Welsh ragga metal band Skindred have released the video for their new single ‘Big Em Up’, a track carrying a simple but important message: check on your friends, and pick them up when they’re feeling low.
Taken from the band’s recent Number 1 album You Got This, the song arrives just days before World Mental Health Day on Saturday, October 10th, and ahead of Skindred’s biggest UK and Ireland tour dates to date later this month.
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The video opens with a clear message of support for anyone living with mental health conditions, anxiety or depression. Rather than preaching, it asks listeners to do something small but meaningful – make sure the people around them are alright.
Skindred singer Benji Webbe says the idea came from how easily everyday life can pile up on people. “It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by life and everything it throws at you, from your gas bill to a family tragedy or people just being negative and your timeline filling up with hate and negativity on social media.”
“‘Big Em Up’ is a simple message for everyone to check on their friends and to pick ’em up and to try and encourage some positivity back into the world,” he continues. “It’s a message me and my brothers in Skindred try and share in the music we play, so all we ask is for our fans and listeners to enjoy the single and to also share that message of positivity too. Please check on those around you. Big Em Up!!”
That sense of positivity has long been part of what makes Skindred one of the UK’s most loved live bands. Their mix of reggae, ragga, punk and heavy metal has built a fiercely loyal following, and the success of You Got This has taken them to a new level.
The album has also been nominated for the Welsh Music Prize, with the nomination announced last month – another milestone for a band who have spent years earning their place at the top table of British rock.
Fans will get to hear ‘Big Em Up’ live very soon. Skindred’s You Got This Tour kicks off at Nottingham’s Rock City on October 23rd, and demand has been huge. The second Rock City night, Birmingham’s O2 Academy and the first of two nights at Glasgow’s Barrowlands have already sold out, while tickets for the opening Nottingham show are running low.
The standout date of the run is a special London Halloween party at Alexandra Palace on October 31st. Billed as Night of The Living Dred, the show sees Skindred joined by support from Alien Ant Farm and Spineshank, making it one of the biggest rock nights of the Halloween weekend.
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The Alexandra Palace show also ties directly into the message behind ‘Big Em Up’. Skindred will donate £1 from every ticket sold to music charity Metal for Good, which supports a range of projects, including work focused on people’s mental health and wellbeing and on unlocking potential, alongside many other causes.
After London, the tour heads across the Irish Sea to Dublin and Belfast before returning to Scotland for two nights at the Barrowlands. Skindred then round things off next year with a major hometown arena show at Cardiff’s Utilita Arena on May 8th.
Skindred’s full You Got This Tour dates are:
October 23rd – Nottingham, Rock City (low ticket warning)
October 24th – Nottingham, Rock City (sold out)
October 30th – Birmingham, O2 Academy (sold out)
October 31st – London, Alexandra Palace Halloween Party
November 6th – Dublin, 3Olympia
November 7th – Belfast, Telegraph Building
November 13th – Glasgow, Barrowlands (sold out)
November 14th – Glasgow, Barrowlands
May 8th – Cardiff, Utilita Arena
Tickets for all remaining shows are available now from www.skindred.net/live.
You Got This is out now on Earache Records and can be bought from www.earache.com/skindred or from all good record stores.
Held every year on October 10th, World Mental Health Day aims to raise awareness of mental health around the world and to get people talking more openly about it. ‘Big Em Up’ fits neatly alongside that, turning a big conversation into something anyone can act on straight away, whether that’s a phone call, a message or simply asking a friend how they’re really doing.
With World Mental Health Day this Saturday, Skindred’s request to their fans is a simple one. Take a moment to check on someone you know who is having a tough time, and remember to Big Em Up.
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