Glasgow policemen to record Clutha charity single

FOUR policemen based in Glasgow are to record a charity single with the aim of raising money for the Clutha Fund.

The police officers are hoping to attract celebrity backing for their Clutha Fund effort. Picture: AP

Police Constable Paul Keenan, who formed the band, has enjoyed previous chart success with Uniting Nations, who reached eighth in the charts with a reworking of Hall and Oates hit Out of Touch in 2004, and enlisted fellow cops Jamie Easton, Craig Brooks and Stephen Marlin to make up the core of the group.

PC Keenan called on celebrities to join their cause, telling the Daily Record: “We’ll be having as many officers and staff as possible on the record and would love to hear from any celebrities to help raise the profile of this.

“Big names, particularly ­Scottish ones, will encourage people to buy this.

“Money is not going to replace a loved one or bring them back but will help those unable to work through injury or families who have lost their main income provider.”

The police officer revealed that he and his fellow officers are ‘distraught’ at the loss of colleagues Kirsty Nelis and Tony Collins, along with pilot David Traill, who died when the police helicopter they were in crashed onto the roof of the Clutha bar in Glasgow.

PC Keenan added: “I’d been down at the helipad about a month ago and spoke to Kirsty at the time.

“The other officers on the record had also worked with them. We feel like we have lost three of our friends.”

He described the new song as a ‘personal reflection’ that would be a ‘tribute to people and Glasgow’s spirit’.

All the publishing fees from the song will go to the charity fund, he confirmed.

Colleague Craig Brooks, who was involved at the scene of the accident, said that in Tony Collins, the force had lost ‘one of Scotland’s finest police officers’, adding: “I also met Kirsty and Dave operationally and they were very welcoming.

“After seeing the pictures of Tony, I was in delayed shock and had a tear in my eye. I can only imagine how their ­families are feeling.

“It’s great we can do something to make a difference.”

PC Jamie Easton said he hoped the song would continue awareness, adding: “I met the officers involved and spoke with them every day at the other side of the radio. I hope the record raises money to help people.”