A Dubai band has turned an old song into a new message of gratitude.
The Boxtones have re-recorded and released a new music video to their 2015 track, No Ordinary Hero, which features nearly a hundred pictures of health professionals, educators and engineers around the world who are working through the coronavirus pandemic.
The song marks the completion of a two-week social media campaign where the band collected photos from fans of their loved ones working on the frontline of the pandemic.
“The song is about celebrating not superheroes, but ordinary people who are doing extraordinary things,” says guitarist Gary Tierney.
“Now, when all of this is over, the situation has to change. They need to be acknowledged more because people such as doctors and nurses are doing amazing things and [we] wanted to pay our own tribute to them.”
The Boxtones certainly tip their hats far and wide. The video features photos of medical professionals from the UAE to Canada interspersed with split screen footage of the band recording their musical parts from their respective homes.
When it comes to the local personalities, the thank you list includes UAE residents, Dr Laura Horne, Etihad Airways engineer Kishan Coomaraswamy and teachers Sarah MacAskill and Lisa Lardner.
Tierney says the song was born out of a series of online song-writing sessions. This comes after The Boxtones plans to hit the studio in Dubai and record the follow up to their 2016 second album, Home, was scrapped by the pandemic.
With the group renowned as one of the busiest bands in the UAE – with up to four gigs a week spread across the Gulf – Tierney says it has taken some time to adjust and for the band to cool their heels at home. However, he confirms the creative fires are still burning and more new tunes are on the way.
“We are trying to think of new and creative ways to keep ourselves busy and occupied,” he says. “We got two more things that we are working on right now. One is a song that’s part of humanitarian project with a few charities. This is a great time to bring awareness and I believe that if you have a platform then you should send a message which is to support other people.”
