Graveley musician’s Battle of the Somme composition to mark 100th anniversary and support Help for Heroes
Adam is composing a unique album to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. - Credit: Archant
A composer and musician is marking the 100th anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme with a special composition to raise money for military charity Help for Heroes.
Adam is composing a unique album to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of the Somme. - Credit: Archant
Adam Wakeling from Graveley is working on The Great War – A Hero’s Tale with the help of author Simon West-Bulford and actor Glen Stanway.
The 40-year-old said: “It uses songs, music, poetry and scripted dialogue to tell real stories about the people and events of the First World War. I envisage the end product to be a CD and MP3 download of six to eight songs, linked through a narrated story detailing, through a fictional hero, real-life major events from 1914 to 1918.”
Adam, who works at MBDA in Stevenage and has been a musician for more than 20 years, said: “I have a passion for telling exciting and emotional stories through my compositions.
“I have always been interested in the First World War because my great grandad was in the Battle of the Somme. He was the only one out of his friends to come out alive. It’s made me want to express some emotions through music.
“It will be a similar format to Jeff Wayne’s musical version of The War of the Worlds. It will be a collection of original songs and music intertwined with narration and dialogue, while also incorporating First World War poetry and some popular songs of the time.
“The story is based on a fictional soldier in a real battalion and faced with real situations, taken from diaries and letters of the time.”
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Adam is planning to release the middle act of the story as a single, The Battle of the Somme, on Friday, July 1, for the centenary, with the aim of increasing interest in the project ready for the subsequent album release.
The single will be available to buy online on Amazon, iTunes and Spotify, with all profits donated to Help for Heroes.
For more about the project, visit Facebook and search for ‘The Great War – A Hero’s Tale’.
