New single captures the mood of our times
Bristol-based singer Elles Bailey is hoping her Crawley and Shoreham dates this October and November will actually happen. But as she says: “You just can’t possibly know.”
In the meantime, she is rereleasing a song from three years ago, a song which has suddenly got endless new meaning in these difficult days. Called Help Somebody, the single will be out at the end of May, raising funds for Help Them Help Us, a charity which aims to support the welfare and wellbeing of NHS staff as they fight COVID-19. “It was written in 2017 when I was in America, but since then we have seen such an incredible outpouring of kindness.” Elles wrote the song at a time when there was a hurricane, when the Syrian refugee crisis seemed to be at its worst and when there were fires in the western states of America. “You switched on the news and you really felt the chaos of the world at the time but also you could see just how much people were helping and just how much we can all help by being the best person we can possibly be. “The song was on my last album, but this just seemed a really good time to re-release it. It just reflects how many people have stepped up and are helping their neighbours now and are being so kind, helping so many people in isolation. “It has been really beautiful. I think that has been a silver lining that has come out of this crisis.” And it strikes a particular chord with Elles. “When I was two or three, I spent a lot of time in hospital with a mystery virus, and I got the last ventilator.
“I spent my birthday in a coma, and the anniversary was this March time. It always comes around in March and I think how lucky I am to still be here. “But this year, with the whole coronavirus thing going on, it just really hit me that I got the last ventilator at Southmead Hospital. I got the best care. I got the best treatment.” Ahead of Help Somebody, Elles has released the new single Woman Like Me, on the label Outlaw Music “Woman Like Me was written with my long-term touring guitarist Joe Wilkins and my good friend Tamara Stewart. “The song is about being a confident, independent woman and about being comfortable in your own skin. “Yes, there is a man in the story, but this song is most certainly about the woman! I aspire to be this woman: to break away from the torments of my own mind and society’s idea of how a woman should be. “It was recorded with my touring band as part of the Blacktop Companion sessions when we had 20 minutes to spare at the end of the session. “Everything was done live and the only thing we added was to bring in Tania Hancheroff on background vocals to add some extra sparkle.” Since then, of course, everything has changed. Elles has had to postpone her spring tour to the autumn: “Everything feels quite complicated at the moment. You just don’t know if things are going to happen. I was on tour at the time. “We got home from a stint away and even on my last show, it just didn’t feel right to be touring. “It was about a week before the government advised people not to go to pubs or clubs, but I just didn’t want any of my fans to get ill.”