Today, Team Margot have launched 'Light The Way' - a moving, must-hear song created by students at Elstree Technical College in memory of Margot Martini, and to encourage more people to sign up to the UK stem cell donor register.
Grace Hynds, one of the song's creators, takes us through the amazing story behind their incredible achievement.
My name is Grace Hynds, not that it matters; but my face does, a little bit...you might have seen it already on the (near to) 150 billboards around the country? Although it has always been a dream of mine to have my face in lights, I never imagined that it would happen like this.
I feel so unbelievably honoured for my eyes to be the eyes that people look into when being persuaded into registering as potential bone marrow and stem cell donors. It doesn't make me too nervous (ha!); I mostly feel pride and pure passion for being able to support Team Margot in a way that comes naturally to me. Being able to work with my heart and soul so closely connected to a charity, that I started as almost a 'fan' of, is a gift that I will treasure 'all my life'... I accidentally just quoted 'Light The Way'.
How we created Light The Way
I am so proud to have been a student of The Elstree UTC. The UTC is a school for 14-19 year olds in North London that specialises in Media, 'Behind the Scenes' Work and the Entertainment Industries with insanely talented industry professional members of staff. After watching the promotional video that was made by my fellow pupils when we were in training, I fell in love with the charity in its ambition to unite people in registering as potential donors for such a life-changing cause. In suffering a personal bereavement, as a songwriter I was able to tap into my emotional memory and write lyrics that I felt would resonate with anyone who has ever lost a loved one. Melodically, I wrote the piece with the hope that people would be able to sing along to the track and thereby increase the awareness of Team Margot as a charity.
Yaser and Vicki Martini have been the most inspirational, motivational and genuinely caring people to work with. They treated me like a true professional and by doing this, as a songwriter, I was able to practice what it's like to have real clients in the music industry. This meant that the track underwent a process and collaboration with them, enabling me to make the lyrics both relatable to them as a family (personally this was most important for me) and to the general public.
However, the main element of motivation that drove this journey for me was Margot. Everything about her fuelled the emotion that I put into the lyrics and melody.
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It was all for her. I remember so vividly when I first met Yaser and Vicki, they got emotional when talking about their daughter and said 'sorry' a few times for crying. I found this unnecessary considering I was close to breaking into tears too! They also told me about how Margot would run down their hallway, repeatedly fashioning a ballerina's tutu! I was lucky enough to be sent clips of this to further inspire me after our first meeting. If you listen to 'Light the Way' you'll hear a slight narrative of some of that first meeting.
After forming the basic structure for 'Light The Way' with melody, lyrics and chords, I was joined by my friend and classmate, Daniella, an extraordinarily talented pianist. Together, we transformed the piece from a song that began with my guitar and I in my bedroom, to a vision that could be taken to Metropolis Studio!
This opportunity has been an unbelievable rollercoaster of surprises, from the Grammy Award winning engineers' work at the Metropolis studio recording, to discovering how much exposure this song will get in the media for the charity. I truly believe it is a song that can save lives. Listen/watch, register and swab... I've done it. It takes seconds. You may save someone's life by doing so.
The heartbreaking truth is that it could easily be YOU or someone you love who is in need of a stem cell or bone marrow transplant, and without registering, you will never know if you can help them in their fight for survival.
Listen to 'Light The Way' now.