TRADERS and people who work at Warrington Market have been brought together to star in a music video aimed at encouraging young people suffering with mental health problems to step into the light and start talking about their issues.
The production which is being backed by Warrington Council Chief Executive and Warrington Wolves Chairman Steven Broomhead, is the brainchild of former Warrington Market manager Stephen Pickering.
Dancing in the Shadows is a 360 degree pop video set in the basement area of the old Warrington market building and includes a butcher, a baker and even a medieval candlestick maker.
The song is about what can happen when you stay in the shadows too long, with the message, “Step into the light and start talking talk about your issues”.
A thunderclap promotion which can be viewed and supported by clicking on this link http://thndr.me/2IP2qL Then selecting “support with facebook and/or twitter” has been launched to help promote the video.
Then on October 27 a huge message of support will be sent to those suffering with mental health problems.
The video has been several months in the making and is the collaboration of a group of lifelong friends inspired to help raise awareness of mental health issues. Viewers are also encouraged to make donations direct to a charity of their choice.
At the beginning of this year and after retiring from working at the market, Stephen Pickering got together with a couple of friends to record some music for fun. The three musicians have been playing live together for years, and are established performers in their own right. Stephen has also produced many television commercials and wanted to have a go at a music video in the new 360 degree technology to create a totally immersive virtual reality experience.
While recording the music track in the studio, they came across a young talented rapper named Kyle Hignett. He is a really nice lad with a powerful story around his unfortunate mental health condition. Kyle was the subject of national news in 2016 when his mum revealed that she often had to restrain him with handcuffs to stop him killing himself. Kyle had border line personality disorder and psychosis.
Due to the song being about Holden Caulfield, who himself had mental health issues in the book “Catcher in the Rye”, it seemed obvious to invite Kyle to perform on the track.
After the music was completed, filming of the music video started and a wide cross section of the local community with connections to the market were invited to take part as dancers in the audience. Each person was filmed individually against a green screen background ready for inclusion in the video.
It soon became apparent that most had experienced issues around mental health, either with themselves or close friends and family.
Commenting on the video, Stephen said, “If Walt Disney had directed The Exorcist, I think it would have looked something like this. It is a humorous retro-horror flick aimed at engaging with young people. The reality is that mental health is a very scary experience and if we can help to encourage anyone who might be suffering to step into the light and start talking to someone, then that would be fantastic”.
“I am very grateful to everyone involved and particularly to Steven Broomhead, for dancing in the video. Steven demonstrates how he is an ideal candidate for the television show Strictly Come Dancing”
The video will be released on youtube on Friday 27 October in time for Halloween, utilising the “Thunderclap” promotion to help create a buzz and get people talking.
