London’s music and arts community unites in fundraiser to ‘fight back’ against coronavirus

London’s music and arts community is doing its part to “unite, encourage and support” the community in the fight against the coronavirus.

Forest City Fights Back (FCFB) launched its version of Rachel Platten’s Fight Song on Monday, which includes performances from 22 London artists and musicians, including Genevieve Fisher, Randie Van Gorp, Denise Pelley and Sarina Haggarty.

The music video also features front-line workers, local community members, athletes and celebrities, including Brandon Prust, Jackie Redmond, Liz Trinnear, Najwa Zabian, Nazem Kadri and Shad.

“I really wanted to do something for our community in these challenging times,” said FCFB founder and executive producer Anita Schipper.

“My husband is in the music scene, and I work in the live events space — so both of our careers have been affected drastically by COVID-19 — and if I’m honest it got me really down. But I wanted to change my negative energy into something positive, and felt compelled to create a project that benefited the community, showed love to those on the front lines, and showcased the incredible local talent that we have right here in our city.”

From there, Schipper reached out to her friend, producer Nick Fetchison. After consulting with him, she says she reached out to video and marketing teams in the city. Derek Lamoureux from Reux Agency joined as the co-creative director of FCFB video and his team at Reux handled marketing. His friend Andrew Stephenson then joined as the other co-creative director.

“Once all of these partners were in place, my husband, Randie, and I looked first to our close network of friends within the music community. Our first ask was to Jason Pierce (from Our Lady Peace) and Tara McLeod (from Kitte/ Nice Horse), who are on drums and guitar,” Schipper said.

Schipper said once that support was in place, things “spiralled very quickly.”

“The music community in London is absolutely incredible. Even with their worlds completely turned upside down with all live shows at a halt, they still stepped up willingly to support this initiative and to use their voices to help local charities that are on the front lines of this fight against COVID-19.”

The cover also aims to raise funds for the London Health Sciences Foundation (LHSF) and London Community Foundation (LCF) through donations and FCFB T-shirt sales.

Donations to the LCF will go to its COVID-19 relief fund, which is granted to organizations struggling to respond to the pressures of COVID-19. Further grants will be made to support the rebuild and recovery phase, Schipper said. Funds to the LHSF will go towards COVID-19 research, equipment needs and personal protective equipment, as well as patient care and employee wellness.