Grime meets music hall in a song that hopes to “repair the holes in our society” by promoting love and inclusivity.
Love Simply Love came into being after Stew Simpson, a musician from Castle Carrock, got in contact with Tim Wilson, from Channel 4 show The Circle, with an offer that he couldn’t refuse.
An offer to produce a song, and music video, that spreads the message of love at a time of year when kindness is called for.
Tim commented: “I think it has got a very positive and inclusive message which, particularly as we’re going through a rather nasty election, I think would be very good at this particular time.
“We wanted to make a song that reached out to the LGBTQI audience and Polari is very much part of the history of the lesbian and gay community.”
Polari is a coded language that has been used by the LGBTQI community since the mid-19th century and became public knowledge when Kenneth Williams used it in Round the Horne.
“Trolling, a word which we now have on the internet, is actually a word that comes from Polari,” said Tim.
Both men saw something of themselves in the other which prompted them to work together on the song, and music video, which is rooted in equality.
When Stew reached out to Tim, it was difficult for Tim to refuse.
Stew said: “I saw a lot of myself in Tim.”
Tim added: “We’re very similar, there are elements of our biography that are similar.
They both looked at going into the church as a career path, they share a love for the arts, and how the arts can help to communicate.
“It feels like a Christmas miracle, I saw this lovely man on the television and I thought ‘I’ll just send a song out, nothing will happen,’” said Stew.
“Then a few weeks later we’re driving in a car together.”
The song mixes together two distinctly different genres which may seem like a bizarre choice to make but Stew hopes it does communicate a positive message.
He said: “Grime is the folk music of today.
“We need to come together collectively, repair the holes in our society, learn from each other and grow together.”
“I hope it will cross the age barrier.”
Tim added to this: “Humour is important.
“I hope we are telling a story as well as putting across a message and having a bit of festival fun at the end of this year.”
The music video, which was released on Tuesday, is quirky - with a choreographed dance routine, Christmas decorations, and animations that were created by Tim.
“We have only been working on it for a short time but it’s very thrilling and very exciting. I hope it’s enjoyable enough for people watching it and listening to it,” he said.
“We both love music hall so we were able to go back to what is in fact the oldest music hall in the world in Settle and work on a dance routine.”
The music video is equally as inclusive as the lyrics to their song.
The pair use the sign language for love, party, and gay.
“It brings the old and new together, we’re not just using Polari - we’re also using sign language in the music video.”
Now that the two have paired up to create music, could there be a joint appearance at Music on the Marr?
“I hope so, yes,” remarked Tim.
“Music on the Marr is very much on my mind.”
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