A ROCK star turned reverend and his young family have recorded and released an album of folk gospel songs in a bid to raise money to support struggling nurses.

Ragged Gospel Hope by the Simpkins Family is a collection of ten songs dedicated to “all those who are separated from their loved ones”.

The band are Reverend Matt Simpkins, priest in charge at St Leonard’s Church in Lexden, wife Sian, daughter Martha, 12, and son James, nine.

The project came about by accident when to keep their spirits up during lockdown the family started teaching themselves a new folk tune each evening.

They recorded videos of their live performances for friends on social media, who soon persuaded them to produce an LP.

Recorded at home, once complete, the family decided to release it online in the hope of raising some money for the Cavell Nurses’ Trust, which supports nurses midwives and healthcare assistants who are suffering personal or financial hardship.

Maldon and Burnham Standard:

The Rev Simpkins said: “We were going spare at home and it was a lovely way of finding something to do.

“The kids are stuck here and we are running church services from the house.

“They don’t have much chance to make much noise but this gave us the opportunity to be able to make a racket.”

Before he was ordained the Rev Simpkins was a well-known professional musician, perhaps best known in Colchester for his work with retro rock outfit FuzzFace.

He was also a successful session musician and a singing teacher at Colchester Institute.

The son and grandson of vicars, his passion for music has not waned, despite his newfound career in the church.

The Rev Simpkins said: “Sian isn’t a professional but we are a musical family.

“The kids go to Saturday morning music school at Colchester Institute and Sian has always played the French horn and sang.

“Before I was ordained I had a studio so I have some recording equipment still. We set up microphones in our living room and recorded the LP live pretty much, overdubbing a few instrumental parts.”

The resulting LP is a collection of traditional American gospel folk tunes.

Some of the songs will be instantly recognisable, such as Down In the Valley and This Little Light, whether you’ve heard them in church services or in Hollywood movies.

Martha and James take centre stage, singing as well as playing the ukelele and tambourine respectively.

Mrs Simpkins added some French horn and harmonies and Rev Simpkins dusted off his beloved banjo.

The family were keen for there to be a message behind the music and so the title Ragged Gospel Hope was apt.

Mr Simpkins added: “We were really looking for uplifting folk songs to perform.

“They are all folky traditional songs, but in the American gospel tradition.

“We’re not doing this for fame or plaudits. We just wanted to have a bit of fun and hopefully bring a bit of hope and joy to people as well as money for the charity.”

The LP is available via Bandcamp online, with the family asking supporters to donate whatever they can to the charity after downloading.

Mr Simpkins said: “The best thing to do is download the album for free and then donate directly to the charity, so we won’t know necessarily how much exactly we’ve raised.

“That doesn’t matter, we just want to do something. As reverend I see the massive pressure charities are under. We wanted to be able to raise some money for the Cavell Trust because they deal with mental health issues and the like among nurses which is very important at the moment for obvious reasons.”

To listen or download Ragged Gospel Hope, visit simpkinsfamily.bandcamp.com/album/ragged-gospel-hope.

Donations should be made at cavellnursestrust.org/donate-now.