The
pubs were still open when Joseph Malik decided to do something for the homeless,
for whom being able to self-isolate from the Covid-19 virus isn’t an option. The
result of this is today’s release of The Republic of Persevere, an online only EP
of remixes of the opening track to Stranger Things Have Happened, an album that
saw Malik pull together a free-flowing all-star cast from Edinburgh’s assorted
music scenes under the name of Out of the Ordinary.
All
proceeds of from sales of Malik’s very personal love letter to Edinburgh will
go to Edinburgh homeless charity, Street Work. It was Street Work that Malik looked
to not that long ago during his own period of homelessness. With the world now
in lockdown, the Republic of Persevere project has been pulled together with
the help of Fini Tribe’s Davie Miller, who has worked at Street Work for two
decades, and Malik’s label boss at Ramrock Records, Jo Wallace.
Today’s
release of The Republic of Persevere is available on Bandcamp, and the track
will receive its first radio play on the Craig Charles Funk and Soul Show on
BBC 6 Music tonight. Those tuning in will be able to hear a labour of love
pulled together by Malik, whose career as singer, producer, composer and DJ has
been revitalised over the last year after a decade out of music.
This
has seen Malik release his own Diverse Part 2 album, while Out of the Ordinary
made their debut with their single, single, Meadows, named after the leafy Edinburgh
sanctuary where Malik sometimes slept. Signed
copies of Meadows and Stranger Things Have Happened hang in frames above the
bar in The Grapes, the pub next to the Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh that Malik
refers to as his other office.
The
cover of Meadows bears this out. ‘In case of emergency’ it says, ‘contact
Joseph Malik at The Grapes Bar? No answer? Call Fiona at The Argyle Bar.’ The Marchmont-based
Argyle, run by Fiona Longworth, is Malik’s other, other office. Sat in The
Grapes on a Thursday afternoon a week before the country’s enforced lockdown, and
with manager Gordon Turnbull serving a handful of elderly regulars, for Malik, both
places are so much more.
“It's
very poignant being here,” he says. “When I was homeless, I would come in at
nine in the morning and Gordon would say, are you okay, pal, and I would say
no, not really, I’m homeless, and he’d get us a pint, or maybe get us a coffee
or a bacon roll, and say, we all look out for each other in here. It’s the same
with all the old pensioners. If nobody’s been seen for a few days, their door
will get chapped to see if they’re okay. That’s why I love this place.”
Malik
wrote the songs for Stranger Things Have Happened here.
“I’d
be sitting there, and Gordon would be like, what you writing, kid, and I’m
like, oh, I’m just writing my diary. Then, when the record came out, I
explained it to him, and I’m proud that I wrote those songs here. People stick
by each other in here, and they care. They’ll be making soups and stews, passing
them round to the pensioners, and making sure people are getting fed. So they really
do look out for each other.”
This
is Malik wanting to give something back.
“Being
homeless, it’s deadly serious,” he says. “You feel ashamed. And that stigma, I
wanted to try and get over it and build myself up again. Remembering what I
went through, I felt really compelled to do something, because the homeless
have been sadly overlooked in this whole debacle of what's going on in the
world. Yes, we’re musicians, and we’ve lost income, but we have central heating
in the house to go home to, and some of us have got families to go back to. They
don't. They have nothing.”
The
Republic of Persevere is a joyous homage to the hustle and bustle of Malik’s
beloved Leith. Malik’s lyrics reference the likes of The Proclaimers and former
doyen of the Port O’Leith pub, Mary Moriarty. The record features input from
Mike Keat of The Cuban Brothers, jazz trumpeter Colin Steele, and Proclaimers
keyboardist Steven Christie. An epic vocal line-up is led by The Bevvy Sisters,
the trio of Heather Macleod, Gina Rae and Louise Murphy. Joining them for the
new mix are Subie Coleman and Rosanne Erskine. At the record’s heart is a first-hand
experience of finding strength through adversity that makes for a joyful slice
of life-affirming soul.
“To
hear those five incredible female voices is amazing,” says the man who brought
them together.
As
we’re finishing up, a guy sitting a couple of tables away chips in, after
hearing some of what we’d been talking about. He’s been selling The Big Issue
on South Clerk Street, and, like Malik, came into The Grapes for some respite
in a place he feels safe. He and Malik bond instantly.
“Everybody
needs to help each other right now,” says Malik, “and the homeless are the most
needing of that help of anyone, so they can come through this. That’s what the
song’s about. You have to persevere.”
The Republic of Persevere
EP by Out of the Ordinary is released today, and is available on Bandcamp at https://ramrock.bandcamp.com/album/out-of-the-ordinary-republic-of-persevere-charity-ep -
The Herald, March 20th 2020
ends
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