Meet the musicians holed up in a Norfolk manor making music with world renowned stars

Todd Sharpville and his band along with their families are living together at Voewood near Holt so they could continue making music during lockdown. Byline: Sonya Duncan(C) Archant 2020 (Image: Archant 2020)

The four, led by blues guitarist and songwriter Todd Sharpville, formed a ‘lockdown band’ at Voewood - a Grade II-listed Arts and Crafts-style house near Holt - where they have been staying since July 4 with their families.

Mr Sharpville said he and bassist Dave Swift, keyboarder Joe Mac and drummer Dan Hale had been had been performing on YouTube to entertain music fans and foster goodwill.

He said: “Over the past 15-20 years we’ve reached a point where people spend a lot of time arguing, and we’re now facing the worst economic crisis the world has ever seen.

“We felt the music industry should say something about that and make a stand in a non-political way. People should be linking arms instead of screaming at each other, and it’s our job to bring people together as best we can.”

Todd Sharpville and his band along with their families are living together at Voewood near Holt so they could continue making music during lockdown. Pictured is the owner of Voewood Simon Finch.Byline: Sonya Duncan(C) Archant 2020 (Image: Archant 2020)

The Todd Sharpville Band is now creating a series of series of songs with famous figures from pop, country and rap.

Their parts are recorded separately before being produced by Steve Power at a London studio.

The songs will be released as singles with the aim of promoting togetherness in these challenging times.

Mr Sharpville said the identities of the musicians they were working with would be kept under wraps until the songs were released in order to make a greater impact, but that they spanned a wide range of musical styles and genres.

Todd Sharpville and his band along with their families are living together at Voewood near Holt so they could continue making music during lockdown. Byline: Sonya Duncan(C) Archant 2020 (Image: Archant 2020)

He said: “We want to bring this message to every different musical culture. It’s a gentle way of saying there are bigger things at stake at the moment, and it’s time to put all our old arguments into a drawer.”

Mr Sharpville said they also wanted to raise awareness of the plight of the music industry, which he described as “on its knees” due to the lockdown and the cancellation of the vast majority of live gigs for much of the year so far.

The four band members have worked with the likes of Mick Jagger, Amy Winehouse, Robbie Williams, BB King and Paul McCartney.

To watch the band perform, visit the Todd Sharpville channel on YouTube.

Todd Sharpville and his band along with their families are living together at Voewood near Holt so they could continue making music during lockdown. Byline: Sonya Duncan(C) Archant 2020 (Image: Archant 2020)

Todd Sharpville and his band along with their families are living together at Voewood near Holt so they could continue making music during lockdown. Byline: Sonya Duncan(C) Archant 2020 (Image: Archant 2020)

Todd Sharpville and his band along with their families are living together at Voewood near Holt so they could continue making music during lockdown. Byline: Sonya Duncan(C) Archant 2020 (Image: Archant 2020)

Todd Sharpville and his band along with their families are living together at Voewood near Holt so they could continue making music during lockdown. Byline: Sonya Duncan(C) Archant 2020 (Image: Archant 2020)

Todd Sharpville and his band along with their families are living together at Voewood near Holt so they could continue making music during lockdown. Byline: Sonya Duncan(C) Archant 2020 (Image: Archant 2020)

Todd Sharpville and his band along with their families are living together at Voewood near Holt so they could continue making music during lockdown. Byline: Sonya Duncan(C) Archant 2020 (Image: Archant 2020)

Todd Sharpville and his band along with their families are living together at Voewood near Holt so they could continue making music during lockdown. Byline: Sonya Duncan(C) Archant 2020 (Image: Archant 2020)

Todd Sharpville and his band along with their families are living together at Voewood near Holt so they could continue making music during lockdown. Byline: Sonya Duncan(C) Archant 2020 (Image: Archant 2020)