the triad of Wendy’s vision, Becky’s infectious positivity and enthusiasm and Professor Gareth Evans’ conviction and unsurpassed expertise in hereditary breast cancer.
“The hope of the NHBCH is epitomised through this charity single – science keeps us alive long enough to express ourselves through the arts.”
The Christmas number one is due to be announced on Christmas Eve on BBC Radio 1.
Becky gave me the words she had written; I wrote the arrangement.
Scott Ford