Banbury Quarantine Collective brings 30 local musicians together in one song for NHS fundraiser

A group of Banbury musicians have not let their physical separation get in the way of their creativity and desire to play during the coronavirus lockdown.
The Banbury Quarantine Collective, a group of Banbury musicians who came together to raise money for the NHSThe Banbury Quarantine Collective, a group of Banbury musicians who came together to raise money for the NHS
The Banbury Quarantine Collective, a group of Banbury musicians who came together to raise money for the NHS

They have come 'together' under the banner of 'The Banbury Quarantine Collective' to create a stunning performance of the classic Beatles track “With a little help from my friends” to raise funds for the NHS in North Oxfordshire.

More 30 musicians have been involved in creating the track, chosen for its positive and pertinent message in these tough times.

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The idea for the project came from local musician and SKAlectrics member, Tom Bodfish, who said: “This was our little way of saying a huge ‘Thank You’ to our local hospital and NHS workers and hopefully raise some money for this cause.”

The fundraising campaign, only launched this morning (Tuesday April 21) through a GoFundMe crowdfunding web page, has already nearly doubled its £1,000 target raising £1,885 by this afternoon.

In just over six hours collective's video had more than 3,500 views on YouTube.

Tom said, “Everyone that got involved has been fantastic. It’s been a real pleasure to get together with so many talented people in the area. They’ve all worked so hard and put so much effort in. It’s been a lot of fun for a very worthy cause."

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Copies of the song are not on sale, but the video is available to view on YouTube and all major social media channels.

Anyone who enjoys the video can make a donation to the Horton General Hospital Charity (part of the Oxford Hospitals Charity) via the project’s GoFundMe link by clicking on the following link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/banbury-musicians-supporting-our-nhs

Tom added: "The unique thing about it is the number of local musicians on it. I don't remember a time when all the Banbury musicians came together on one track.

"There's some real talent in the town, and everybody has just embraced it. It's definitely been a real communal effort."

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Those involved in the project include members of the following local bands: The SKAlectrics, The 2 Tone All Skas, The Duckworths, Neva Mynd, Uninvited, Sledgehammer, Dirty Deeds, The Meanies, plus the following local musicians; Jim Breslin and Eilidh Forster, Stuart Layzell and Stevie Cooper, Selena Evangeline, Jason Page and Valerie Vet, Leigh Chambers, Belinda Webb, Andi Goodman and Steve Anker.

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