Songwriter Guy Chambers is set to get involved in a project that aims to put music at the centre of kids’ mental well being.
He’s heading back into the classroom this week, to Deansbrook Junior School in North London to collaborate with pupils on a new school anthem, provisionally entitled This Is My Place. The idea is that the multi-award-winning songwriter will use his considerable skills to craft a tune that will be performed for the wider school community
The project is part of Children’s Mental Health Week, which runs from today (February 9) to February 15 and is being run between the Lang Lang International Music Foundation and the mental health charity Place2Be. The key thing here is to integrate music education with wider aims to give children the ability to build resilience. Lang Lang, the world-renowned pianist, has said in a statement about the project: “Music has the extraordinary power to reach into the hearts of young people, to calm, uplift, and connect them.”
Meanwhile, Chambers added: “Every child deserves to feel they have a place where they belong, and music has this incredible ability to create that sense of connection. Working with young people to write their own anthem gives them ownership of their story.”
The 63-year-old songwriter is still best known for his work in the late '90s and early 2000s with Robbie Williams, and he made a rare appearance on stage last week with Williams in Liverpool at a date on the ex-Take That star’s Long '90s tour.
And what did the pair of them play? Well, it just had to be Angels, the track that saved both men’s careers when it was released back in 1997.
Williams is currently on tour to promote his Britpop album, which - as the title suggests - contains a generous helping of 90s nostalgia.
Chambers seemed to enjoy the occasion, posting on Instagram later: “Went up to Liverpool, my honorary home town, not really knowing what to expect. It’s been nearly three and a half years since my last show with RW (Hamburg). We’d contacted one another via mail but hadn’t had the opportunity to really connect one-on-one,” he wrote.
He continued: “I must admit I was a little nervous. I was no longer a member of the band (I was Musical Director for many years) and it felt strange being a guest but I was grateful for the invitation… I got time to hang out with my old buddy and catch up on family, music and the future.”
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