A TALENTED 16-year-old music student has written and recorded an emotive song to encourage people to work together amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jack Critchlow, from North Yorkshire, was moved to write his song ‘The Virus’ after his parents explained the seriousness of the situation across the globe.

He says he was left feeling ‘overwhelmed and confused’ and so decided to put his feelings and his hopes into song.

When his family and music teacher heard the song they were so moved they have encouraged him to release the composition online, certain it would resonate with many people.

The youngster has been singing since the age of two, constantly bursting into song and putting his thoughts into music. At nine he was given his first guitar as a Christmas present and is a self-taught pianist.

At ten he gave his first public performance and now plays solo gigs at festivals and music events around the region.

So far, the dedicated musician has written more than 50 songs and released ten on music streaming platforms online including When I was Young and Spread the Love. The first to be released was called ‘We’ll be free’ which was Jack’s heartfelt response to the Syrian refugee crisis. It was so well received it raised more than £2,000 for charity.

After winning a music scholarship at Yarm School, Jack has taken a lead role in a number of the school’s acclaimed musical theatre productions.

He is currently studying for his A-Levels and has high hopes of pursuing a career in music in the future.

Jack said: “I use music to articulate how I am feeling about things. I have found the current global situation hard to deal with, and although the song talks about death, and could be seen as being quite dark, the overall message is that we must unite to beat the virus.

“It’s not about individual people, races, leaders, countries or religions, it’s about us all coming together.

“I hope that when listening to the song, people will realise that they are not alone in their fear and confusion and hopefully take some comfort from the song, that is what I wanted it to do.”

As Jack says in the song “This is about our future and the future of our health.”