New youth-led anthem for Leigh, ‘Song For Leigh’, was premiered at the Lottery Winners’ homecoming Sports Village gig
Leigh Sports Village collectively experienced a moment of profound, heartfelt joy as they were graced with the world premier of Song For Leigh, a brand new anthem for you, for me, and for Leigh - all written and recorded by the young talent of our town.
A celebratory project for Leigh created from young creative talent
Led by producer Amy Hodgson, Spirix director, and facilitated by youth-worker and songwriting coach Zha Olu, the Song For Leigh project has been written and performed by young people from Leigh. Together, Kerrick Mills, Caitlin Leitch, Oliver Baxter, Marti Boardman, Ethan Tyrrell, Owen Fitzmaurice, and Ewan Canton fused their inner sound sketches and lyricism to create a track that epitomises hope, nostalgia, and community - a real celebration of what it means to be from or live in Leigh.
Over the course of the last 3 months, songwriting sessions led by Zha Olu, took place at Spirix Studios and Spinners Mill, where the talented young musicians shaped and created guitar parts, drums, vocal verses and bass lines. Over time, the song came to life, and with a little guidance from our homegrown, chart topping band, The Lottery Winners, a finished piece was ready to hit the studio for production.
Marti Boardman, young musician, said:
“The experience was amazing. To be working with some big names in the music industry is really a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’ve learnt so many things along the way that I can then use to help myself progress in the industry.”
Our community music video - shot around Leigh’s landmarks - was an uplifting day that became the corner stone of the project
No song is complete without a music video, and so Song For Leigh deserved a locally-shot, artistically-directed visual backdrop to call its own. Shot at various locations around and near Leigh, the filming took place at Leigh Sports Village, home of the Leigh Leopards, The Snug music venue in Atherton, and of course, Leigh Town Centre.
Young creatives on set at the Song For Leigh music video shoot
A shining beacon of light for our proud, community-centred town
Song For Leigh is not just a showcase for young creative talent and musicianship, but it is a shining light for our community in the face of changing and challenging times. Wigan borough, with almost 500 creative businesses, can only say that 1.5% of its local jobs are in the creative sector. In this aspect, Wigan falls behind the average for Greater Manchester (4%) and the UK (5%).
Song For Leigh however, has created many opportunities for local creatives, as well as opened up new creative pathways for young people to develop, progress, and carve their own career path from.
Jo Platt, MP for Leigh and Atherton said:
“Song for Leigh is a fantastic opportunity for young people to get involved in a creative project that celebrates our town and everything it has to offer and it’s brilliant to see opportunities like this being made available locally.
Leigh has so much to be proud of, and projects like this help to shine a light on the talent, creativity and community spirit that define our town. As we continue to build momentum around our Town of Culture ambitions, initiatives like Song for Leigh show exactly why Leigh is such a strong contender.”
All proceeds from the Song For Leigh will be going to the Gill David Trust, a Leigh charity supporting arts education and development opportunities for young people 25 and under in Leigh and the surrounding areas.
Want to donate? You can support young creatives here.
Some of the young creatives involved in Song for Leigh at Leigh Sports Village
Backed by professional songwriting support from the Lottery Winners
Leigh’s Chart Topping band The Lottery Winners helped mentor the young creatives for the songwriting project
Songwriting was of course fed into by now-stadium rockers The Lottery Winners, who helped shaped the track from initial sketches and outlines, to fully-formed arrangements ready to be recorded in a professional studio.
This kind of development and opportunity for young people to work side-buy-side with professional musicians would not be possible without the funding provided by Down to Earth and Arts Council England.
Tom Briggs of Down to Earth said:
"Leigh is an amazing resilient community that is too often used as the backdrop of bad news, this project has been about telling a story about the people who live here, locally and nationally. We're really lucky to have Lottery Winners still deeply engaged in their home town and they have been so supportive of the project and of the young musicians at the heart of the project."
Where can I listen to the Song For Leigh?
You can stream the song on Spotify now. The song is released today on June 1st on Bandcamp (which will allow you to buy and donate to charity as well as listen) and will be available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify and Apple music from 1st June.
