Forum topic: PG songwriters pay tribute to those Working on the Frontline

A new single written by two musicians from Palmers Green vividly portrays life on the NHS frontline at the height of the pandemic. Working on the Frontline was written by Kate St John and Neill McColl and is performed by BAFTA-nominated actor and singer Jessie Buckley and her band Jessie & The Leonards.

Every day I leave my home, get on the bus alone, walk into a danger zone and I'm working on the frontline
I've got to be cool, I've got to be calm, got to keep myself from harm, got to get my spacesuit on, working on the frontline.

If we're not careful, the Covid Frontline will soon be running through the country's hospital wards again. In the meantime let's not forget the people who battled to save lives earlier this year. The women and men who pulled out all the stops for us are still denied pay awards that recognise the nature of their physically and mentally exhausting and dangerous work. Among those paying tribute - and raising money - are some of the country's most celebrated songwriters and musicians, among them residents of Palmers Green.

The project, with all proceeds going to the RCN Foundation's COVID-19 Support Fund, has been curated by Squeeze co-founder Chris Difford, who has gathered together an impressive line-up of his musical friends to make the album Song Club, which will be released next month. The album, with all tracks recorded remotely, was inspired by the pictures taken on the Covid frontline by photographer Hannah Grace Deller, who's a nurse and worked at St Mary's Hospital as a paediatric matron at the height of the pandemic (on top of which, she's also a folk musician and "in her spare time" competes internationally in Shotokan Karate!).

"Selfie in PPE - Ghostly photo with a feeling of anticipation, which is how we all felt as Covid began"

The first song to be released is Working on the Frontline, written by two Palmers Green residents - Kate St John and Neill McColl - and performed by BAFTA-nominated actor and singer Jessie Buckley and her band Jessie & The Leonards. Hannah Grace Deller herself has a cameo role in the rap section, which she uses to make some pointed remarks.

The RCN Foundation Covid-19 Support Fund

“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. Support from the project will not only help those individuals who may be experiencing personal hardship as a result of COVID-19, but will also help to address some of the psychological implications associated with working on the frontline at this difficult time.” Deepa Korea, RCN Foundation Director, RCN Foundation