Photo Flash: Shane Filan and Chorus Record MATILDA Song for Charity

On the 25th of October, in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, the team that created Tiny Dancer by A Song For Lily-Mae in 2012, the second biggest selling charity single in Irish chart history, second only to the 1985 smash hit, Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas, recorded a brand new charity single. Check out photos from the performance below!

The producer of Tiny Dancer, Stephen Macken, once again teamed up with the Association of Irish Musical Societies to create something very special for this Christmas. Over two thousand, three hundred voices joined together with a sixteen-piece orchestra to record When I Grow Up from the Royal Shakespeare Company's award-winning production of Matilda The Musical.. The project has received the approval of Tim Minchin (Music and Lyrics), with his full cooperation and a royalty free use of the song. The recording took place as part of a gala concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of the creation of AIMS, the Association of Irish Musical Societies, featuring the best amateur talent that Ireland has and many of the West End Irish who have made Musical Theatre their career on the professional stage.

Stephen Macken explained why this particular song was chosen.

'I chose "When I Grow Up" as the AIMS charity single because of its deeper meaning in the context of its portrayal of the simple childhood dreams and ambitions that we all once projected into our adult lives, eating sweets all day, climbing taller trees, no longer fearing monsters, and how those dreams and ambitions are the same for all children, including those who face an uncertain future due to illness and who may never live to see their fulfillment. It's that context that makes the song so special and meaningful.'

He said that when you listen to the lyrics, a child's hope for a bright future is captured beautifully by Tim's words, but also, in this context, is the resonance of the tragedy that is serious childhood illness and how it jeopardises that future. For this reason, and because AIMS is a thirty-two county, all Ireland organisation, the beneficiaries of the proceeds of the charity single will be the Children's Medical Research Foundation, Crumlin and the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. The single will go on sale at the end of November.

Matilda was played by ten year old Grace Lee from the Isle of Man who, in her short life, has had over thirty heart procedures. Grace was chosen because she is a wonderful singer and performer, having already performed as Matilda with the Matilda West End cast thanks to ITV's Surprise Surprise television show, and because she epitomises everything that the song stands for, courage, resilience and, above all else, hope.

The recording also featured former Westlife star, Shane Filan. Shane has sold over forty-five million records worldwide as a member of pop sensations Westlife. These include fourteen No. 1 singles in the UK. He is delighted to have been asked to sing on 'When I Grow Up' in aid of the Children's Medical Research Foundation, Crumlin and the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. RTÉ radio and television broadcaster, Ronan Collins, hosted the evening's entertainment.

The recording is dedicated to the memory of Jack Lam from Castlebar in Co. Mayo who died in November 2013 from complications arising from his treatment for Neuroblastoma. Jack was part of the original social media campaign set-up by Stephen Macken to create awareness of the recording, but his passing one month after submitting his 'When I Grow Up' photo so shocked and saddened the team that the project was temporarily postponed. Now, Stacey McHugh, Jack's mum, says she is honoured that Jack will be remembered this way, and that if Jack's story encourages people to support this project and raise funds that might help save a child's life then it makes her happy. Stacey also gave us the wonderful news that she and her partner, Tsung Lam, are expecting the birth of a baby this Christmas week, within days of Jack's seventh birthday.

 

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