The Fifth Year Without Viola Beach: Friends to Release Charity Cover of ‘Swings & Waterslides’

Friends of Viola Beach to release charity single cover of ‘Swings & Waterslides’ to mark fifth anniversary of the band’s death. The charity single will be released on Friday 12 February 2021.

Viola Beach and their Legacy

Viola Beach was a four-piece indie-rock group from Warrington consisting of Kris Leonard (vocals, guitar), Tomas Lowe (bass), River Reeves (guitar) and Jack Dakin (drums). Viola Beach were that band that was about to BLOW. They were going to be massively successful, and we all knew it. They were in the line to become the UK’s hottest new indie band after the release of their debut single ‘Swings and Waterslides’ on 27 August 2015. Everything was going their way - sold out gigs, national airplay, an album in the works and their first European tour dates booked. 

                                                                    Viola Beach

However, the future was cut short for this band, and unfortunately it has been five years since the band and their manager, Craig Tarry were all tragically killed in a car accident whilst on tour in Sweden in the early hours of 13 February 2016. The Warrington indie-rock four-piece brought about the absolute belter of ‘Swings and Waterslides’ a tune that would be played at every single indie night for years to come. 

Due to it being five years since the band and their managers death, a group of musicians from their hometown of Warrington have come together to record a cover of their fantastic debut single, ‘Swings and Waterslides’ to mark the fifth anniversary of their deaths. All of the revenue from the single’s release will be donated to charities chosen by the families of the band, and hopefully it will also reignite the legacy that Viola Beach had left. The cover of Viola Beach’s single ‘Swings And Waterslides’ is to be released on Friday 12 February 2021.

                                                   

                                                 Viola Beach' Manager: Craig Terry - R.I.P

Shockwaves Through the Nation

When the news got announced; on the radio, in papers, on the TV, it sent shockwaves through the nation. Four young lads and their manager about to make it the big time - ended in an instant. The BBC reports that, “They were killed when their car plunged more than 25m (82ft) from a highway bridge into a canal.” Viola Beach fans created a campaign the week the band passed away to try and get their debut to Number 1, which well-respected and well-known musicians such as Liam Gallagher and The Stone Roses also supported. The track didn’t quite make it to Number 1 but it made it to Number 11 on the UK charts. However, their self-titled debut posthumous album released by Communion Records on 29 July 2016, eventually, and deservingly got its Number 1 on the UK Ablums Charts. Coldplay also paid an emotional tribute to the lads, covering their single ‘Boys That Sing’ while headlining Glastonbury Festival in 2016. 

The Single

The charity cover of 'Swings and Waterslides' is a beautiful rendition of the track, still keeping to its uplifting joyoys tone; there's a variety of different voices both male and female reciting the lyrics to the bands legendery debut single. The instrumental has been perfected to a fine art and this cover really is such a heart-warming tribute to the band. All of the different voices plead the chorus "won't you come home?" - which is heartbreakingly relevant. This charity cover is so well put-together with so many different talented individuals who really pulled it off. Viola Beach would be so proud.

Organisers of the Project

The project was organised by Lee Harman, Editor of [WAM] Magazine, and supported by Viola Beach’s former sound engineer Cal Bate, who both wanted to create a suitable tribute to the band. Together the pair created a band of musicians who have grown from the Viola Beach legacy to record a cover version of ‘Swings And Waterslides’, and all proceeds from the single’s success will be donated to charities of the Viola Beach’s families’ choosing. 

Lee Harman of [WAM] Magazine has said of the project: “Viola Beach left their own legacy despite their short time together. They were the first of a new wave of bands who were proud to be from Warrington, and all the artists involved are honoured to be involved. We should have seen Viola Beach headlining the biggest festivals five years on but despite the pain and sadness getting easier every year, they put Warrington on the map, and we want to show they’re still an important part of the town’s culture.”

