Singing stars harmonise on Oscar song

04 December 2015 - 02:42 By Jerome Cornelius

Oscar Pistorius might hear an eerily familiar song as he mulls his murder conviction. Happy Bloody Valentine is the first single by The Touch and was inspired by the Valentine's Day killing of Reeva Steenkamp by her then boyfriend.The song is performed by former Springbok Nude Girls lead singer Arno Carstens, who portrays Pistorius, and Shotgun Tori (Steenkamp).Songwriter Jeremy Daniel of Cape Town, who plays bass guitar in the band, said it was conceived "as a commentary on domestic abuse" and was released on November 25 to mark the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children.The song details the breakdown of the relationship between the pair and opens with the lyric: "I don't wanna be someone always on the run. I think I'll buy a gun."During the chorus, Tori sings: "I'm out, I can't take any more," and Carstens responds: "There's someone here behind the door."The timing of yesterday's ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal was coincidental, said Daniel."We planned to release it earlier in the year but things didn't happen. So it's amazing that it happened now. My plan was to release the song on the same day as his parole [in September]."The song came together based on Daniel's own experience of crime. "I had a song for years banging around my head about having a gun and protecting myself after I was robbed in Joburg. I just rewrote it to reflect a tragic love story gone wrong, in the first person."Carstens said his work was often inspired by events in the media. "South Africa has one of the highest number of cases of domestic violence in the world. It's something that's always been there - a gruesome subject that's been covered by journalists for decades, as far back as I can remember."I didn't pen this track but when The Touch approached me to lend my vocals to it I was moved, not only by the sensitive subject matter but by the melody and the haunting sounds of Shotgun Tori's vocal."..

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