Sirona’s Simon Allen and his musician pal Sam Eason are hoping for some Band Aid magic with their single out for World Mental Health Day on October 10.
For Stuart Bruce, who produced the most famous charity single of all time, the Bob Geldof/Midge Ure classic “Do They Know It’s Christmas” over 30 years ago has worked with Simon and Sam to create “More Than That” to mark World Mental Health Day.
Simon is the Social Care strategic lead for Sirona care & health.
Simon, who is singer songwriter with the band, littlemen, with Sam took on the challenge to write and record the single in just six weeks with it going on sale on Friday October 6 from Bandcamp and iTunes for 79p a download. There will be a one-off gig Music in Mind at the Orchard Street Theatre in Bath on October 13 to mark the single’s release too.
Simon said: “Working in health and social care all my life, I know the importance of ensuring mental health is addressed on equal terms to physical health.
“I have also had personal experience of the ups and downs of mental health, the highs of feeling well, the lows of curling up in the foetal position crying my eyes out and not being able to speak to a soul, the anti-depressants and counselling.
“Writing songs with Sam is a way of trying to raise some awareness and lift a little bit more of the lid off the stigma about talking about mental health; song writing is what Sam and I do and we hope, that our words and melody will get people singing and talking.”
“I first met Stuart when he mixed and mastered the debut littlemen album and he is a vast source of musical experience and wisdom. It’s a complete honour to have him get involved with this song.”
The single will be raising money for St Mungo’s, a national charity, which runs a mental health project called Building Bridges in Bath and the Bath Mind project Greenlinks @ The Potting Shed, a peer-led gardening group, near Radstock.
Stuart Bruce said: “The twin issues of homelessness and mental health and how they interrelate are extremely important to me. I have always felt that as a nation we do not pay enough attention to them and so the work of charities such as St Mungo’s and the other projects in Bath is of paramount importance. I am very pleased to be involved in the making of this single and hope it succeeds in raising awareness and much needed funds to help in this incredibly important work.”
Pictured: Simon front, with Robert Brian, left and Andrew Maggs, right, from the six-strong band, littlemen
