If you’re fresh from cheering and clapping our precious battered NHS out of your window you might like to know about Artists 4 NHS. It’s a group fundraising for official NHS staff charities and set up in the last few days by musician Ronan MacManus, whose wife works at Northwick Park hospital in London. The first streamed performance is tomorrow (Friday 27th) at 7.30pm and is from Ronan’s half brother, a certain Elvis Costello, live from his basement apparently.
Do join – and do open your wallet a little if you can. He’s bound to pull out a rarely heard song or two as well as a hit or three.
It’s several weeks – though feels a world away – since I saw Elvis at what turned out to be the last night of his UK tour. I can report that he’s older but still great and fired up, including when he spoke from the stage about the NHS and the running down it usually receives from our politicians. He also praised the care they give his 92 year old mum in the same hospital that was quarantining Covid-19 patients returning from abroad. Just like after one of the ‘take the air out of the room and stop you in your tracks’ song performances he sometimes gives, you can only think ‘bloody hell, he really means it’.
https://www.facebook.com/artists4nhs/photos/a.105958714383231/107456354233467/
Will there be more of this from different artists. I have some of Mr Costello’s LPs & CDs but not much of a fan these days although I’d love to support the charity?
Yes I believe so Baron, though obviously EC is their opening flourish of MacManus nepotism put to good use. I do appreciate that he has had his moments of trying our patience over the years. In further family doings, I’m hoping he might be joined by his very talented and debatably more easy on the ear wife Diana. They do do a good duet.