Sound Engineer to the band for six months, and now working with Blossoms who had Viola Beach as their tour support, Cal Bate said: "Viola Beach are a huge part of my life, the big stepping stone to my whole career. So to be able to produce a version of one of their songs with amazing musicians from Warrington meant the world to me. I was lucky enough to hear their songs and mix them a lot whilst working with them and they were always songs which you could tell they wrote for people to dance and love forever. The boys’ legacy will live on forever and they left us some beautiful music. They will never be forgotten and they are everything to Warrington and its music scene.”

The single is being released under the name 'Warrington Music'. A music video featuring all of the artists who contributed will also be released. The full line up of contributors to the recording is as follows:

Vocals: Jamie Boyle (The K’s), Joe Banks (The A.V Club), Lucy Bell, Liam Hillyer, Jessica Luise, Calan Nickle (Sienne), Olly Thornton (Uno Mas)

Guitar: Amy Woodall (Crawlers) & Nathan Greenfield (Aligners)

Drums: Chris Peake (Filthy Tricks) 

Bass: Ed Dowling (The Zangwills)

Mix: Cal Bate (Former Viola Beach sound engineer)

Artwork: Cameron Brown

‘Swings And Waterslides’ will be released on Friday 12th February 2021 on iTunes and all streaming platforms. All sales and streaming revenue from the cover version will be donated to charities chosen by the families of Viola Beach.

Speaking with Onyi Moss, from Chartered Accountant to Professional Photographer Turned Singer/Songwriter with EP in the Line-Up

                                                                        Twitter: @mossonyi

A Creative Visionary, I Bring to You - Onyi Moss

Multi-talented, qualified chartered accountant, professional photographer and short-film maker living in Manchester, Onyi Moss has ensued a new creative endeavor into the music industry. Although Onyi released her debut single ‘In Your Eyes’ on 22nd January 2021, she’s not new to creating and writing music. Onyi had written her first song at the mere age of just 12 years old. Having been sent the press release I was eager to learn more about Onyi, and the tale behind the song of ‘In Your Eyes’. During the interview we discuss the inspiration behind her debut single, the songwriting sensation that is Tracy Chapman,  Onyi’s bad experience with religion, her new EP in the works, opening up about a friend who is still missing, and her life path starting from becoming a qualified chartered accountant to becoming unemployed, then securing a job in finance whilst simultaneously ensuing a hobby in photography, soon turned professional photographer and short-film story teller to now entering a career in singer/songwriting. What a ride.

Career Before Music

Onyi has a huge online presence with a whopping 164k Instagram followers and 35k Tik-Tok followers, so her creative risk of changing career paths really paid off, and it gives her a good standing when releasing her music to a large following (that she already has). We delve a bit further into her career before music, Onyi jokes, “I would say that my career is a bit of a funny one.” 

Moss expands, “So my background is in finance - I’m actually a chartered accountant. I used to work for the co-op as a financial accountant - at the co-op bank.” However her creative urges began just before she got the job - whilst unemployed - Onyi expands, “I stumbled upon photography whilst watching one of these reality TV shows, but that was before I got a job; because I was struggling to get a job. After I completed my qualification - so when I was unemployed - I was watching all of these reality TV shows and one came up and it was a show about women who taught themselves photography and they took these amazing pictures and would tell really beautiful stories with them and I said ‘wow! I think I’d like to do that.’ Rather than pay the rent that month, I decided to order a camera and then I started teaching myself photography and before I knew it, I was able to get a job in the bank but I carried on doing photography on the side. Then I started getting brands contact me and ask me to shoot campaigns for them.”

When a hobby that you love could potentially turn into a great career prospect you have to take those opportunities. “Eventually I quit my job at the bank and I set up a creative business where I create content for brands. I do a lot of videos and I try to tell stories with them; make short films if you will. And I realised the music is quite important, and it kind of reconnected me back to my love for music.” 

