Burnley musician releases powerful rock song to support people caught up in the Ukraine war

Chris Walton (46) wrote When The Sky Falls about the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

Today, the release of the seven-minute track also marks Ukraine's Day of Dignity and Freedom.

"The song promotes the fact that the war is still going on. It’s designed to keep the severity of the conflict in people's minds. It is still as serious as when it first happened. People are still losing their homes and families.

"I hope people who listen to it from Ukraine see it as a positive message that we stand together with them. We haven't forgotten about them."

The recording also features Burnley Mechanics' "amazing" bassist Geoff Soltau, "phenomenal" drummer David Heywood, and "internationally respected" English/Ukrainian concert pianist Dmytro Morkit.

Dmytro became involved in the project after seeing a Facebook post on Musicians and Music for Ukraine where Chris was appealing for help with the song from other musicians.

The track has also had the blessing of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, which Chris calls "a massive honour."

And, he added: "One thing I'm proud of is that it was mastered by Jasper Ward at AIR Studios in London. That blew my mind. They brought it up to a professional level."

Chris says he is passionate about using music as a force for good. He previously caught the attention of BBC Northwest Tonight when he helped to teach creative song-writing in schools as part of the You Can Rock Foundation's music program with AMS Neve.

Despite his success, the musician is clear that his latest song is "bigger than me. I'm just a guy from Burnley. I don't matter in all this. It's the message that matters."

When The Sky Falls is available to down and stream via all major music platforms, including Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube.