Let’s get birdsong into the Top 40!

If you mention ‘birds’ and the Top 40 chart, what comes to mind for many people might be the band The Byrds or The Birdie Song (by The Tweets), but now the RSPB has released its first ever single of pure birdsong!
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Apr 2019, 12:30 BST
Cuckoo (submitted image)Cuckoo (submitted image)
Cuckoo (submitted image)

Let Nature Sing was released yesterday after already becoming a top seller on the Amazon music charts, writes Brian Campbell, RSPB NI.

And, the song is central to a new campaign from the RSPB to drive nature’s recovery by connecting the plight of nature with music and song.

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It features 25 of our most beloved and threatened birds, showcasing solo divas such as the blackbird and robin, rhythm from the great spotted woodpecker and grasshopper warbler, brass from duetting cranes, the booming bass of the bittern and - of course - the vocal acrobatics of the nightingale.

Let Nature Sing is available as a digital download or as a CD. To buy it and to find out more about the campaign, please visit www.rspb.org.uk/letnaturesing

The song was directed by award-winning singer and musician Sam Lee and produced by Bill Barclay, musical Director at the Globe Theatre. It uses entirely new sound recordings by RSPB birdsong expert Adrian Thomas, recorded on nature reserves and locations around the UK.

Music cuts across generations, politics and geography, uniting people regardless of their differences. Through music we can make nature’s recovery relevant and part of popular culture, unignorable for politicians and policymakers across Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

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So why are we so desperate to get people talking about birdsong and standing up for nature? Because more than 40 million birds have vanished from UK skies in just 50 years and 165 species are critically endangered.

The demise of birdsong is a signal that all is not well with the world. We need nature to keep singing, to show that the planet remains a fit home for birds - and us.

The Let Nature Sing single is a celebration of all that is special about birdsong, but also a wake-up call that we can’t let nature fall silent.

New research reveals that 82% of people say birdsong makes them feel positive, and more than half (54%) would choose it as the number one sound to wake up to. Nobody is talking about the crisis facing wildlife and nature; we all need to start talking about this, and the Let Nature Sing track is a good starting point.

So if you can, please help us get birdsong into the charts this spring to show that we care. We mustn’t let nature’s song fall silent.