Along with our band of friends, we recorded 6 tracks - our own versions of popular songs which we feel have their own relevance to this cause -  on Father’s Day 2019 at Bell Studios, in Acton, London and have subsequently released these six songs in dedication to all those infected and affected by this disaster and as the centrepiece of this fundraiser towards the creation of the Edinburgh tribute

1. My First Night Alone Without You 

Our arrangement of this Ray Charles tune is based off of the Bonnie Raitt version, recorded in 1975. Within the context of Contaminated Blood this song speaks for all of those who have lost a loved one, the emptiness it brings and realisation that life will never be the same again. While the central theme of the song surrounds loss and sadness, it is also one which tells of a person coming to grips with their new reality in order to carry on in the name of their loved one

2. Step Inside Love

Written by Paul McCartney and sung by Cilla Black, Step Inside Love details the warmth and gratitude we give when we are with someone who we truly love and who truly loves us in return. Within the story of Contaminated Blood, it’s about making others feel acknowledged, comforted and provides a space to relax far away from the harsh realities of the day

3. I Can’t Stand the Rain 

This Ann Peebles number, another song centring around the theme of loss, describes the monotonous feelings that come with confronting one’s helplessness and inability to change the present. For Love, Blood & Covers, the rain also speaks as a metaphor for the volume of tears shed by all of those affected in this tragedy

4. Need Your Love so Bad 

Written by John Mertis Jnr for his brother, Little Willie John in 1955 and then famously covered by Peter Green (of which our own cover derives), Need Your Love so Bad is a love song explaining the virtue that love brings to us all. The lyric, “I need someone to stand up, and tell me when I’m lying”, describes this best. It’s through others’ love towards and around us that we are taken to a higher place; without our loved ones we are alone

5. Everybody Oughta Make a Change

Originally written by Sleepy John Estes, we based our version from Eric Clapton’s own cover. This song warns of a day of reckoning for all and calls everyone to be ready for change and accept accountability – a message all too clear to those in charge who allowed patients to become infected, while keeping all knowledge hidden for as long as possible 

6. These Boots are Made for Walking 

Written in 1966 by songwriter and producer Lee Hazlewood, he had initially penned the track to sing for himself. However, when his close working partner Nancy Sinatra heard it she noted “When a guy sings it, the song sounds harsh and abusive, but it's perfect for a little girl”. Since this was the first song that Love, Blood & Covers vocalist, Julia, ever sang as a little girl, for our project it suddenly embodies the purity that is innocence standing up and calling out the other side. The song is saying, to all those who lie, and act deceitfully, you do not go unnoticed, and you will not go un-challenged