A VIDEO of members of the Tartan Army singing a fan song composed by a Hibs-supporting hairdresser is raising money for a charity helping men with prostate cancer.
The We Are On Our Way – To Germany music video has already been viewed thousands of times, with even German fans giving their approval.
It features a song written by John Pryde (47) from South Queensferry who was inspired to compose it last summer when Scotland’s chances of qualifying for Euro 2024 were looking good.
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After qualification was guaranteed, John set out to make his dream a reality.
“I’ve played guitar for years so I thought I’d try writing one for fun,” he said.
He roped in a friend, Norman Lamont, who had some recording equipment, then played the finished version to a client, Alan McNeill, who just happened to be a consultant urologist and trustee of Prostate Scotland.
“He suggested we could use it to raise funds for charity and I thought that would be great,” said John.
David Paton, formerly of the band Pilot, and singer Colin Chisholm were roped in, as well as Heartbeat Recording Studio, pipers, drummers and former footballer and pundit Ally McCoist.
Scotland fans were then asked to send in clips which have been used to create a joyous, upbeat video featuring people from across the country along with McCoist, Janey Godley, Grant Stott, Colin McCredie and Kris Boyd.
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The money raised will go towards services run by Prostate Scotland, such as the Prostate FFIT (Football Fans In Training) which has been specially designed for men with prostate cancer and is run in partnership with the SPFL Trust and delivered through Scottish football clubs.
Throughout the video, there is footage of Prostate FFIT participants singing the song from Rugby Park along with snippets of the 12-week exercise programme from Ibrox Stadium.
As well as raising funds, it is hoped the video will help more Scottish men to be aware of their prostate, know what issues to look out for, seek help and get an early diagnosis if there is cancer so that it can be treated more easily.
Nearly one in two men in Scotland will be affected by prostate disease at some stage of their lives and one in 10 are likely to develop prostate cancer.
The most recent figures for Scotland show that 4265 were diagnosed and 1066 men died from prostate cancer in 2021.
John said: “It has been incredible to see people coming together to create the clips for the music video. I hope people join me in my bid to raise a stack of cash for Prostate Scotland.”
Fans can hear the song on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and Amazon Music, and visit the campaign website to watch the film, find out the back story, learn the words and donate via the JustGiving page on the campaign website: www.wereonourway.com
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