Onyi expands, “Now I’m 34 and during the lockdown I said ‘oh, you know, since not much is happening now might be a good time to start working on my EP' and that’s how it all came about. And I have booked a studio session with a local producer in Manchester and we’ve just been trying to work on some songs for my EP.”

Inspiration Behind Debut Single ‘In Your Eyes’

I noticed Onyi spoke a lot about story-telling, so it seemed that it was rather important that she had a narrative behind her songs - a story to tell. ‘In Your Eyes’ is an endearing acoustic track with some ominous sentiment to it, it was obvious there was more to it - a deeper narrative than appeared on the surface. When asking Onyi if she agreed, and felt as though a narrative behind her music was important she agrees, “Yes. I feel it’s quite important, like the work I do, I make it quite personal to me. So I would say in my creative work, I would try to describe it as an introspective lifestyle editorial because it’s something that relates to me in my life and my own personal experience and that shaped my view as to the way I see things - so with regards to my music; the song ‘In Your Eyes’ was inspired by loss. It’s basically about the hope that is sometimes found in loss.”

Moss opens up, “Because I had a friend, a close friend at uni, who went missing and we have not found her from up until today, and her parents are still looking for her, of course, but no one’s found her.”

A tragic story lays beneath the surface of ‘In Your Eyes’ but the song was completed through the eyes of someone else’s story, Onyi started writing ‘In Your Eyes’ in March 2016 but explains, “ I was only able to finish off the song last year, so that was when a really close friend of mine had experienced a really tragic loss - so from their own experience I was able to like get the words to finally finish off the song.”

Debut EP in the Line-Up

“I was raised in a religious background and sometimes it would be used to kind of like, guilt you. It was used as some form of control to get you to do something - so I lived with guilt for a very long time.”

With talks of Onyi finding inspiration for her new EP, it would be rude not to question it! So what can be expected? Following her inspiration of Tracy Chapman she wants to continue a reflection of her own personal experiences and key moments of her life through song. 

Onyi says, “I would say the EP would be about key moments in my life that brought about significant changes; so me losing my friend” However she also goes into detail about another track off the EP where she reflects on her bad experiences with religion, sin and the religious lifestyle, “and there’s another one about - so it’s not a gospel song - but I was raised in a religious background and sometimes it would be used to kind of like guilt you. It was used as some form of control to get you to do something - so I lived with guilt for a very long time. I battled with my lifestyle, even though I wasn’t doing anything wrong, but I just constantly felt guilty. So this song is about just coming out of that basically and almost releasing the guilt knowing that, yeah I keep hearing this - but I’m not going to remember it or stick to it. So that’s one aspect.” 

Onyi’s music has a very emotive aspect and really will hit home for some, leading to Onyi’s music being incredibly relatable to a lot of people, “Then there’s another one of me almost finally coming out of a very toxic relationship and being able to let go of someone who wasn’t quite right for me at the time. It’s almost like key moments in my life - yeah.”

Release date of EP

Despite the whole covid lockdown scenario over here in the U.K., Onyi still has hopes to get her debut EP released in 2021, “The way things are going, you know with the lockdown. I’m hoping I can get back into the studio. I would say probably in October? If all goes well. We say aiming for October because I don’t want to release anything around December, because around Christmas, it’ll get lost.”

Music Influences

Interested to know more about her music influences aside from her creative influences Onyi expands,  “I don’t know if you will be familiar with her, but her name is Asa (pronounced: ash-a) she’s a Nigerian singer-songwriter - so same background as me but she’s Nigerian-French so her music is very similar of the style of Tracy Chapman as well so that’s one person I also like. I actually quite like Dido - not many people talk about her these days but I still like her.”

Why Onyi? What’s Different About Onyi Moss?

