Bury singer releases heartfelt songs on iTunes and donates all proceeds to NHS

A Bury singer is entertaining two different generations with ‘wartime spirit’ to raise funds for the NHS

Written by Mikey Richardson
Last updated 4 years ago
Charity, People

Olivia Grace Wood, from Bury, has been using the new found time that lockdown has afforded her to work on her singing and record songs for her YouTube channel.

She decided to upload a couple of wartime classics to iTunes and to donate all proceeds to the NHS. The songs are We’ll Meet Again by Vera Lynn and Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Judy Garland.

“I usually like to go and see my grandad, sing for him or show him videos of me singing the old classic songs which he likes,” said Olivia. “However I have been unable to now since we have to keep our distance from family members and friends.

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A post shared by O L I V I A (@livgracewood) on Apr 5, 2020 at 8:08am PDT

“I was trying to think of a song that I could record for him so that my mum could show him when she dropped off his food shopping, and she suggested We’ll Meet Again. She said he likes that song and the words and meaning are ideal during this time.

“After I had recorded it and uploaded it to social media, people reacted to it in such a positive way, especially the older generation and their family members, who said that it had cheered them up during isolation and had brought back happy memories. I felt really touched that the song had such a positive effect on people.”

Coincidentally, two days after she uploaded the song, the Queen addressed the nation, mentioned wartime spirit and ended her speech with the words ‘we’ll meet again’.

“After seeing pictures of rainbows in so many windows in honour of the NHS, I decided to sing another favourite, Somewhere Over the Rainbow. This has also had a really good response and people seemed to like it.”

After getting in touch with the NHS to enquire about the best way to go about a fundraising initiative, Olivia set up her page with NHS Charities Together so that people could donate money legally and safely.

We’ll Meet Again was released on iTunes on 20th April. Somewhere Over The Rainbow was released on iTunes on the 25th April.

You can also make a donation to Olivia’s Just Giving page if you don’t have Apple Music

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Last updated 4 years ago.
This article was first published on 1 May 2020 and is subject to be updated from time to time. Please refresh or return to see the latest version.

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