In a monumental effort to support a charity struggling through lockdown, a Kent and London based group of musicians, singers and dancers join forces to produce a hit song and music video for Beads of Courage UK – a family based charity supporting children with cancer and other life limiting illnesses.
The anthemic and upbeat new single entitled ‘Beads Of Courage’, is out now on all streaming platforms and features one of the last ever performances by the late Brian Travers – one of the founding members of UB40 – who sadly succumbed to cancer treatment in August 2021, shortly after helping make this song.
The truly moving music video features a dream sequence of a Beads of Courage Child Yasmin Howes, aged 10. Watch it here.
Every year in the UK, approximately 4500 children will be diagnosed with cancer. They face their disease and treatments with bravery. Beads of Courage UK help children to own, record and tell the story of their treatment journey by giving different beads for each treatment,
In July 2020, Chairman of Beads of Courage UK, initiated the project with the help of Mark Kent, Warden at Eternal Lake Nature Reserve, where the music video was filmed. Mark originated the idea of making a song for the charity, to raise both awareness and funds damaged by the lockdown.
Mark says, “Dealing with such a powerful and emotive subject, the feelings are so powerfully expressed in music. I immediately drafted in BAFTA Award-winning artist and friend, Blair Jollands to write and arrange the song. He beautifully captured the spiritual and uplifting vibe of the track”
Mark continues, “Brian Travers was introduced to the Charity and the music project, who swiftly put the work to the top of a long list of ongoing projects. His son Jamie Travers recorded the contemporary counter melodies played beautifully by Brian. He was so inspired about this project, his spirit is in the music. He did an amazing job, we loved him, we will miss him. This project has had a spirit energy behind it from the beginning and the true essence came together with the music and the lyrics.”
Bead of Courage was arranged by Blair Jollands and the lyrics were written by Mark Kent, Blair Jollands and John Drummond. Lead vocals are sung by Lifford Shillingford (Golden Buzzer Winner Britain Got Talent and Artful Dodger) and the backing vocals by 35 members of Medway based choirs – The Rochester Singers, The Peninsula Singers and The Marshall Singers.
The bluesy lead guitar parts were recorded by Adam Chetwood, an accomplished Kent based professional guitarist. The music video includes Kent based Wish Upon a Pony, Xtreme Dance Academy, Ellie Hunter and Hannah Knowlton (Gongs and Crystal Bowls) and the Traditional Chinese Martial Arts Institute who all participated in the creation of the story of the music video.
Yasmin was diagnosed with OsteoSarcoma in February 2020. Her dream takes her on a fantastic adventure which beautifully captivates the imagination of a child and is centred around the giving of a bead, the beauty and magic of nature and the power of the human spirit.
“Beads of courage is such a fundamental part of Yasmin’s treatment. To help the charity continue its fantastic work and support other children was such an honour and privilege for the whole family”, says Louise Howes, Yasmin’s Mum.
If you would like to help the charity, please like and share the video and make a donation to the charity using this link:
www.justgiving.com/fundraising/beats4beads