An 11-year-old songwriter who was touched by the Hillsborough Justice Campaign has written her own tribute song in honour of the cause.
Millie Courtney has been writing songs since she was seven years’ old but it was when the recent Hillsborough revelations came out that her father explained about the tragic day in 1989 and she was inspired to write a song.
The song ‘Broken Winged Angels’ is dedicated to the 96 who lost their lives and their families’ fight for justice. It is posted on YouTube, Soundcloud and Facebook with more than 1,000 hits so far, and Walton MP Steve Rotheram, who has been involved with The Justice Collective’s Christmas single has backed the song, calling it “staggering.”
Millie, who is from West Derby, spends her spare time writing songs and singing and playing guitar in her room. Instead of a musical interest in pop sensations such as One Direction and Justin Bieber like many girls her age, she idolises the Beatles, with posters plastered across her walls and she takes inspiration from the lyrics of John Lennon.
Millie’s father and Liverpool fan, Rob Courtney said: “We listened to it and it was just amazing. We couldn’t believe it, that she could write something so beautiful. We’re so proud of her, for an 11-year old to write something so beautiful, it’s just for me, her mum and her two brothers really amazing. We just can’t bring in into words.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL0LkgqFcu0
“It’s such a lovely song and for this generation, she was only born in 2001, so it’s another world away what happened so I think in a way she can bring it to young people.
“The song is written through a child’s eyes rather than getting too complicated and getting into the nuts and bolts of it, rather than a sophisticated songwriter, it’s her feelings and thoughts.”
They hope that with the help of local radio stations where she has performed and carried out interviews, such as City Talk and social media sites, Millie will have the chance to make it into a commercial record. This week she will be filming a video to go with the song with a local company.
She has recently auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent with the song, and hopes to get through to the live finals, where if she won she would donate the money to the victim’s families.
Millie told JMU Journalism: “I wrote it because to me they are all broken winged angels and when justice is done they’ll be able to fly.” Speaking about the attention her song has had, she said: “It’s really good it makes me feel really weird because I’ve always wanted to be a singer and I hope it’s going to come true.”