Mercury-nominated producer pens album from hospital bed
Creating and producing a music album might not be on everyone's mind while they are undergoing treatment for leukaemia.
For James Ford, he said it helped with mental toll while he was undergoing chemotherapy at St Bartholomew's Hospital.
James, a record producer and son gwriter, who has worked with the likes of Artic Monkeys, Florence and the Machine and Haim, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) around Christmas time in 2023.
Despite being in Canterbury at the time of his diagnosis, James was later transferred to St Bartholomew's Hospital - a blood cancer centre of excellence - as it was closer to his home in Hackney in January 2024.
He began the standard four rounds of chemotherapy and during the second round, he said he felt the urge to try and be creative. His wife brought in a laptop and microphone and James got started on making a record while he was on ward 5D.
The novelty of a patient recording music in hospital drew plenty of attention from staff.
(The bed-side studio set up. Photo courtesy of @james_ellis_ford).
The novelty of a patient recording music in hospital drew plenty of attention from staff.
Speaking of the experience, James said:
In this situation, you get to know the staff really well and they were all wonderful in the way that they treated me.
They would be coming in and seeing me working with headphones on and singing, I am not sure many of them had seen anyone trying to make music on a hospital ward before - they were pretty amused and bemused and supportive.
Some of them would come in and have a listen to what I was up to or try to be quiet while taking my blood pressure, asking me how it was going.
In that moment it really gave me something to focus on and helped me level my mental state and focus on something positive rather than the scary issues around my health.
The relationships James forged with staff meant that some have been credited on his second solo album, 'Lost In Another World'.
They had a massive impact on me, everyone on the wards - from the nursing staff down to the cleaners and the people who bring the breakfast round - I don't have a bad word to say about anyone.
The NHS is absolutely incredible, the treatment and the support that I had from all staff here was absolutely the best I could have had.
I am incredibly grateful that I was here and that they helped me through this particular part of my life.
James’ story has been featured in Rolling Stone, NME, BBC 6 Music and most recently on ITV.
‘Lost In Another World’ is being released on Friday August 14.