The music industry can appear to be a carbon copy blueprint of a band from the 90s or a world full of one hit wonders, artist after artist. Longevity and consistency within success is becoming more of a distant memory in the music industry. Those in the music industry want to be refreshed, they don’t want something that is already out there, despite how good you may be - we want something DIFFERENT. This can be a tough question to ask a lot of artists, as they stew on their thoughts for a moment but Onyi was prompt with her answer, quickly saying,  “I would say what’s different is my creative background because it enabled me to use it to tell a better story. I noticed that a lot of artists tend to follow a script, that’s why a lot of songs sound the same even though it’s different songs because they’ve  followed ‘this is the way it needs to be done in order to like sell records’ or something?”

Onyi isn’t concerned about fitting into the confined norm in order to sell records, she continues, “Yes. So I’m not worried about that. I’m an artist who’s willing to experiment. Even my producer says to me “I’ve never seen anyone arrange a song like this.” and I say, “I want to” and “I don’t care if no one’s done it that way and it doesn’t do well, but this is the way I feel like it should be arranged.” A strong business woman and creative vision who knows exactly what she wants and doesn’t want to be shackled by the chains of creative restriction within the music industry, she continues about her being different from other artists,   “And because I’m actually not looking to be signed. I don’t want to be signed. I want to maintain this creative freedom where I create something that I know is true to my soul and who I am because I do not want to conform to what the norm is in a sense. I want to be independently produced, just keep making music and just doing more of what I love.”

What The Next 5 Years Has in Store for Onyi

A lot can happen in five years, heck, a lot can happen in 12 months in the music industry but Onyi has the focus more on her work as to opposed selling millions of hits.  “So in the next five years I do hope that at least I will have two albums out there. And one that allows me to share more of my journey.” Onyi is still yet to perform live as a solo artist but has ambitions to perform in the future, “But what I would like to be able to say is to perform my songs as well, and get to meet people who love my songs too, and just connect on a more intimate level. I would love to do an open show for I don’t know...  maybe Tracy or someone? Maybe I’m going too big!” Dream big Onyi, dream big.

Follow Onyi on Instagram @mossonyi 

Listen to ‘In Your Eyes’ below

Swift Releases ANOTHER Unannounced Album in 2020 - Evermore (Album Review)

Artist: Taylor Swift

Release Date: 11th December 2020

Record Label: Republic 

"I wouldn’t say Evermore was her best album produced, nor would I say that both Evermore and Folklore are her best pieces of work to date, because they simply aren’t."

As if one surprise Taylor Swift album wasn’t enough for 2020, she brings out another! A sister album. Having released the intimate Folklore back in July, she has blessed us with another album in the December, called Evermore. The same people who were involved with the Folklore album have also worked on this project too, such as American indie acts, The National and Bon Iver - which is what makes this album the sister album - very alike with the same roots but one appears to be more mature than the other - that latter being Folklore. 

When it comes to campaigning the album; instead of some big publicity stunt, or a her usual meticulously planned album launch, she instead dropped both albums unexpectedly - with no warning and with less than 24 hours notice. However, with fans like Swifties, the album was sure to be a sell out even without the publicity campaign.

Evermore is an ocean of metaphors, built up on the experience of the past seven albums, including influences from her past self. Metaphorically laced ‘Ivy’ depicts somebody’s shame at falling in love with another despite being married, inciting powerful metaphors: “I can’t stop you putting roots in my dreamland, my house of stone, your ivy grows and now I’m covered in you”. I wouldn’t go as far to say Swift has pushed the boundaries for indie reinvention but I’d definitely say she’s pushed the boundaries for herself. Evermore is an inspired concoction of influences from her previous pieces of work, for example you hear bits of 1989 and RED influences in songs like ‘Tolerate it (E)’, ‘Gold Rush’ and ‘Long Story Short’ which harbour that folklorian sound with a hint of the ‘80s-inspired synth-pop that endured through her 2014, ‘1989’ album.

