Natalie Rushdie Releases Charity Single in Memory of Dame Deborah James

Singer Natalie Rushdie has released a charity single in memory of Dame Deborah James, the cancer campaigner who died in June 2022.

The single, “Tell Me It’s Not True,” is a cover of a song from the musical Blood Brothers. Rushdie first performed the song at James’s funeral. Natalie shared on her social media, “Deborah had asked me to sing this specific song at her funeral a week before she passed away.”

Rushdie further shared on BBC 5 that despite the pain of her passing Deborah had been such a light to everyone. “She was such a wonderful friend, and she had such a zest for life. Even though she was going through chemo or anything she still so joyful if anything wonderful was going on in your life… Even though it was completely tragic that she passed away so young, I think it was a moment where we could all come and just actually think ‘Wow she really did something absolutely wonderful and brought so many people together.”

The proceeds from the single will go to the Bowelbabe Fund, which James set up to raise money for Cancer Research UK. The fund has already raised over £11 million, and the single aims to help continue the legacy. People reported that the Prince and Princess of Wales have also put their support behing the effort with Prince William quoted saying, “Her legacy will be countless lives saved from bowel cancer.”

The single was a labor of love by Natalie who once again shared via her socials, “We had no budget, it was important to me that everything went to the Bowelbabe fund (all money goes directly to them) so I started calling every single musician I knew asking for help, everyone immediately came on board.” The single was recorded at Abbey Road Studios and already made it to No.1 on the i-tunes chart with hopes that it will reach the top placements in the UK single charts as well.

Deborah’s husband Sebastien Bowen said in a statement reported by Koimoi, “It’s so touching to have Natalie pay tribute to Deborah, by immortalising this song which meant so much to her… The family is so grateful to Natalie and everyone who has supported and taken part in this recording – thank you.”

Download “Tell Me It’s Not True” to support Bowelbabe!

Natasha Barbieri, Editor

Editor

Creator of Classical Crossover Magazine. For Natasha music has always been closely tied to her faith. At age 18, Natasha made her opera debut playing the part of the mother in Menotti’s ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors’ with the Eastern Festival Opera. At 20, she was a winner of the 2011 Young Artist Competition at Andrews University. Natasha graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor’s of Music. Natasha has released a series of Holiday singles “A Place Called Home” (2020), “One Little Boy,” and “The Perfect Year” (2021). In 2021, she was nominated for the ‘Future Classic Women Awards’ show on Men’s & Women’s Radio Station. Natasha is the creator and editor of ‘Classical Crossover Magazine’ a venture that has allowed her to interview many of the top stars in the genre including Sarah Brightman, Celtic Woman, Mirusia, Paul Potts, and more. During the covid-19 pandemic, she created an online concert series for the magazine that has seen her perform in the same line-up as Alex Sharpe, Lucy Kay, Barbara Padilla, Classical Reflection, and more on the virtual stage. In 2022, Natasha was included on the charity album “Stars of Classical Crossover: Christmas” in benefit of the Wallace & Gromit Children’s Charity.