Isle of Man based sports photographer Ean Proctor organises charity single with Portsmouth based band Kodiak Jack to raise money for the Simon Andrews Fund. The single entitled “My Condition” will be released on the anniversary of Simon Andrews passing on the 19th May 2015, and will be available via iTunes, Amazon and all major digital platforms. All profits will be going directly to the Simon Andrews Fund.
Simon was an extremely popular and talented Track and Road Racer, riding for Honda R.A.F Reserve Racing and Penz BMW teams at the time of his passing in 2014.
Simon was airlifted to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland in a critical condition after suffering a serious crash on the approach to Metropole corner while competing in the Superstock Race at the North West 200 on Saturday, 17th May 2014.
He sadly passed away in hospital on 19th May 2014 as a result of his injuries, aged 31.
At that years Isle of Man TT a lap of honour was arranged by Mark Walls and fellow riders, that saw a parade of over five thousand bikes complete a lap of the TT course from the Grandstand on Mad Sunday, 1st June 2014.
Simon’s family setup the Simon Andrews Fund in 2014 after money was raised with the help and generosity of the biking community after he passed away. This Fund now raises money to assist injured riders and their rehabilitation. The Fund has donated to Air Ambulance and The Hyperbaric Chamber in IOM who assist in the rehabilitation of bone injuries.
The Simon Andrews Legacy Lap will take place this year on Mad Sunday, 7th June starting from the TT Grandstand at 13:00 hours.
So how did this charity single come about – Ean Proctor explains:-
I was honoured last year with being asked by the organisers of the Simon Andrew’s Tribute Lap to be one of the events official photographers and capture this amazing scene of over five thousand bikes all lined up to honour Simon. Simon had passed away only a few weeks before the Isle of Man TT, an event he was supposed to be competing in that year for the R.A.F Reserve Racing Team and Penz BMW. That day was a physical and emotional demonstration of how popular and loved Simon was by the racing community and will remain with me for the rest of my life.
So as it approached the first anniversary of his untimely departure, I wanted to produce a video slideshow of photographs I had taken of Simon over the years and the Tribute Lap from 2014 to honour his memory.
There was one piece of poignant music that fitted with the whole project perfectly and I had to use it that was the song “My Condition” by one of my favourite bands, Kodiak Jack. This beautifully crafted acoustic song resonated with the whole atmosphere I was trying to create with the slideshow. I contacted the lead singer, Bryn Roberts and their Manager, Jules Aplin to explain what I was trying to achieve and obtain official permission to use the track. I received a quick response from both of them giving their permission for me to continue.
On completion of the slideshow I uploaded the video to my Facebook page and within 12 hours it had received over two thousand views. Within 24 hours it had over four thousand views and I was being inundated with messages of how much people loved the slideshow and especially the song. The song also received praise directly from the Andrews family.
The popularity of the video and the resonation with the song by the audience birthed the idea of releasing the song as a charity single, to commemorate the first anniversary of Simon’s passing as well as attempting to raise as much money as possible for the Simon Andrews Fund. I would just need buy-in by the band, their management and the Andrews family.
I contacted the members of Kodiak Jack and put the idea to them first before pursuing it with the management and the Andrews family. I received an instant 100% backing from the band on the release of the song as a charity single to raise money for the Fund. Next came the full backing for the project by their record label and Management, before approaching the Andrew’s family.
Jules Aplin - “It is an honour to be involved with the tribute and it is a privilege to be able to contribute ‘My Condition’ to the cause. The song is deeply personal to Bryn (lead singer) and it is humbling to know the track has resonated with those close to Simon”
Finally I contacted Simon’s sister Claire and put the idea of a charity record to her. I wanted to make sure this had the full backing of the Andrews family and wouldn’t cause any upset.
Claire Jupp – “We are very grateful for all the support and generosity we have received. We wish to thank Ean Proctor and the band for being so supportive and we wish Kodiak Jack and the single huge success.
On a personal note, a big thank you to everyone who has helped us over these last 12 months, without you a difficult year would have been made even harder. Thank you all.”
Photo - Kodiak Jack- My condition (tribute) cover art.
