Charity song has now been released
25 March 2020
A West Midlands Police detective inspector has swapped his warrant card for a bass guitar to release a charity single inspired by Assistant Chief Constable Chris Johnson’s approach to his Motor Neurone Disease (MND) diagnosis.
Chris Jones, who works in public protection, had initially signed up along with colleagues from the Force and across England and Wales to do the Liverpool Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA) and Primrose Hospice which is supporting Mr Johnson and his family.
But when injury forced him to pull out, he set about thinking how else he could raise money.
He said: “I was the first to sign up to the Liverpool Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon but also the first to pull out due to a bad knee and ankle injury requiring an operation.
“I’m no good at baking cakes and was thinking of other ways to try to support this fantastic charity initiative. I’ve been in a band for around 20 years and did a charity song 10 years ago which went down well and raised a good amount of funds.
“In recent years the band members have all been occupied with families, children and our careers, so we have taken a step back with playing music. We have barely played together for four years but we all agreed to dust off our equipment and get back in the studio to write and record a one-off charity song. That has now turned into two but hopefully that will just further boost the money we can raise for MNDA and the Primrose Hospice.”
The track ‘On The Run’ was recorded at Rockfield Studios, Wales where Bohemian Rhapsody was recorded and is being accompanied by an acoustic version, featuring the band members but with Steve Gittins on lead vocals.
“Steve is the husband of Sergeant Trudy Gittins, the West Midlands Police Federation workplace representative who set up the #WMPND team of runners due to take part in the Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon events, and it came out in a roundabout way that he could actually sing so we decided to record a second version of our song with him as lead singer,” says Chris.
The regular band consists of bass guitarist Chris, drummer Karl Palmer, who works in the banking industry, singer Matt Allen, who works for Tarmac UK, and guitarist Simon Lane, a specialist whisky retailer.
Chris has spent a number of months generating donations from a range of companies and individuals to enable a free prize draw to be linked to his campaign and encourage donations. Anyone who donates to the charity song page will automatically be entered into the draw.
There are a wide range of prizes on offer! In no particular order, they include sports vouchers, Brooks Sports trainers, signed items from Paula Radcliffe, Jessica Ennis Hill and Dame Kelly Holmes, a Land Rover driving experience, laser tag sessions, simulated driving sessions, archery, go-karting, clay pigeon shooting, tickets to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and a Pro Pulse Roller worth over £100.
There are also a number of holiday prizes – accommodation only - a week in Orlando, Florida and short breaks in Greece, Malta, Padstow, Scotland and the Yorkshire Dales. At the time of writing, he has more than 35 donated items. The draw will be held in November.
With Chris still unable to run due to his ongoing knee injury, he is planning to be on hand at a charity stand during the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon event and hopes to further boost funds for the charities.
The two songs, which have been sponsored by West Midlands Police Federation and Police Discount Offers, were released at https://www.facebook.com/charitysongformnd/ on Tuesday (24 March). Donations can also be made via Virgin Money Giving and there is a link on the Facebook page.
The cover for the single have been designed by Pete Smith, a well-known illustrator.
