I'm Still Standing: Teacher teams up with students to create music video from home - watch
Morale dropped among music students at a Telford school when the coronavirus crisis saw their tour and end-of-year concert cancelled – but their teacher came up with the perfect way to cheer them up.
Ben Millington, who is head of music at Telford Priory School, used musical instruments – and even cups and glasses – to create a series of 'lockdown' music videos that have had thousands of views on social media.
After uploading the first one online, where he recreated the melody to Billie Eilish's Bad Guy using glasses and cups filled with water, his students were eager to get involved.
Refusing to let the lockdown spoil their fun and learning, they teamed up together to create their own music video singing Elton John's I'm Still Standing.
Watch the video:
"The students were a bit down in the dumps," said Mr Millington, who lives in Lilleshall.
"We were meant to be taking 45 students on a music tour to do concerts in Italy in July. That's been cancelled. "Our musical had to be cancelled and the year 11 concert.
"With the amount of work the students put in, I had to do something.
"I wanted to show their talent, they are so talented."
The 'I'm Still Standing' video saw nine of Mr Millington's students get involved.
While the 36-year-old and two students played a selection of instruments, seven others provided the vocals.
The father-of-one, who now hopes to upload videos on a daily basis, said: "When I got my students involved it went crazy.
"I made a backing track, recording the instruments here myself, and sent it to the students as an MP3.
"They played the MP3 back on headphones and videoed themselves singing and sent it back to me.
"I put their singing over the track.
"There were nine students who got involved from years 10 and 11.
"Some of them are singing, there's one on bass and one guitarist.
"I love the song, I'm Still Standing. It's cheery and puts a smile on your face and I thought it was appropriate with everything going on.
"We are planning to do more as well. For our next one we'll be doing Gimme Some Lovin' by The Blues Brothers but our own version."
Mr Millington is also hoping to collaborate with other musicians and singers and has asked them to contact him via Facebook.
He says it is a brilliant way to lift spirits while showing people they can still have fun at home while heeding the Government's advice.
"What would we all be doing without technology?" he added.
"It's just a brilliant way of getting connected and cheering people up.
"The biggest thing is the students and the smiles you can put on their faces. They just love it."
