Northampton musician raising funds for mental health group The Lowdown with new Christmas song

A Northampton musician has released a one-time Christmas song to raise money for The Lowdown, a mental health group that offers free counselling to young people.

The song, titled 'All I Want is a Christmas', is entirely written, performed and produced by Fred Claridge, a full-time musician who found his inspiration during lockdown.

After contracting Covid-19 himself at the end of October, Fred experienced first-hand the impact loneliness can have on one's mental health.

So he decided to use his time in isolation to write about that very topic and, hopefully, do some good through song.

Fred said: "I'm a musician, so my whole livelihood sort of disappeared overnight.

"With music in particular, a lot of your identity is attached to the work. When that goes, you start looking for that feeling other places and that's a really hard thing to do."

Yet this is not Fred's first foray into helping his fellow man. He also currently works one day a week at Billing Brook School, a special education school in Northampton.

His sister was also a volunteer counsellor for The Lowdown, which is how he came to know about it.

Fred said: "I wanted to raise money for them because of the great work they do for young people and their mental health.

"I think the general message of it is just to make sure we're looking after each other. So if we think someone might be a bit lonely this Christmas, we should reach out and not just assume someone else will.

"It's about reminding people that they aren't alone and they should reach out if they're feeling isolated.

"I think free access to mental health help is so important, especially now.

"When I wrote it, I didn't expect that we might be looking at a similar Christmas this year."

With the return of some Covid-19 restrictions as part of the Government's 'Plan B', there are fears of a resurgence in mental health challenges like those seen in during lockdown, as people are forced to isolate once more.

Ellie White, fundraising and marketing manager for The Lowdown, said the pandemic has had a 'huge' impact on young people's mental health, leading to a 21 percent rise in demand for their service.

Reportedly, the Lowdown provided 6,184 counselling sessions to 871 young people last year alone, with even more expected next year due to increased demand.

She said: "We are delighted and honoured to be the chosen charity for this song release.

"It not only raises vital funds, it also provides awareness for our services to support young people on their journey towards positive emotional health and well-being.

"We are very thankful for the support from Sourced. All funds raised will go towards supporting young peoples mental health and well-being in Northampton and the surrounding areas."

The song is on sale for £1.

Anyone interested in supporting the organisation by buying 'All I Want is a Christmas' can find it here.