Scottish band Wet Wet Wet were in London last week to help kick off Nordoff Robbins' 40th anniversary celebrations, and took the time to visit the music therapy charity’s centre.
During their visit, they got to meet Romano, an 11-year-old who has autism and global developmental delay. He has been attending the centre for around five years and his music therapy sessions have helped him hugely with personal skills (building confidence and reducing anxiety), developing cognitive skills (increasing self-awareness and speech development) and physical co-ordination.
Romano got to experience an extra special session yesterday when he performed the band’s timeless number one hit, Love Is All Around, with the men themselves! With Tommy on drums, Neil at the piano, Graeme on guitar and Marti on vocals, the band embraced their new fifth member!
Wet Wet Wet, a band who have sold in excess of 15 million records whilst notching up over thirty UK chart hits including three number 1’s, has a long history with Nordoff Robbins dating back to when they received a Silver Clef award for new music in 1988. At this point band members Graeme, Tommy, Neil and Marti were introduced to the inspiring work that the charity does, using music to help people express themselves and communicate. The band went on to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in 1992 in aid of Nordoff Robbins, funds from which opened a much needed library at the London-based music therapy centre in 1993. The facility is still used to this day by Nordoff Robbins students and therapists alike. The band have since been staunch supporters and decided to mark the longevity of their relationship with Nordoff Robbins, in what is the 40th birthday year for the charity, with a very special show last week.
The band are a renowned live act having played to over four million people across 25 countries and although they are normally seen performing in massive arenas, the smaller surroundings of the Koko gig allowed fans to get a lot closer than normal. With a massive catalogue of much loved songs including Julia Says, Somewhere Somehow, Sweet Little Mystery and Goodnight Girl, this was a chance to see how the band earned their reputation as one of the most powerful live artists around.
Marti Pellow, lead singer of Wet Wet Wet, said “We get to do two things we love – play live to our fans and support a charity we have believed in since day one. The work Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy does is special and it works. They are so dedicated and we wanted to wish them happy birthday by putting on this show.”
Drummer Tommy Cunningham added “Music has given us a lot in life, and it’s great to be able to use music to give something back, we are very proud of our association with Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy.”
Source: Nordoff Robbins
