NHS nurse’s photos from the front line during pandemic inspire album
Actress and singer Jessie Buckley is among those who have recorded songs based on the images.
Squeeze frontman Chris Difford has curated an album inspired by the photography of a nurse working on the front line during the coronavirus pandemic.
Hannah Grace Deller, a paediatric matron at Imperial College NHS Trust, has documented her and her colleagues’ experiences inside the health service.
Titled The Song Club, proceeds from the album will go to the Royal College of Nursing Foundation’s Covid-19 support fund.
Bafta-nominated actress and singer Jessie Buckley and her band Jessie And The Leonards feature on the first single, Working On The Frontline, which is out now.
The track was written by Kate St John and Neill MacColl.
Difford recruited names including Nick Heyward, 10cc member Graham Gouldman, country music star Beth Nielsen Chapman, Mark Nevin and Julia Fordham for the project.
He said: “I first saw Hannah’s photography on Grayson Perry’s Channel 4 programme Art Club.
“Lockdown provided some great TV moments and this was one of them. Inspired by her work I asked all of my co-writing chums to use her photographs as inspiration for songwriting.
“Together we have created a body of work to raise funds for the frontline workers, it has been so inspiring to hear the results.”
Ms Grace Deller said: “I hope that the voices of all the unsung heroes, their efforts and sacrifices are heard in this music.
“For me this record is a thank you to all my colleagues on the front line, from the porters and domestics, to the doctors and nurses, I’ll never forget how we all stood side by side on the front line fighting this illness together.”
RCN Foundation director Deepa Korea said: “We are incredibly grateful to Chris, Hannah and everyone involved in the Song Club album project – donations to the RCN Foundation Covid-19 Support Fund will make a huge difference to the many frontline nurses, midwives and health care support workers who are continuing to make an invaluable contribution at the very forefront of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The Song Club album will be released on October 23.
