A 17-year-old Stanmore resident, Joe Taylor, has released his latest single ‘Hero’, during Children’s’ Mental Health Week, to help support his best friend who is currently ill in hospital.
The single is in aid of leading UK mental health charity, Mind, who provide advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem.
The music and lyrics in ‘Hero’ were inspired by Joe’s experience watching his best friend struggling first with a physical illness over the past year and then by seeing the terrible affects that the illness and the COVID-19 pandemic had on his mental health and wellbeing too.
Commenting on his latest single, Joe said: “This past year has been incredibly hard for us teenagers who normally would’ve been celebrating the end of GCSEs and looking forward to an amazing summer, followed by the excitement of starting Sixth Form, but sadly due to COVID-19 that wasn’t to be, and for Freddie, it’s been doubly hard.”
“Throughout his physical illness, he has never once complained, always smiling, always laughing, always trying to keep up with us, so really it was no surprise sadly that eventually, it would all catch up with him and affect his mental health. And as one of his best friends, I felt totally at a loss as to how I could help him.
“I often find it quite hard to know how to help my friends with words of advice, but music is my life, and sometimes I find it easier to put my words to music in order to express how I am feeling. So, when I looked at what Freddie had been through and the way he has handled it all, there was only one word to sum up my feelings for him – quite simply he’s my hero.”
Joe wanted to use the proceeds of his single to support the mental health charity Mind, because he has also had first-hand experience of mental health issues, after watching his own brother suffer with depression last year too.
He hopes that his music will not only support Freddie and any other teenager who may currently need to hear it, but also to raise money and awareness of the amazing work that Mind does.
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