The Song:

Lyrics: Ted Carter

Music: Paul Oakley

Vocals: Dave Millard

© Oakley/Carter/Millard - All rights reserved

All profits will be donated to the following charities:

• David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
• Born Free Foundation
• Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

What's it all about?

The aim of the song is to raise awareness of the plight of endangered species on this planet, and to raise as much as possible for charities devoted to preserving not just these species, but the planet itself. The demise of many endangered species is a result of our destruction of their habitat, however by destroying the rain forests we are also causing irrevocable damage to the planet.

Why should I help?

£7 billion is raised for charity each year in the UK alone. That may seem a lot, but only 0.5% goes to animal charities. There are less than 3,000 tigers left in the wild, fewer than 1,200 mountain gorillas and every day brings these and many other species closer to extinction. At current rates tigers could be extinct in the wild in less than two years.

How did it start?

It was started by my father in law, Ted Carter, who loves all wildlife, but especially tigers. He saw a TV programme where they said tigers could become extinct in the wild in as little as two years. The thought that this could happen within his life time was awful, and he wrote a poem about the things we are doing to this planet. He then asked if I could perhaps write some music for it - that was the least I could do, as it was such a moving poem.

Dave Millard is a singer who I had met on internet music sites, and had already asked if I wanted to a song with him sometime - I certainly wasn't going to say no to someone with a voice like his!! I sent him the music I'd written and the lyrics, but due to various commitments it was several months before he could finish the vocals. I then spent a couple of months mixing and mastering the song in my home studio. It's a strange fact that we've never ever met or even spoken on the phone!

What can I do, and where does the money go?

The simplest thing to do is to buy a download of the song (not only do you donate to a worthy charity, but you get an amazing 7 minute song for less than a pound! Alternatively, if you want to buy the song on CD^*, you can email me at the 'Contact' page for details.

All profits from both the CD and downloads will go to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation. In the case of the download, this is 76p per download, after PayPal fees (23p) have been deducted. The full cover CD is available for £2.50 + £1 p&p. Local companies have donated 1000 CDs, labels, printed covers and copied the CDs. As a result of this generosity EVERY penny of that £2.50 will go to the charity involved.

(^* The CD is a CDr - this is to reduce costs without reducing quality!)

Anything else?

On our own we may not be able to make a difference - together we can...

...and finally, who benefits?

Ultimately, we ALL do!!