Today we send our love to Andrew Ranken of The Pogues. He’s not been well for some time but he and his band The Mysterious Wheels have recorded a song to aid and raise funds for the wonderful St Joseph’s Hospice in Hackney.
Just out is the new single ‘Take Me Down To St Joe’s’ by The Mysterious Wheels by the iconic local Rhythm and Blues band The Mysterious Wheels led by legendary former Pogues drummer Andrew Ranken. London band Mysterious Wheels have been rolling round the London pubs playing tight, 
authentic Blues and R&B for 40 years now but lead singer Andrew took rather a lot of time out to fulfil his other commitments playing drums for the Pogues meaning an incredible gap of over thirty years before they released their second album Same Shoes New Blues which showcases the band on top form, featuring all original material. Their new single has been written to raise funds for St. Josephs Hospice in East London. Andrew is suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), the name for a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties and was inspired to write the song after a Pulmonary Rehab class at nearby Homerton Hospital, at which a St. Joseph’s nurse spoke about the incredible work they do for the community. Wheels pianist Joe Korner wrote the melody and they kindly offered the song to St. Joe’s to help raise funds and awareness of the work that they do. The song captures the tranquil atmosphere of the Hospice’s gardens and features the melodious accompaniment of special guest Dan Gale-Hayes on trumpet and soulful vocals from Nikki Akinjinmi with lead vocals from Andrew and his trademark gravelly voice reflecting on life and its near misses. Besides Andrew, The Mysterious Wheels is composed of brothers Joe and Simon Korner, Patmo Sheeran, and Lou Salvoni who have been playing gigs around London for many years. St. Josephe’s Joint Chief Executive Tony McLean remarked,
“It is an absolute honour to have a song written about St Joseph’s Hospice by such a talented group as The Mysterious Wheels and we truly hope that everyone downloads the song and helps us in our mission to raise money for the Hospice. The song has perfectly captured the peace and serenity one feels while sitting in the Hospice garden, far away from the hustle and bustle of life in Hackney, which is as it should be.”
I lived in Hackney in East London for 30 years and over those years I lost count of the number of auld Irish fellas who ended up being cared for and spending their last days in St. Josephs Hospice. One moment you’d be sat in the pub with them and the next the word come back that their in St. Joe’s. For those who worked their lives away without ever putting a penny to one side it was literally God sent. It really did hold a special place in the hearts the Irish community but also for the many others in the community who had a relative or friend cared for within it’s walls. Founded in 1905 by the Sisters of Charity, the hospice is one of the oldest and largest in the UK providing high quality, specialist palliative care and support free of charge. It was 1900 when Cardinal Vaughan, Archbishop of Westminster and Irish Jesuit Priest Father Peter Gallwey from Kerry invited five sisters of Charity to Hackney, to help the poor and dying of East London. Five years later the doors of St Joseph’s Hospice opened for the first time. In the 130+ years since they have cared for all who have crossed their threshold. So for only 99p you can own a great piece of Tom Waits-esque R’n’B and help make peoples lives better.
DOWNLOAD TAKE ME DOWN TO ST. JOE’S
The track is also available from Bandcamp but you will be charged additional tax (20% in UK) and Bandcamp fees get deducted before your funds are received by St. Joseph’s so we’d suggest that you purchase the track direct from the St Joseph’s link above and only use Bandcamp if you experience any problems and if you can do consider making an additional donation.
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