Opening track love song,‘Willow’ is one of the catchy standouts off the album, with it’s ringing chorus - “ I’m begging for you to take my hand, wreck my plans, that’s my man”. Another catchy favourite would have to be 'Long Story Short' too. Amongst the album standouts is also, ’No Body, No Crime’ ft HAIM. It’s a third person country murder mystery revenge story about a woman who finds out her husband is having an affair, and she meets her friend and tells them she thinks he’s been unfaithful due to cheques and receipts she’s picked up on clues. She can’t prove he’s had an affair so (presumably) she kills him and the police later think she killed him but can’t prove it. “I think he did it but I just can’t prove it”/ “they think she did it but they just can’t prove it.” An emphasis on the repetition later on down in the track to reiterate the meaning behind the story being told throughout the song.

However the whole album isn’t fictional, there are some true personal moments, too – see ‘Marjorie’, a song about Swift’s opera singing grandmother Marjorie Finlay, and the wisdom she handed down to her. “Never be so kind you forget to be clever. Never be so clever you forget to be kind.” Lyrically this is one of my favourite songs off this album, purely because of how close to home it hits. The meaning and sentiment behind it is just so precious, “Never be so polite you forget your power, never wield such power you forget to be polite.” Some real life lessons there taught by Aunt Marj - RIP.

‘Coney Island’ ft The National I found to be a complimentary duet, however the duet with Bon Iver on closing title track ‘Evermore’ I think isn’t as flattering. I find the stark contrast between Bon Iver and Taylor Swift’s voice doesn’t compliment one another as well in this track as I’d have hoped - especially considering how much I rate their duet of ‘Exile’ off the Folklore album. 'Evermore' is a comforting track about the uncertainties that presented themselves in the midst of Covid, “Grey November, I’ve been down since July” but the song ends on a high note assuring that the pain won’t last forever,  “And I couldn’t be sure, I had a feeling so peculiar that this pain wouldn’t be for evermore.” Ending on an uplifting note as we see positivity and a light ahead amidst the covid control and a possibility we will get out of this mess.

I wouldn’t say Evermore was her best album produced, nor would I say that both Evermore and Folklore are her best pieces of work to date, because they simply aren’t. Both of these albums seemed rather experimental to me, as they’re obviously quite different to both her older and more recent work. Lyrically, the songs execute wonderful narratives and the songwriting on both of the albums is some of the best work Swift has done. The Evermore album is more about the songwriting than the songs themselves. Taylor has moved from country, to pop, and now she’s finding her country roots and combining them with indie-folk to create more focus on the lyrics than on the tune itself. A great example of this would be the HAIM feature - ‘No Body, No Crime'. However, this album definitly isn't BAD and I guess you can still call me ... a Swifty.

8/10

Interview with Sean Simmons as he Releases Last Solo EP (and it’s acoustic!)

 

Coming from Greenwich, South East London is singer/songwriter Sean Simmons.

Reaching number 8 in the singer/songwriter charts was ‘Don’t 079 Me’ which surprisingly, Simmons dislikes. The new EP to be brought out will be called ‘1992’ after his birth year and will contain five acoustic tracks; three which have already been released, and two which are completely unheard demos.

However, this EP isn’t a step into an acoustic career, this is a sign off from a solo career as Simmons has started a new project called ‘Simmons and the Stags’, which will moving away from the solo side of things into rocking out with a band. The move is a bold one but Simmons thinks it’s also the right one, plus, he wants to get playing festivals and he thinks bands stand more of a chance than solo artists. Moving from solo to band, you think perhaps it’s going to be the classic frontman with an instrument band but Simmons has aspirations for this to really have a family vibe. Not any Bruno Mars - look like a solo artist - but you’re not bollox. Yes, that’s right - Bruno Mars (and the Hooligans) is actually a band - not just a person.

Being one of ten, and the youngest of the ten, Simmons knows exactly what it’s like to constantly have a big family around you, and I feel as though going in the direction of working in a band can help reignite your confidence knowing you have other people to rely on and work with, but of course this can always go two ways. Simmons is a one-man band to some extent; he’s a talented multi instrumentalist who can play; the guitar, bass, piano and ukulele. All of the instruments on the EP have been played by Simmons and it’s all been produced and promoted by Simmons - completely DIY style - one of his favourite things about this EP (that it’s all DIY).

