A band has released a charity single based on lyrics written by a 10-year-old boy who died following a sudden asthma attack at a scout camp.
The lyrics were found amongst Joshua Barton’s toy collection in the days following his death in July 2018.
His father John, who is a fan of Stoke-on-Trent band All The Young, shared the words with friend and lead singer Ryan Dooley in 2024 who created “Sorry (Joshua’s Song)”.
“I’m sure Josh would be absolutely made up with it,” said Mr Barton, who wanted to leave a positive legacy for his son, who he said “was always known as the boy who died at scout camp”.
“He was massively into music, he used to wake us up with his keyboard,” said Mr Barton, who sat on the lyrics until he felt ready to talk about his son.
“It’s a beautiful song that Ryan has created.”
It was lovely to raise money for charities, he said, but the main reason for the single, given the circumstances of Joshua’s death, was to “change the narrative a little bit and show the world this lovely creative boy who created this beautiful song.”
Ryan Dooley, from All The Young, said Mr Barton was a superfan and had become a friend after going to so many of their shows.
When he was given the lyrics over a year ago he said he had been really nervous about attempting it but the single had “come out really nice”.
He said he knew he had done it justice when he came up with a melody that he thought: “I’d put this melody in any song.”
Joshua will be credited as a songwriter when the song goes on Spotify, he said, describing it as an “amazing gift” to be able to help with.
Profits from sales of ‘Sorry (Joshua’s Song)’, which is on Bandcamp, are being split between two charities in Joshua’s hometown of Barnsley, Base 71 Youth Zone and Barnsley Great Christmas Toy Appeal.
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Source URL: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c62dj8jdqz6o