SINGERS LAUNCH TEENAGE CANCER TRUST SINGLE AT CHRISTMAS CONCERT

A single in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust is being launched at a Christmas concert in St Nicholas Cathedral, Newcastle, sponsored by law firm Clarke Mairs, on Wednesday 18 December. ‘Here We Stand’ has been written by two local musicians together with patients on Teenage Cancer Trust’s two units at the Great North Children’s Hospital (RVI) and Freeman Hospitals in Newcastle. The song has been recorded as a single with former patient Melissa Cavanagh, 22, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma when she was 13, taking lead vocals with Britain’s Got Talent winner Jai McDowall. A number of people have been involved in the creation of the song including Voice of the Town Choir who feature on the single alongside Jai and Melissa, Steve Morton and Liam Gaughan who produced the single, Alex Dickinson of Claypath Productions in Durham who filmed the video and Loft Music Studios in Newcastle who gave up their studio for the recording and handled the single release. The song is officially being launched on Wednesday 18 December ahead of the Teenage Cancer Trust’s Christmas Concert at St Nicholas Cathedral, Newcastle, sponsored by law firm Clarke Mairs, where it will be performed live for the first time by Jai, Melissa and Voice of the Town Choir. They will join a line-up of celebrity performers including X Factor’s Amelia Lily, Emmerdale’s Chelsea Halfpenny, Blue Peter’s Helen Skelton and David Leon who plays DS Joe Ashworth in ITV’s Vera. Jai McDowall, who is currently working on an album to be released in spring 2014, said: "I was lucky enough to perform at the Christmas Concert in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust at the cathedral in Newcastle last year. When I was asked if I wanted to be involved with the single this year, I said yes immediately! I am proud to have sung the song and I hope it raises lots of money for what is a brilliant charity." Jonathan Wallis, Chairman of The Teenage Cancer Trust North East Fundraising Board, said that the idea for the single first came about because he wanted to organise something that the patients could create which would commemorate Teenage Cancer Trust at their Christmas concert. He said: “I have always loved music and I was with Martin O’Nions and Phil Martin at Notes Studios one day when we came up with the idea of the song. Martin and Phil have supported the charity for a long time and spent a lot of time in workshops with the patients writing down what Teenage Cancer Trust meant to them and their experiences. This was all used in the song, which will now raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust.” Martin O’Nions said: “It has been a huge honour to help create this song. It is all about standing together, loving each other and getting through hard times. It would have been so easy to have just written the song myself, but by having the young people involved we have created a song with a true meaning. It’s right from the heart. To top it off, several patients and their family together with some of the staff on Teenage Cancer Trust’s unit at the Great North Children’s Hospital joined the Choir to record the song.” The single will be available on digital download from iTunes and on CD which will be sold at the cathedral on the night of the concert and at various outlets in the region including J.G. Windows and the Newcastle Falcons shop at Kingston Park. All proceeds from the single will be donated to Teenage Cancer Trust. A video of the single will be available to view on YouTube. Teenage Cancer Trust is the only UK charity dedicated to improving the quality of life and chances of survival for the seven young people aged between 13 and 24 diagnosed with cancer every day.  The charity build specialist units within NHS hospitals bringing young people together to be treated by teenage cancer experts in a place designed just for them. Traditionally treated alongside children or elderly patients at the end of their lives, young people can feel extremely isolated during treatment, some never meeting another young person with cancer. Being treated alongside others their own age can make a huge difference to their whole experience. Tickets for The Teenage Cancer Trust Christmas Concert, sponsored by Clarke Mairs, on 18 December at 7pm are priced at £10 each, or £30 for a group ticket for four people, and are available from Newcastle City Hall Box Office on 0191 2778030 or www.newcastlecityhall.org