A Wimbledon-based session drummer and music producer with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) has become one of the faces of a new campaign to raise awareness.
Steve Williams, 61, is the owner of Chapel studios in Wimbledon, and was diagnosed with MND in 2023 after 18 months of rigorous testing.
MND is a life-shortening neurological disease that damages the motor neurones in the brain affecting muscle strength and function altogether, and currently has no cure.
Williams has worked with popular artists such as Sting, Lisa Stansfield and Rick Astley but his diagnosis has halted his ability to play instruments and had a life-altering impact on his life.
The Motor Neurone Disease Association launched the Life Stripped Away campaign on October 7, aimed at making those suffering with MND “feel like they aren’t alone”.
Williams said: “Speaking up is only valid if it is heard. Shouting in a forest, rather than in a crowded room.
“I believe MND patients would always want to be heard, so I hope this campaign gives them a platform to be heard.”
The campaign features four real people, and the impact MND has had on them and how it can strip away independence, Williams is featured on billboards around London sharing his story.
He said: “MND is a devastating disease that strips your life away, stops you doing most things.
“From doing your work, in my case drumming and producing, to just picking up a spoon.”
MND hasn’t affected Williams cognitively and although it has taken a significant toll on his body, affecting his mobility, balance and speech, it could never extinguish his passion for music.
He said: “Music is a way of portraying emotions, which are a crucial part of being human.
“Music makes me feel valid again.”
Unrelated to the campaign, Steve collaborated with singer-songwriter Susie Webb to create a song about MND that reflected the experience of losing your body to Motor Neurone Disease.
Webb said: “It was one of the most honest and moving writing sessions I have ever experienced.
“Finding the words was sometimes difficult because of the emotion behind them.”
The song Breathe for Me is a shared creation as Williams is physically unable to play instruments anymore, but his creative vision and production skills remain sharp, and Webb’s vocals gave a voice to his thoughts.
Williams said: “I was in my studio just messing around and seemingly out of nowhere, the idea came to me. Artistic creating can be a way to express your feelings.
“And because of my lack of speech, creating a song/track is a valuable outlet for me to express my feelings.”
The aim of the song and the campaign was to show others how it feels to live with MND and to raise funds for the MND association and to show others that they aren’t alone in this battle.
More details can be found at https://www.mndassociation.org/ along with ways to donate to this cause.
Featured Image credit: Motor Neurone Disease Association
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