Recent Updates

19th April 2020

Firstly, I hope you're all doing as well as is possible during these extraordinary months. And my thoughts are with all of you - or friends and loved ones - whose lives are directly affected by this virus.

Huge thanks for supporting our live performances. Really sorry to be losing a European tour, London shows, a collaboration with the composer Mark Anthony Turnage and members of The Hallé Orchestra - to say nothing of a Southbank concert to launch What's New.

Quite the shock. With all the current hardship, lots of musicians are suffering too. Please support in any small way. You can buy single tracks online… and check for rescheduled dates of your favourite live arts. Hopefully returning soon.

A world-wide collective sense of how nourishing music, theatre, film and spoken word has surged - and it's all online or delivered to our homes.

Here's a few things that have kept my focus and made me feel so lucky to have my job - as a musician, broadcaster and (wait for it!) PODCASTER (yup, it's coming soon).

Also watch out for a new video for Once Upon A Summertime (from the new release on Silent Wish Records, What's New).

See you all soon.
Love, Ian Shaw x

19th March 2020

Hi everyone,

Firstly, I hope you're all doing as okay as is humanly possible. Thank you for your lovely messages regarding our postponed tour. We are all feeling the same stuff here, and the collective urge to simply look out for each other has never felt stronger. Music and The Arts have never felt so needed, but it's all there online for the time being. And hopefully soon, we can all do our thing - with some of you in the room!

I feel lucky. That is, compared to artists with young families and mortgages, buskers with no passing crowds, self-employed folk with nothing but instant debts and now only a very new type of anxiety. It only escalates in these terrifying days.

We are surrounded by marginalised fellow humans. We were before COVID19. And now they are becoming invisible.

And alongside our country's rough sleepers, the 'working poor' and those under an already compromised social care system, paralysed by Universal Credit and a government unable to make decisions in a life-threatening crisis - there are hugely vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers, as has been proven since the world named it a 'crisis' in early September, 2015.

These folk now have zero organised support. Fear and self-protection has removed many connections. This is not unsurprising. But it doesn't have to be like this.

This is a letter from my friend, Ros Ereira, at Amnesty UK. it highlights a brilliant, pragmatic individual initiative, to assist vulnerables now places are closing. Please read it and share it if that feels right. If not, I appreciate your getting this far anyway - and I'll see some of you in better times. With love and best wishes to you all,

Ian Shaw.

www.sidebysiderefugees.org (supporting all compromised citizens, working closely with NGOS and on-the-ground)

From Ros…

Dear friends

I hope you are all safe and well and managing OK in these difficult times.

I wanted to share this with you, so that you can hopefully share it widely among your networks.

Many drop in centres and migrant support services across London are now closed due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus). A community group has been set up by Joseph Funnell, of Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants and also Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers, to connect individuals and organisations on a local level and to signpost those looking for help, volunteers and resources.

Please consider joining this group or invite someone to join this group if you/they are one of the following:

  • A migrant, an asylum seeker or an individual without immigration status who needs immediate support
  • An organisation that supports migrants and asylum seekers
  • An individual who is able to support asylum seekers in their local area
  • An individual with with language skills who is able to assist with translation
  • An existing regional mutual aid group looking to reach out to migrant groups

https://www.facebook.com/groups/193855082039231/members/

With all best wishes

Ros