Lincolnshire based indie quartet The Freefall are taking time out of their busy schedule to help out a few of their most devoted fans. Long-time friends of the band, the North family have been supporting Ant, Scott, Ben and Andy since they came together roughly 2 years ago and now the guys are returning the favour, albeit under rather more sombre circumstances. Tragically, Jack North was a victim of one of the most aggressive malignant brain tumours that can be found in humans and, sadly, he passed away 6 months ago. However, both the band and Jack’s closest friends and family are determined to perpetuate his positive attitude now that he’s gone.
The Freefall have taken a poem, written in Jack’s memory by his God-mother Trisha, and turned it into a charity single entitled ‘Hang Then Jack’ that will be entered into the UK Charts. Their purpose is to raise both money and awareness for The Brain Tumour Charity, an affiliate of Cancer Research UK, and to celebrate the life of a courageous young man. I caught up with Scott Ballard (guitar and vocals) who was happy to share some information about the project.
The single, mastered at London’s prestigious Abbey Road Studios, will be released via ITunes and Amazon but Scott made it clear that they’d prefer people to purchase it via instant text download. He explained that 100% of the profits generated this way will go straight to the two charities and that text downloads will give ‘Hang Ten Jack’ the highest chance of going viral and raising the most amount of money possible. Scott also told me that, if they can take full advantage of all media platforms then they have high hopes for the success of the single. He explained that “Cancer Research UK have over half a millions likes on Facebook, so if they can just help us out by putting up one post about the song, then we can turn a lot heads”. The hope is that The Freefall can turn enough heads to break into the top 200 in the official UK Charts. This would mean selling 2000 copies of the single in just one week, a daunting feat.
Additionally, the guys have also been working on an accompanying music video that will be released today (Saturday 2nd November). Though he could not be there in person, Scott explained that Jack will be present throughout the video. It was filmed at Sutton on Sea, a favourite spot of Jack’s, and many of his personal effects, including his kites, his surfboards and his favourite shorts, were used during the filming. Jack’s sister Hayley and her fiancé Ady also have starring roles.
As if that wasn’t enough, The Freefall are also kicking off a UK tour in Jack’s honour. The ‘Hang Ten Jack Tour’ will begin on Friday 15th November and will visit Nottingham, Lincoln, Grantham, Sleaford, Doncaster, Sheffield and even London. Full details and dates can be found here. The flagship event of the tour is the opening date at The Park Inn Hotel in Nottingham which Scott and the guys hope will garner a high attendance, particularly because it will be free to enter. To try and get as many people down to the show as possible, the guys have arranged free return transport from Newark. Contact The Freefall on Facebook for more details.
Scott wanted to make it clear that they’ve received a lot of help from local businesses who have provided their services at a greatly reduced price on behalf of the ‘Hang Ten Jack’ project. He particularly wanted to thank “Loki films who produced the video, F3 Cars who provided a minibus during filming and Appy Prints who printed T-Shirts that were worn during filming, all for a fraction of their usual prices”.
‘Hang Ten Jack’ is poised to be a thoroughly productive project and I’m sure that The Freefall and the North family will be proud of their efforts. Obviously, they still need a great deal of support to raise as much money and awareness as they possibly can and, if you want to get involved, you can lend your support in a couple of ways. Watch and share the video, buy and share the single and get down to as many dates on the ‘Hang Ten Jack Tour’ as you can. Everyone involved will be grateful for your support.
The Freefall have taken a poem, written in Jack’s memory by his God-mother Trisha, and turned it into a charity single entitled ‘Hang Then Jack’ that will be entered into the UK Charts. Their purpose is to raise both money and awareness for The Brain Tumour Charity, an affiliate of Cancer Research UK, and to celebrate the life of a courageous young man. I caught up with Scott Ballard (guitar and vocals) who was happy to share some information about the project.
The single, mastered at London’s prestigious Abbey Road Studios, will be released via ITunes and Amazon but Scott made it clear that they’d prefer people to purchase it via instant text download. He explained that 100% of the profits generated this way will go straight to the two charities and that text downloads will give ‘Hang Ten Jack’ the highest chance of going viral and raising the most amount of money possible. Scott also told me that, if they can take full advantage of all media platforms then they have high hopes for the success of the single. He explained that “Cancer Research UK have over half a millions likes on Facebook, so if they can just help us out by putting up one post about the song, then we can turn a lot heads”. The hope is that The Freefall can turn enough heads to break into the top 200 in the official UK Charts. This would mean selling 2000 copies of the single in just one week, a daunting feat.
Additionally, the guys have also been working on an accompanying music video that will be released today (Saturday 2nd November). Though he could not be there in person, Scott explained that Jack will be present throughout the video. It was filmed at Sutton on Sea, a favourite spot of Jack’s, and many of his personal effects, including his kites, his surfboards and his favourite shorts, were used during the filming. Jack’s sister Hayley and her fiancé Ady also have starring roles.
As if that wasn’t enough, The Freefall are also kicking off a UK tour in Jack’s honour. The ‘Hang Ten Jack Tour’ will begin on Friday 15th November and will visit Nottingham, Lincoln, Grantham, Sleaford, Doncaster, Sheffield and even London. Full details and dates can be found here. The flagship event of the tour is the opening date at The Park Inn Hotel in Nottingham which Scott and the guys hope will garner a high attendance, particularly because it will be free to enter. To try and get as many people down to the show as possible, the guys have arranged free return transport from Newark. Contact The Freefall on Facebook for more details.
Scott wanted to make it clear that they’ve received a lot of help from local businesses who have provided their services at a greatly reduced price on behalf of the ‘Hang Ten Jack’ project. He particularly wanted to thank “Loki films who produced the video, F3 Cars who provided a minibus during filming and Appy Prints who printed T-Shirts that were worn during filming, all for a fraction of their usual prices”.
‘Hang Ten Jack’ is poised to be a thoroughly productive project and I’m sure that The Freefall and the North family will be proud of their efforts. Obviously, they still need a great deal of support to raise as much money and awareness as they possibly can and, if you want to get involved, you can lend your support in a couple of ways. Watch and share the video, buy and share the single and get down to as many dates on the ‘Hang Ten Jack Tour’ as you can. Everyone involved will be grateful for your support.