Brian May has said he hopes his latest project will be a “powerful tonic for people” amid the current climate.
The Queen guitarist, 72, and rock group Kings Daughters are calling on people self-isolating at home to send in videos of themselves dancing to the all-female band’s debut single Get Up.
Co-written and produced by May, the song will be released on April 15 and 10% of each purchase will go to mental health charity Mind.
Kings Daughters – made up of lead singer Talia Dean, guitarist Isabel Lysell, drummer Vicky O’Neon and bass player Rosetta Carr – cancelled their tour due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But following the Government’s decision to impose a lockdown, May and Kings Daughters decided to go ahead with their crowd-sourced video online.
Fans from the UK, US, Tanzania, Israel, Finland, Sweden and Italy have already contributed clips.
May said: “We’re launching this to the world not only as a kind of dance craze, but also a powerful tonic for people who really ARE paralysed with fear, depression or anxiety right now.
“Being a depressive myself, I definitely relate!!
“I think kids and adults of all ages will feel the force of optimism and gratitude in this record when they sing and dance along to Get Up from isolation wherever they may be.
“The song will unite the world in hope for a better future.”
He said of the band: “Kings Daughters is full of raw and original talent – and they’ve fought every inch of the way to get to this point.
“They clearly have what it takes to become a force in the world.”
Kings Daughters said they hoped to be the first artists to record an album in isolation from studios in their homes.
They said: “We are lucky to have the equipment we need in our homes to record our individual parts for the album and we have already started sending files to each other to work on the songs.
“We could of course prefer to do this together in a studio, but we’ve worked so hard writing on an amazing album, so nothing will stop us from releasing it.”
Dean told the PA news agency that working with May was a “dream come true” for the band.
She said: “Most days we wake up pinching ourselves, he’s just been such a rock through this whole process.
“Although he is such a big star he has given us so much freedom to work with and let us do things our own way… and he’s a busy man, he doesn’t have much time and the time he’s given us we’re so grateful for.”
Get Up is available for pre-order on April 1.