Why did you choose to raise funds for Music Support?
I decided to raise funds for Music Support because I felt I needed to give back to the service that was crucial in turning my life around. For a very long time I’d had severe problems with drink and drugs, there was a final point in me wanting to end my life because I felt so hopeless and my life was nothing but pure despair. I managed to quit drugs but the drink had taken control, I tried many times to moderate, or even quit alcohol but by that point the claws of addiction had dug in and my life felt like it was in disrepair to the point of absolute destruction. Your typical helplines helped for a bit, but Music Support actually took action into helping me – handing Georgina on the phone to hospital staff when I was incoherent and suicidal – getting a psychologist to assess what I needed and eventually getting therapy with Fred McCormack who started my path to freedom in recovery. I’d be dead if it weren’t for these people.
Recovery is about helping others, removing those selfish traits which brought me so far down and living a life I never thought I could enjoy.
Tell us more about your fundraiser
In October of 2022 I was booked to play a show in Paris with my band Mozart Estate, and decided to plan a cycling trip around it. I went with Amsterdam to Bilbao, mainly because I thought it would all be downhill. It wasn’t. There were many ups and downs on that trip, but I came away feeling really high and accomplished. Food poisoning after a dodgy seafood pizza (I know, who AM I?!) in Tours left for a pained journey through 30mph headwinds on the hilly road to Poitiers. That was probably the lowest. The road from Biarritz to Eibar was the most favourable, beginning my ascent into the Pyrenees. Between Zumaia and Deba is a great big hill and I was already tired and getting stinking negative thoughts. I turned those thoughts around with the reminder that I was raising money to help others who are in desperate need, by that point I’d raised around £700. After reaching the peak, flying downhill on the other side towards Deba I burst out in hysterical crying, as I was experiencing unsullied joy for the first time in my adult life.
How much did you raise?
In the end I raised around £800. I really hope the money goes to help someone who was in a similar situation to me, and can convince someone reading this that they aren’t alone and help is available.
Read more stories and find out how you can join Music Support: The Roots community here.
Why did you choose to raise funds for Music Support?
I decided to raise funds for Music Support because I felt I needed to give back to the service that was crucial in turning my life around. For a very long time I’d had severe problems with drink and drugs, there was a final point in me wanting to end my life because I felt so hopeless and my life was nothing but pure despair. I managed to quit drugs but the drink had taken control, I tried many times to moderate, or even quit alcohol but by that point the claws of addiction had dug in and my life felt like it was in disrepair to the point of absolute destruction. Your typical helplines helped for a bit, but Music Support actually took action into helping me – handing Georgina on the phone to hospital staff when I was incoherent and suicidal – getting a psychologist to assess what I needed and eventually getting therapy with Fred McCormack who started my path to freedom in recovery. I’d be dead if it weren’t for these people.
Recovery is about helping others, removing those selfish traits which brought me so far down and living a life I never thought I could enjoy.
How much did you raise?
In the end I raised around £800. I really hope the money goes to help someone who was in a similar situation to me, and can convince someone reading this that they aren’t alone and help is available.
Read more stories and find out how you can join Music Support: The Roots community here.