Dame Deborah James' charity single is exclusively revealed
Dame Deborah James’ charity single revealed: Cancer campaigner is shown dancing with husband and children in emotional video as friend sings Tell Me it’s Not True – a year on from performing it at her funeral
- Natalie Rushdie, a friend of the late campaigner, is releasing Tell Me It’s Not True
- READ MORE: Dame Deborah James’s mother shares a heartfelt message on the first anniversary of her daughter’s death – as Prince William pays a tribute
A charity single in honour of the late Dame Deborah James will be released today, a year after it was sung at her funeral.
Natalie Rushdie, a friend of the late cancer campaigner, is releasing Tell Me It’s Not True alongside a video, which can now be exclusively shared by Femail.
The emotional video shows Natalie recording the song – a cover from the Willy Russell musical Blood Brothers – at Abbey Road studios.
The footage is interlaced with clips of Dame Deborah James throughout her life, including dancing in the rain in her garden and in the hospital with her nurses.
Clips also show her dancing in the garden with her children Hugo, 15, and Eloise, 13, as well as her husband Sebastien Bowen.
A charity single in honour of the late Dame Deborah James will be released today, a year after it was sung at her funeral
Natalie Rushdie, a friend of the late cancer campaigner, is releasing Tell Me It’s Not True alongside a video, which can now be exclusively shared by Femail
The footage is interlaced with clips of Dame Deborah James throughout her life, including dancing in the rain in her garden and in the hospital with her nurses and her husband Sebestien (right)
Speaking to FEMAIL, Sebastien said: ‘It’s so touching to have Natalie pay tribute to Deborah, by immortalising this song which meant so much to her.
‘She performed it beautifully at Deborah’s funeral, and this production is simply breathtaking. I have known Zafar [Natalie’s husband] for over 25 years, and it was through this close friendship that Deborah and I got to know Natalie.
‘The family is so grateful to Natalie and everyone who has supported and taken part in this recording – thank you.’
Natalie is releasing the track at the request of Dame Deborah’s family, with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK.
The emotional video shows Natalie recording the song – a cover from the Willy Russell musical Blood Brothers – at Abbey Road studios
Natalie (pictured with Deborah) is releasing the track at the request of Dame Deborah’s family, with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK
Natalie Rushdie and Zafar Rushdie are pictured at Deborah’s funeral, where Natalie sung Tell Me It’s Not True
The emotional track from Blood Brothers was performed at Deborah’s funeral last year
Dame Deborah became dear to the nation’s hearts after she was diagnosed with incurable bowel cancer in 2016 at the age of just 35.
Earning love and respect through social media and her blog BowelBabe, and later the airwaves of the BBC Radio 5 Live podcast, You, Me and the Big C, Deborah passed away on the 28th June 2022 at 40 years old.
In the years following her diagnosis, Deborah did all she could to raise awareness of bowel cancer and fundraise for vital research.
She became the nation’s sweetheart, known fondly by her ‘Rebellious Hope’ mantra.
Natalie sang at her funeral last year, with the lyrics to ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’ holding special value to everyone who knows Deborah’s story, in particular those closest to her.
Natalie Rushdie poses with orchestra members at the Bowelbabe Fund charity single recording at Abbey Road Studios
A year on, Natalie re-sang, and recorded the song in the iconic Studio 2 of Abbey Road Studios with the accompaniment of 25 musicians.
The world-renowned producer, Haydn Bendall who has worked with the likes of Kate Bush, Tina Turner, and The Pet Shop Boys produced the track, while Willy Russell who wrote the original score for Blood Brothers, where ‘Tell Me It’s Not True’ originates, is in full support of this recording.
Natalie and Deborah met seven years ago, becoming great friends and respecting each other’s zest for life – the two became even closer after both surviving Sepsis.
Natalie a well-established jazz singer having performed sold-out shows at the Royal Albert Hall, London Coliseum and St Paul’s Cathedral was honoured when her dear friend asked her to sing at the funeral.
The clip shows Deborah dancing in her garden with her mother (left) and outside Buckingham Palace (right)
The emotional clip shows how Deborah didn’t let her diagnosis get her down, she is shown dancing with a bunny in a park
A year later, Deborah’s parents Heather and Alistair asked Natalie to officially record the song in their daughter’s memory.
The project has brilliantly snowballed to become a beautiful homage to Deborah’s ‘Rebellious Hope’ legacy.
Proceeds from the charity single will be donated directly to the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK, including the publishing and writing royalties.
The Fund supports cutting-edge research into early detection and personalised medicine, raises awareness of signs and symptoms, and tackles the stigmas around cancer.
To date the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK has raised over £11.3 million.
Speaking to FEMAIL, Natalie said: ‘The last time I saw Deborah, about a week before she died, she asked me to sing Tell Me It’s Not True at her funeral.
‘It was one of the hardest and most emotional performances I’ve ever had to do. I miss her voice, her vibrancy for life, her dancing, her constant support and our friendship but I know somewhere she will be dancing to her song.
‘I am honoured to sing and record this beautiful track in Deborah’s name and I hope the public get behind us to support this wonderful project.’
Heather and Alistair James, Deborah’s parents, added they were ‘delighted’ and that they know ‘Deborah would be delighted and honoured’ by the track.
The former deputy head teacher, who was known to many as Bowel Babe, intimately detailed the last five years of her life online.
Her candid posts about her progress and diagnosis – including videos of her dancing her way through treatment – won praise from the public and media alike.
She launched the You, Me And The Big C podcast in 2018, alongside Lauren Mahon and Rachael Bland.
In May 2022, the podcaster revealed that she had stopped active treatment and was receiving end-of-life care at her parents’ home in Woking, Surrey, with her husband and their two children on hand.
In the months leading up to her death, Deborah had Prince William over for tea, who made her a Dame.
Living life on her own terms despite her illness, she designed Charity T-shirts a clothing line to raise millions more for her Bowelbabe fund.
The Dame also wrote and published her second book How to Live When You Could Be Dead, while suffering from cancer, detailing how developing a positive mindset was key to enabling her to cope with her diagnosis.
She told her children, Hugo, 15 and Eloise, 13, to ‘take chances and experience life now’ and to marry for love in a heartbreaking final letter.
Tell Me It’s Not True’ by Natalie Rushdie is available from all major streaming and download platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes, Amazon Music, TikTok, Deezer, YouTube and more. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK.
COLON CANCER: WHAT ARE THE WARNING SIGNS?
Bowel, or colorectal, cancer affects the large bowel, which is made up of the colon and rectum.
Such tumors usually develop from pre-cancerous growths, called polyps.
Symptoms include:
- Bleeding from the bottom
- Blood in stools
- A change in bowel habits lasting at least three weeks
- Unexplained weight loss
- Extreme, unexplained tiredness
- Abdominal pain
Most cases have no clear cause, however, people are more at risk if they:
- Are over 50
- Have a family history of the condition
- Have a personal history of polyps in their bowel
- Suffer from inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn’s disease
- Lead an unhealthy lifestyle
Treatment usually involves surgery, and chemo- and radiotherapy.
More than nine out of ten people with stage 1 bowel cancer survive five years or more after their diagnosis.
Unfortunately, only around a third of all colorectal cancers are diagnosed at this early stage.
The majority of people come to the doctor when the disease has spread beyond the wall of the colon or rectum or to distant parts of the body, which decreasing the chance of being successfully cured of colon cancer.
According to Bowel Cancer UK figures, more than 41,200 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every year in the UK.
It affects around 40 per 100,000 adults per year in the US, according to the National Cancer Institute.
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