WELL-KNOWN Oudtshoorn singer Sissy McGurk usually spends the South African winter on an overseas tour. This year she was due to travel in July to Australia and New Zealand, returning home via the USA and UK in September. But international travel has been put on indefinite hold because of the Covid-19 lockdown.
“I was very disappointed to have to postpone the trip. I performed in several overseas countries last year as part of a round the world tour. I was looking forward to touring again but it was not to be this year. There are provisional plans to go during early 2021, but obviously nothing is certain because of the epidemic,” she said this week.
Putting this setback aside Sissy and her musical director husband, Dr Barry McGurk, decided to undertake some other projects whilst at home during the lockdown. Barry explained: “We have a small recording studio at our home and decided to pursue a novel project. Normally we collaborate with other, mainly local, artists and singing groups in the studio. Because we were isolated and could not have people visit us we reached out to overseas friends in a similar position to ourselves.”
Barry contacted Derrick Rowbottom, a friend from his school days in the UK. They had played together in bands in the sixties. Derrick and his wife Shirley, who is a singer, were in lockdown in the UK when Barry contacted them.
Derrick said: “Barry and I have kept in touch over the years and we decided to make what we hoped would be an uplifting recording and video across two continents more than 10 000 kilometers apart, using modern technology. And we had lots of free time to take on the challenges of doing it!”
Barry played and recorded the backing to the Charlie Chaplin song, Smile. Sissy then sang her part in a gospel style at their home in Oudtshoorn. He sent the file to Derrick who recorded Shirley singing her part at their studio in Hartlepool, UK. Videos were made of Barry playing and both singers performing at their respective homes. Derrick edited them together in the UK to produce the final audio track and video.
With lyrics about smiling through fear and sorrow and the sun shining tomorrow the four felt the song perfectly summed up the situation many of us are in with Covid-19 and the lockdown.
Shirley added: “All four of us have been involved in music is some way for most of our lives and in our senior years we are fortunate enough to be able to raise money for various good causes in both countries. We are looking forward to the next collaboration with Barry and Sissy in South Africa and we are intending to visit Oudtshoorn, hopefully, next year. We would like to put on some fund raising concerts with them for Oudtshoorn charities.”
The audio track of Smile is being played on Eden FM and the radio in the UK. The video can be found via Google or YouTube under ‘Sissy and Shirley sing Smile’.
