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Eddy Says
Eddy Says: Soon I’ll be the one in nine
By Eddy Temple-Morris | Published on Wednesday 1 April 2015
When Tinnitus Awareness Week took place back in February, Eddy TM – as Ambassador of the British Tinnitus Association – was back on breakfast television discussing the condition.
He’s written here before about the lack of resources given to researching tinnitus and supporting those suffering from it, and ahead of this year’s Awareness Week the Action On Hearing Loss charity published a new report highlighting this very problem in more detail.
With that data now to hand, Eddy reckons it’s time for some action to raise both funds and further awareness.
“We’ll send a car to pick you up at 5.30am then”, said the charmingly efficient ITV producer as my heart sank with the thought that I’d be up a few hours after my eyes closed. I’ve always had a musician’s time clock, you see. I’m somehow unable, no matter how tired I may be, to fall sleep anywhere but well into the day I’m supposed to be waking on. Night people.
So, as Ambassador for the British Tinnitus Association and a person living with (I always say “living with” not “suffering from”) tinnitus for over fifteen years, I was being called on, once more, to be a ‘case study’. My annual evangelical foray into daytime TV, on this, the first day of Tinnitus Awareness Week.
It was good of them to help spread the message, but a shame that it was so quick that they ended up missing the point. A report has been published warning us that government cuts to the NHS will result in nearly 50% of people with tinnitus not being able to get the treatment, or in many cases, even the sympathy they need.
“Only two-fifths (41%) of NHS audiology departments give tinnitus sufferers access to four key services needed to help manage their condition, according to a new report from charity Action On Hearing Loss (formerly RNID) launched to mark Tinnitus Awareness Week”.
The early morning interview then focussed on the misery of having bad tinnitus, and I told them the same story I told you once before. Of course, they were suitably horrified, and sweetly sympathetic, but, sadly, being ITV, the producers didn’t encourage them to get to the heart of the matter.
There was no further mention of the report into government spending, so I never got to say, live on ITV, “Don’t be surprised, you voted for this – if we, as a country, are stupid enough to vote in a Conservative government, then we, as a country, must collectively bend over and take it where the sun don’t shine”.
We still have no cure for tinnitus, because there is no government funding for any research. And the problem is getting worse and worse, because every kid is listening to loud music on their phone, with earbuds or swish Dr Dre mobile bass bins, and our spam-faced Prime Minister and his NHS-annihilating cronies have still not spent one single penny on letting us know that doing this could give us brain damage. Yes. Brain damage. I’m not making this up. Tinnitus is not an ear problem. It’s damage to the pathway between ear and the hearing centre of the brain.
Rather than carry on bleating about it here and on Twitter and Facebook, I decided to do something. The useless Tory government has done nothing and will do nothing, so I have to do it myself, with a lot of help from a lot of kind people, every single one of whom has, or works closely with people who have, tinnitus.
So yes, the British Tinnitus Association, Absolute Marketing, Ben Leahy, Example Media, the artist Maria Lee Warren, and a whole load of musicians, all of whom have tinnitus as well, are coming together to support ‘I Am The One In Ten’, the exciting awareness and fundraising album I warned you all about some time ago.
The album is primed and ready for a spring release, and here is the track listing:
1. Coldplay – Charlie Brown (Mirror City Remix)
The massive bass remix by Mirror City, Danny Mcnamara kindly contacted Chris Martin about it, and he gave it his blessing, bless him.
2. Black Eyed Peas/Adam Freeland – Party All The Time/Mancry
An interesting track, written by Alex Metric and Adam Freeland, and then, um, borrowed by Black Eyed Peas, who sang over it, then released it, and erm, forgot to ask anyone for permission, then settled out of court when they got the “come on guys WTF?” letter. At this point in time the Peas people still haven’t cleared us including this, but the instrumental isn’t theirs to clear, so we’ll see…
3. DJ Fresh – Nervous (Sub Focus Remix)
Dan Fresh has always been a great supporter of the BTA, so it’s great to have this rare old remix by the brilliant Sub Focus.
4. Embrace – One Big Family (Perfecto Remix)
One of my favourite remixes, bands, remixers, people. Really chuffed to have this bit of history on there.
5. Adam F – It’s Bigger Than Hip Hop
Another legend and stalwart supporter of the cause. I think Dead Prez are the last ones to give this the official thumbs up.
6. Enter Shikari – The Paddington Frisk (Shikari Soundsystem Remix)
It’s no surprise that tinnitus is an issue with a band who play as loud and hard as these
incendiary and charming guys.
7. X-Press 2 – Kill 100 (feat Rob Harvey)
One of my favourite X-Press 2 tunes which features the amazing The Music frontman and Mike Skinner collaborator.
8. London Elektricity – Bells In My Head
This was a tune that Tony, the boss of Hospital Records, one of the greatest labels in drum n basas, made about having tinnitus and then kindly gave to us.
9. Alex Metric – Epichords
Delighted to have such a cool tune from such a cool producer and core Xfm Remix artist.
10. Freakpower – Turn On Tune In Cop Out (2013 Mix)
The delightful Ashley Slater contacted me as soon as I wrote here asking for help, and offered to do something special. So he reworked his biggest hit especially for us.
11. The Cooper Temple Clause – While You Were Sleeping
Thank you to Tom Bellamy, Didz Hammond and the rest of the Coopers for this unreleased exclusive from the most under-rated band of the noughties.
12. Drumsound & Basslinesmith – Through The Night (Bare Noize Remix)
This was Remix Of The Year on my Xfm show a few years ago. It’s a titanic piece of work by the frighteningly talented Bare Noize.
13. 2BadMice – Bombscare (Radiokillaz Dubplate mix)
Thanks to Si, who, like Ashley, contacted me as soon as he saw my column here, and wanted to get some nu-jungle in there.
14. Deadly Avenger – Fracture
Similarly, the master of film music, Damon Baxter, has given us this gorgeous, cinematic opus.
15. Freq Nasty – #1 Skanka (feat Spoonface)
Darin has been fighting the tinnitus/hearing cause with his incredible ‘Sub Pac’, a gizmo that makes you feel the bass through a back cushion rather than a speaker.
16. Mistabishi – Hyper Inflation
Korg UK’s synth don, James Pullen’s modern masterpiece about a nitrous oxide overdose at a festival.
17. Hiatus – Shenidan
One of the most beautiful pieces of music you’ll hear this decade, from a critically acclaimed Anglo-Iranian artist.
18. Losers – Azan
The epic tune used by everyone from the London Olympics, to the film ‘Hercules’, to the TV series ‘Reign’ and the massive ‘Far Cry 3’ game.
Heartfelt thanks to every artist involved, and thanks also to all those who offered to help. The sad fact is that this album has to be noticed in Whitehall, that’s why I’ve gone with the likes of Coldplay and DJ Fresh and had to say thanks-but-no-thanks to so many kind people who offered their music for this. This is a political thing, not an A&R thing, so that’s how this album was shaped, by the agenda, not the music.
But it’s still a pretty incredible tracklisting, I think. And just to be clear, everybody on here has tinnitus, or at least one member of each act does, plus every single person involved in the production and promotion of this album, from me upwards, also has tinnitus.
All of us, along with one in ten people in the UK, are the same. If the government keep their collective heads buried in the sand on this issue, then pretty soon, I think, we’ll be one in nine. Let’s hope this album, the awareness and the money it will raise, can prevent this from happening.
Incidentally, here’s a great article on the subject, written by ex NME scribe Jamie Fullerton, now writing for Vice.