The inspiration behind the tracks varies and so does the style. The EP aims to explore the stripped back version of his music, which is why he’s made the EP acoustic. The tracklist goes as followed; 1. Hollywood Smile, 2. It’s Over, 3. Loveable, 4. Fairytales and 5. Shine For You. The guitar in Shine For You is the only time Simmons doesn’t play an instrument in the whole EP - every other time - everything you’re listening to is Simmons. Track 5. Shine For You was actually considered to be a song for The Stags, as guitarist of The Stags, Tom Parry, played on this track. 

When asked why he wanted to release the EP, Simmons answer was fairly simple, “I just wanted to release something!” Plus he wanted to release a piece of work before he started fully in the band and could leave his solo career on a high note. Within the band Simmons will be lead singer and multi instrumentalist, but mainly vocals. 

Moving from solo to band can be quite a change though as Simmons says, “All of it is DIY. No marketing or production done by anybody else, this is a complete Sean Simmons. If it does well - I’ll take all of the credit and if it doesn’t do well - I’ll learn from it.” There’s only one person to rely on when you’re a DIY solo artist, but things can be a lot more different in bands - the possibility of more exposure is there - but control and power over decisions is less.

The 1992 EP will be out on Monday 30th of November - available to stream on all major platforms. Pre save link here.

Instagram: @seansimmons

Wide Awake and Dilated - The Dead Freights Release New Indie Disco Anthem 'Stray Dogs' (Single Review)

Band: The Dead Freights

Track: Stray Dogs

Release Date: 30th October 2020

Record Label: Mi7 Records 

Wide awake like a freight train in the night, lead singer Charlie James styles out the new Dead Freights tune surrounded by fire in music video for ‘Stray Dogs’ released 22nd October. The track will be available to officially stream on Friday 30th October on all major platforms. The Dead Freights are a renowned rock'n'roll band on the Southampton music scene, and all for good reason. They have style, charisma, charm and the tunes to match - ‘Stray Dogs’ is no exception.

This track gets me gassed! In fact, ‘Stray Dogs’ is probably their best yet. A filthy tune packed with alt-disco guitar riffs and spoken word, filled with clarity from the off-set, all the way through. Lead singer Charlie James opens with the captivating line of “see if I care, or give a fuck.” - which is my attitude towards 90% of things in life - so they got my attention immediatly. 

The chorus makes this track such a classic indie disco banger, “This wired mind of mine, that you roll like a dice. Wide awake and dilated, afraid of all the time it’s taking up.” With its punchy gutiar riffs, accelerating drums, and narcotic-based lyrics it really is everything an indie dancefloor anthem is made of. 

The poetic imagery created via the lyrics is also incredibly visual which is to be expected from a band like The Dead Freights - a quartet of poetical and musically gifted geniuses. I could definitely picture this track being the intro for a cool new TV series - it reminds me a bit of the Misfits opening track - ‘Echoes’ by The Rapture in that sense. The Dead Freights are a real force to be reckoned with, especially since the release of this complete and utter anthem. An absolutely dirty tune that got me hooked from the first line. I can’t wait to see what else they have stored in the pipeline for the future. 

Watch The Dead Freights ‘Stray Dogs’ music video here:

Dead Freights Social Media Channels: Facebook/ Twitter/ Instagram/ YouTube/ Spotify/ Official Website

Duffy - The Loss of a Living Star

Why did she leave the spotlight? The heartbreaking truth behind Grammy award winning Welsh singer Duffy.

