On the surface Sophie Roberts is like any other two year old little girl enjoying all things pink and incredibly curious about the world around her, but whereas many kids her age are running around and exploring the world, Sophie has to spend much of her time going back and forth to hospital why, because two year old Sophie Roberts has cancer.
Sophie was diagnosed with Hepatoblastoma, a rare and particularly aggressive form of liver cancer which has seen her undergo intensive chemotherapy, exploratory tests and multiple operations, all of which has taken a toll on the family, but there is hope. Sophie and her parents were told of a lifesaving operation in the US that can save her. With only 22 days and at a cost of approximately £350,000 to say the family are up against it is an understatement.
Step in ACM and a plethora of stars from across the music world. ACM’s operations manager Adam Pain, head of part-time studies Roger Davis and song writing lecturer Tim Bricheno immediately got to work. The song ‘Shout It From The Rooftops’ was devised by the creative trio in a matter of days and just a week after first putting pen to paper and with the help of ACM music production lecturer Clive Cherry, recording was underway.
Main vocals for the track were provided by legendary Go West frontman Peter Cox, alongside John James Newman and highly acclaimed session singer and ACM tutor Katie Hector.
Jamie West-Oram from the hugely influential band ‘The Fixx’ recorded guitar parts while drums were supplied by Go West drummer (and another ACM tutor!) Richard Brook.
Composer, guitarist and ACM lecturer Giorgio Serci also donated his time to create a string arrangement for the track. Top vocalists Rose Betteridge and Deborah Pain provided backing vocals.
Grammy Award winning producer Stephen Harris, who has produced tracks for the likes of U2, Kula Shaker and The Kaiser Chiefs, agreed to mix the song for the team, giving it the final touches ready for release, which includes a video produced by ACM’s creative artist Chris Jenkins.
“Myself, Roger and Tim wanted to write a real anthemic, uplifting track that would reflect all the hard work and effort so many people have already put into fundraising for the Sophie Roberts Story Fund. I hope we have created a song people will love and want to download, which will continue to raise awareness of this worthy cause.”
Adam Pain ACM Operations Manager
‘Shout It From The Rooftops’ will be available as a digital download via online music store Bandcamp.
For more information about the fundraising efforts and Sophie Robert’s story visit the website or connect via Facebook and Twitter.
Find out more about Peter Cox on his website.
