A BBC sitcom star is swapping high rises for house music as he prepares to release a new single to raise money for a Scottish mental health charity.
Ford Kiernan, who played Jack Jarvis in cult Scottish comedy Still Game for 20 years, has ventured into new creative territory by collaborating with Aberdeen DJ and producer RYZY to pen a 130pm techno track.
The inspiration for the song, Coffee Man, is said to have struck as Kiernan stood by his kitchen sink and noted a mess he had made with tea bags.
He said: “I had been at the kitchen sink one day and had this idea for a thing called Coffee Man.
“I jumped on TikTok with it while I still had it in my head.
“I don’t know where it came from, to be honest.
“I was standing in the kitchen thinking how much of a mess tea bags make in the sink. I started thinking, ‘Tea bags in the sink, tea bags in the sink’.
“That’s how these things happen if you’re a creative type.
“Sometimes these things just bubble up in your head until you’ve no option but to try to record it.”
His video went on to reach 60,000 views within hours and has since been watched by close to, 500,000 TikTok users in total.
However, the groundwork for the new project truly began when the Chewin’ The Fat star travelled to La Sierra Casa, near Alicante in Spain, to work with The View frontman Kyle Falconer.
Kiernan continued: “I’d been to a few of Kyle’s gigs and he asked me last year if I wanted to come to La Sierra Casa.
“I started to lean towards dance music after a few days. I liked the progressions and the way things build.”
When Falconer suggested Ford contact Aberdeen DJ RYZY, Ryan Mackay, to partner for a collaboration the wheels were set in motion for an unlikely pairing.
After admitting ignoring the first call, RYZY claims he quickly phoned back when he received a text from Kiernan himself.
He said: “Ford came up within a few days of that call and we got going.
“He’s a great writer and a great comic, but I was so impressed by the musicality.
“He was really going for it with the ideas, and we were bouncing off each other, no bother. We realised pretty quickly we had something cool and the song took place over a weekend.
“We always had Still Game on in the house when I was growing up so at first it was bizarre to be working on something like this with the guy who made it.
“But I always take things as they come and he’s super down to earth and has been brilliant to work with.”
Although Kiernan is not chasing chart success, he will be donating a portion of proceeds from the release to a cause that is 'close to his heart', Scottish Action For Mental Health (SAMH).
He said: “Mental health is a growing concern and a lot of the impact of the pandemic is only becoming evident just now.
“It has caused a lot more ongoing damage than we realise and we should be paying a lot more attention to it.
“Some people might think we’re over the pandemic, but as far as mental health is concerned, I don’t think we are.
“Coffee Man isn’t a crack at the charts. It’s a hobby that will hopefully return some money for charity – and keep me smiling at the same time.”
Hazel McIlwraith, director of fundraising and major appeals at SAMH, said: “SAMH is absolutely thrilled to be the chosen charity beneficiary for the Coffee Man song.
“We’re deeply grateful to Ford for his generous support and recognition. His contribution is invaluable in raising both funds and awareness for Scotland’s mental health, which means so much to all of us at SAMH.”
First established in 1923, and predating the NHS, SAMH now operates over 70 services in communities across Scotland, providing mental health social care support, addictions and employment services, among others.
A spokesperson for the charity said: "We’re here for your mental health and wellbeing providing local mental health support and always accessible information.
"We listen to what matters in each local community, and campaign nationally for the changes that make the big and little differences in life.
"Now more than ever, we need to make change happen and we’re standing up for Scotland’s mental health."
For more information , click here.
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