Duffy’s debut album Rockferry (2008) was the first CD I was ever bought, at the age of 11. I loved it that much, I went on to perform a rendition of ‘Mercy’ in a talent competition the same year. I think you always have certain artists you just instantaneously click with and connect to, Duffy has always been one of those for me. She really is a prodigy, her second album Endlessly (2010) was supposedly written in three weeks… three weeks for an entire album?! Although Endlessly didn’t hit off as much as her debut studio album, it still made the cut for the top 10 in the UK, Denmark, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland. Endlessly has also been certified gold in four European countries including in the UK. Not to mention the huge success of her debut - Duffy was doing fairly well for herself to say the least.

Now for those that haven’t heard recent news about Duffy, she’s been through a lot. By a lot, I mean - she’s been raped, drugged, kidnapped, stalked and threatened to be killed - to the point she has had to go completely off-grid and move house five times due to her attacker finding her and continuing to place threats. She even reached a point where she was researching into changing her name and starting a new life elsewhere as someone else. Police are now involved, however there doesn’t seem to be much of an update on the case. Duffy had come out of hiding a few months ago and created a website whereby she felt the need to share her experiences after ten years of silence and isolation to help others understand and appreciate why she seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth without a word. 

Duffy often gets related to Amy Winehouse in her sound, because she has that distinctive soulful twang. Think how big Amy made it, and if Duffy had kept going, how big would she have made it? Her debut album Rockferry (2008) had four huge singles on it, 'Rockferry', 'Mercy', 'Warwick Avenue', and 'Rain on Your Parade' - the album was a humongous success. In fact, the album was that much of a success it went on to be the best-selling album of 2008 in the UK. We had another British female superstar in the line up, who was soon snatched away from the industry and from herself.

On 5th April 2020, Duffy created a website for her story to be read and shared on duffywords.com where she opens up about her endured trauma, “For me, in these hours, I recall the words of Maya Angelou who once said “there is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you”, and I share mine with you today.” There’s no sugar coating it, it is a hard story to read, so if you’re not in the best head space - I wouldn’t recommend it. 

Anyone that’s been through trauma, especially the extent of trauma that Duffy endured will know it’s hard to speak out about it, and often you think you’ve done something to deserve it, or that your life will be at risk. In her article she states, “And as I grieved what 'I must have done to invite this into my life', I read something that said, “in the end, it’s never between them and you, it’s always between them and God”. That helped me a lot in the absence of justice.”

The fact that this person has not only ruined her career but literally ruined Duffy’s entire livelihood, living in fear of the next day and what could (potentially) happen. Her thoughts are now swarmed with severe anxiety and paranoia and her escape (music) she no longer relies on. Duffy announced she won’t be releasing any music soon and she just came out of hiding to announce her story, and explain why she’s been gone for so long. 

It’s scary how celebrities can drop off the radar and no one thinks anything of it. Her friends and family didn’t even know. There’s a lot of unanswered questions regarding the drugging and kidnap, but they aren’t what is important. What’s important is that Duffy is now safe, accepting help, going through recovery and hopefully putting herself back together again - piece by piece. Making music seems to be incredibly off the cards for the near future for Duffy, however she hasn’t written it off completely. 

A whim of joy rushed over me when I watched the Kray twins film ‘Legend’(2015) featuring Tom Hardy and heard Duffy’s wonderful distinctive voice. I knew it was her. I googled the cast, and you betcha - it was Duffy. This installed some hope in me that maybe she’s just had a mere hiatus in her career, possibly had a child? And that she’s coming back - soon. But, that wasn’t the case. Silence again, until she announced the news of her incredibly devastating story. 

What right does that person have to completely destroy another person, especially someone who has so much ahead of them and such a great future. Who would have loved to see Amy and Duffy duet together? I would have. Who would’ve loved to see her live, supporting or headlining? She could’ve been rolling in money, reveling in adoration, but instead she resides in complete seclusion and isolation as she aims to hide from those that hurt and tortured her. Duffy was trafficked, drugged, and physically, sexually, and mentally abused by an unknown perpetrator - if this can happen to someone as big as Duffy without anyone batting an eyelid? How many other people have experienced this sort of thing and kept it to themselves, suffering in silence?

