Six months after the terrorist attack at Manchester Arena, which claimed the lives of twenty-two people, students  at Chetham’s School of Music have arranged and recorded a new version of Oasis’ Don’t Look Back in Anger.  The song has been released to encourage people to remember and support victims of terror.

Directly across the road from the Arena, the boarding students of Chetham’s School of Music were woken from sleep to wait through the night as the incident unfolded. Inside the police cordon, they were unable to leave school for 24 hours – and, as the city gathered in Albert Square to pay its respects to the victims, they held their own vigil on the school yard. Appropriately, they used their most powerful language – music – to express their feelings, singing John Lennon’s Imagine and the Oasis song, Don’t Look Back in Anger, in an expression of support and solidarity.

Over the summer, Chetham’s students decided to plan a longer lasting memorial, with Head Boy and Girl, Matthew Wilson and Flossie Plain, coming together to suggest a new arrangement of Don’t Look Back In Anger, to raise funds after the attack.

Recorded in The Stoller Hall, Chetham’s concert venue, with the consent of Sony on behalf of Oasis, Matthew and Flossie, along with their fellow Sixth Form students, led on the project. They contacted former student Joshua Hickin, who created the new arrangement for trombone ensemble, a small band and the massed voices of the school’s staff and students. Matthew acted as Musical Director for the recording, with Flossie as Producer.

Speaking about the project, Matthew commented, “The project for me has two main aims, firstly to act as a symbol of remembrance for those who were affected on that night in May, and secondly to try and raise as much money as possible to support the victims and their families through the work of the British Red Cross. My huge thanks go to all those who supported the project from both the technical and production side and the students and staff who feature in the track and video.”

To make a donation, please visit: https://beta.redcross.org.uk/appeal/uk-solidarity-fun