Sheppard’s new song Come Back is a musical hug for those missing loved ones in isolation
George Sheppard wrote his band’s new single to comfort his partner when they were apart and shares it to remind people they’re not alone in the era of self-isolation.
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George Sheppard was in a hotel room in Sweden, frustrated he couldn’t give his tearful partner Kathleen Seager the hug she needed as poured her heart out to him down the phone from their Brisbane home.
Artists and their loved ones have to contend with regular extended periods of separation because of touring and recording commitments and those lonely, heart-wrenching moments in hotel rooms have inspired thousands of hits.
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“It wasn’t the first time we’d been in that situation but for some reason, this night hit me in such a different way,” Sheppard said.
“I just couldn’t make her feel better, I couldn’t give her a hug.
“I needed to give her something to remind her I am with her even when I am not.”
The next morning, the Sheppard frontman headed to the studio with Swedish-based Australian songwriter Tania Doko and Martin Carl Olof Eriksson Sandmark to write a musical hug for Seager.
Come Back, finished in Brisbane with sisters Amy and Emma and bandmate Jay Bovino, is Sheppard’s new single, a reassuring pop salve for those wrestling with loneliness and disconnection in COVID-19 isolation.
Sheppard and Doko connected last year when they were competing at the inaugural Eurovision: Australia Decides competition on the Gold Coast which was won by Kate Miller-Heidke.
When the frontman suffered a vocal injury which cast doubt on the future of the band, he took Doko up on her offer to do some writing sessions together and headed to Stockholm.
“I love that 90s era of pop music, the Bachelor Girl songs Tania did, that soundtrack from The Beach and the All Saints song Pure Shores and they were big influences on me during that trip where I was trying to find who I was as a songwriter,” he said.
Come Back is the fifth song of the band’s campaign to release a new single and video every month this year.
The streaming era has inspired many artists to shake-up the traditions of decades of recording schedules which conventionally dictated musicians would record an entire album and then share a few singles leading to its release.
As music fans cherrypick the songs they love via playlists or artist pages, listening to a whole album in one session has waned over the past few years.
But the shift in how we consume music has also fostered an explosion in creativity in the visual arts, with more music videos being produced and artists finding new ways to make them during the coronavirus shutdown.
“The Come Back video is in the animation style because we obviously can’t all get together with a big crew to film something,” Sheppard said.
“We had all these videos for this project planned out with directors working on ideas but we can’t do that now.
“We’re sending green screens around to everyone’s houses and bought cameras and lights ourselves which is an investment for the band.”
When Come Back was finally polished and recorded, George sat on the couch at home to play it to Seager, who naturally burst into tears again.
“This time I was able to give her that hug,” he said.
Come Back is out now.
Originally published as Sheppard’s new song Come Back is a musical hug for those missing loved ones in isolation