She wasn’t cancelled, she didn’t get in any conflict with her record label, she was selling thousands of records, breaking through into mainstream pop and then just like that.. Poof! She vanished. No one questions it. No journalists. Nothing. It’s like she was just a one hit wonder that failed to make it. That couldn’t be further from the truth. 

We lost someone who’s still alive, even right now. That’s the worst way to lose someone, it’s like having a relative with dementia in a way, they’re here but they’re not. Duffy is such a talent and such an amazing, beautiful woman and it truly breaks my heart to know she’s experienced what she has and she feels as though she can’t ever bounce back to her old self, and live her past life before the attack. 

On June 18th she posted a track on her Instagram (her only post) called ‘River in the Sky’ which she says is “For Better Days to Come” and that appears to be the last music we will hear from Duffy for the foreseeable future. It seems as though Duffy has found comfort in the world’s current situation and despite what she’s been through, she can sympathise with the rest of the world and the struggles they’re going through due to what’s going on at the moment. Duffy has seemed to have found solace in opening up about her trauma, and says at the end of the article - “I can now leave this decade behind. Where the past belongs. Hopefully no more “what happened to Duffy" questions, now you know… and I am free.”

Duffy, wherever you are - you are so loved and you will forever be missed. I await upon your return, but I know that isn’t inevitable. I hope you are keeping well and despite it all, keeping your head above the clouds. One day at a time. X

Duffy - the loss of a living star

Ian Brown - 'F.E.A.R' Released On This Day 2001

‘F.E.A.R.’ is the first single from Ian Brown's third solo album, Music of the Spheres. Released on 17th Sept. 2001 - 19 years ago today. The track placed No.13 on the UK Singles Chart and was both a commercial and critical success.

For those who don’t already know, Ian Brown is the ex-frontman of the legendary Mancunian alt-rock band The Stone Roses. After their breakup in 1996, Ian went solo and released his first album Unfinished Monkey Business in 1998. For his third studio album, Music of the Spheres, Brown sought outside production help for the first time. He also toured the US for the first time as a solo artist in support of the album.

The main track off Music of the Spheres is ‘F.E.A.R’. Having been used to the DIY techniques of the 80s and 90s, things had changed by 2001. Brown clocked on to the change allowing him to simply roll with it, he hired songwriter and producer Dave McCracken to help collaborate with him on the album instead of doing it all by himself like his previous work. However, besides getting some help on the music front, F.E.A.R also became Brown’s directorial debut.  It featured footage of the singer slowly riding a bicycle through the busy streets of Soho and Chinatown in London, which was then reversed to give the impression of being ridden backwards. The route followed was from Berwick Street to Gerrard Street.

F.E.A.R was such a success because it displayed Brown’s capabilities and talents as a songwriter - proving his intricate genius. The song would also go on to spell F.E.A.R in every stanza. For example, “[F]or [E]veryman [A] [R]eligion” / “ [F]or [E]verything [A] [R]eason” - the whole song continues in this manner, and each verse forms the acrostic "F.E.A.R."

“Fantastic expectations, amazing revelations. Finding everything and realizing, for everything a reason.”

In an interview with Clash Magazine, Brown indicated that a main influence for ‘F.E.A.R.’ was The Autobiography of Malcolm X, which preached the study of etymology, so that one could have control over people through the use of language."I just found it a better way to amuse myself in a hotel room than watching the porn channel," Brown recalls.  Brown then proceeded to create hundreds of mnemonics from the word "fear".

The lyrical genius that is Ian Brown never ceases to amaze me - he just makes you think on that extra level, every time. Although he’s had some great solo tunes such as, ‘My Star’ (1998), ‘Dolphins Were Monkeys’(1999) and ‘Stellify’ (2009) - F.E.A.R is definitely his best (solo track) so far. Happy anniversary to F.E.A.R - 19 years old today! What a record.