Musicians from across the Chester, North Wales and North West live music scene have come together to produce an album during the coronavirus lock-down to raise much needed funds for a charity which supports Nurses and other healthcare professionals in times of hardship.
Described as “a carefully crafted collection of contemporary classics with a few welcomed curve balls thrown in for good measure.” and “a gift to the City from its thriving music scene,” the album entitled Covered-19, is the brainchild of Chester based musician and blogger Dan Schott and follows on the from the recent launch of a cover version of Summer- The First Time with Startripper bandmate Vince Cory which set out to raise funds for The Cavell Nurses’s Trust, a nationwide charity which helps nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants in times of need.
Dan, of Chester music themed blog and Twitter account Schottslist said: “Vince and I released our cover track in aid of the charity but then having seen various mates from the local music scene posting some mind-blowing tracks on social media as the lock-down continues, I decided to put a call out for tracks to make up an album and I have been staggered by the response. We now have a total of 22 tracks which include covers, some original songs and a poem.
Musicians from the Chester, North Wales and North West live music scene have all given their time freely to lay down tracks for the album in their own homes during the lock-down with Dan taking on mixing and mastering duties from his home in Chester. The project has received backing and sponsosrhip from Wallasey based business The Safety Centre Ltd so that following the launch of the downloadable version, a CD of the album will be available soon.
Tracks have been recorded for the album by local bands and solo artists including Dan own’s band Startripper, Guy Bengree, Tim Chapman, Paul”Winky”Williams, Will Riding, Jim Paul, David Watson, The There or Thereabouts Brigade, Jackson Williams, Edd Case, Andy Hignett, Dai Banjo, The Modern Society, Paul Michael and Vince Cory, Berni Lee, Pair Of Sixes, Sophie Wilson, The Last Clouds, Jonny Daniel and Katie Deyes, Steve Jones, Jonny Sax and @Shitchester. Artwork for the cover has been specially designed by local artist Dai Owen.
Speaking about the motivation for the project Dan said, “It’s our way of giving something back and to hopefully raise a few quid for The Cavell Nurses’ Trust, a charity which helps nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants, both working and retired, when they’re suffering personal or financial hardship which is often due to illness, disability, older age and domestic abuse. They rely on amazing fundraisers, donors, members and sponsors to ensure nurses in need have somewhere to turn in their hour of need.”
Dan has been overwhelmed by the response to the appeal for friends from across the local music scene to get involved, “It’s been very humbling to be able to be involved in this project and an a heart-warmingly positive experience behind the scenes, togetherness in isolation. Everyone has come together to give a gift to the City from its thriving music scene with some interpretations of some of their favourite songs in the name of love, hope and the community. The expression ‘Team Effort’ gets banded about very easy in 2020 but I genuinely hope everyone involved in this feels as important as anyone else in putting it together.”
“As with the download of the our original track, we’re asking that if people like what they hear that they might very kindly, if they can afford it, give a quid or two to this amazing charity at this time of national crisis when downloading the album by making a donation via schottslist on the bandcamp website. The CD version will be available soon, in exchange of proof of a donation to the Cavell Nurses’ Trust.”
Full details of the artists and tracks featured on Covered -19 together with a link to the download can be found at http://www.schottslist.bandcamp.com
The Chester blog 