Barnaby Weir offers song to support sight-restoring work

Fly My Pretties frontman offers song to support sight-restoring work

For immediate release: 13 August 2013

The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ announced today a close working relationship with Barnaby Weir, one of the lead singers of Fly My Pretties. The sight-restoring charity will feature a track with Weir’s voice as the soundtrack for a series of new TV commercials and promotional films. The song, ‘Everyone Can See’ will be played over images of Pacific patients having surgical bandages removed and seeing the world clearly again.

Fly My Pretties frontman Weir talked about what it means to support The Foundation and said the issue of eyesight really resonates with him.

“It's a real honour to be able to support this worthy cause,” he said. “I myself am very short-sighted but I can't imagine what it would be like to not see at all and to have no money or access to the right solutions or help.”

Weir said he’s pleased to see the song reach new audiences and hopes it will inspire people to support The Foundation’s work.

“We have all the help at our fingertips in NZ so for those people with no chance of getting the attention they need, The Foundation provides such a valuable gift,” said Weir.

Andrew Bell, the Executive Director of The Foundation said the song was ideal to express the goal of their work.

“The sentiment that ‘Everyone Can See’ was central to Fred Hollows’ work,” said Bell.  “Fred Hollows believed that no one should be needlessly blind and his life’s work was to provide quality eye care to people who could not afford it.  To find a song that expresses this so succinctly was a perfect fit.”

The new TV commercials featuring the track air on TV3 this week. They will be broadcast nationwide for the next four months.  

Weir said that music has an important role to play in motivating people to get involved.

“I believe it's important for musicians to at least make people aware of social justice issues and from there the audience can do what they see fit,” said Weir. “Musicians can rally support and awareness on important issues.”

According to both Bell and Weir, this collaboration is just the first step towards a closer relationship that might include trips to the Pacific in the near future.  

While the song reaches new audiences in NZ with images of the sight-restoring work, Bell said the team of eye doctors and nurses are busy across over a dozen countries performing surgical outreaches.

“With almost 80,000 blind people in the Pacific, The Foundation has lots of work to do to help people see again,” said Bell.  “We hope that Weir’s song inspires more Kiwis to help us in this effort.”

Embedded link: http://youtu.be/wXtxyFVdZDI.

To find out more about the work of The Fred Hollows Foundation, please go to hollows.org.nz.

Fly My Pretties are about to embark on a 20 date Homeland tour from Kaitaia to Invercargill this September. To get tickets to see Barnaby Weir and Fly My Pretties in concert, please go to http://www.loop.co.nz/events/upcoming/.

ENDS

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