Still Game star writes house music track to raise money for mental health

A TV sitcom star is swapping high rises for house music as he prepares to release a new dance tune to raise money for a mental health charity.

Ford Kiernan, who played Jack Jarvis in cult Scottish comedy Still Game for 20 years, has ventured into new territory by collaborating with Aberdeen DJ and producer RYZY.

The idea for the song Coffee Man came about after Kiernan looked at some teabags in his sink and thought about how much of a mess they made.

He said: “I had been at the kitchen sink one day and had this idea for a thing called Coffee Man.

“I jumped on TikTok with it while I still had it in my head.

“I don’t know where it came from, to be honest.

“I was standing in the kitchen thinking how much of a mess tea bags make in the sink. I started thinking, ‘Tea bags in the sink, tea bags in the sink’.

“That’s how these things happen if you’re a creative type.

“Sometimes these things just bubble up in your head until you’ve no option but to try to record it.”

His video had 60,000 views within hours and before long, 500,000 people had seen it.

The Chewin’ The Fat star travelled to La Sierra Casa, near Alicante in Spain, to work with The View frontman Kyle Falconer after a conversation.

Kiernan said: “I’d been to a few of Kyle’s gigs and he asked me last year if I wanted to come to La Sierra Casa.

“I started to lean towards dance music after a few days. I liked the progressions and the way things build.”

It was Falconer who set the wheels in motion for the partnership between Kiernan and RYZY.

RYZY said he ignored the call at first but phoned back when he received a text from Kiernan.

He said: “Ford came up within a few days of that call and we got going.

“He’s a great writer and a great comic, but I was so impressed by the musicality.

“He was really going for it with the ideas, and we were bouncing off each other, no bother. We realised pretty quickly we had something cool and the song took place over a weekend.

“We always had Still Game on in the house when I was growing up so at first it was bizarre to be working on something like this with the guy who made it.

“But I always take things as they come and he’s super down to earth and has been brilliant to work with.”

Kiernan is not chasing chart success but is hoping the proceeds go to the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH).

Kiernan said: “Mental health is a growing concern and a lot of the impact of the pandemic is only becoming evident just now.

“It has caused a lot more ongoing damage than we realise and we should be paying a lot more attention to it.

“Some people might think we’re over the pandemic, but as far as mental health is concerned, I don’t think we are.

“Coffee Man isn’t a crack at the charts. It’s a hobby that will hopefully return some money for charity – and keep me smiling at the same time.”

Hazel McIlwraith, director of fundraising and major appeals at SAMH, said: “SAMH is absolutely thrilled to be the chosen charity beneficiary for the Coffee Man song.

“We’re deeply grateful to Ford for his generous support and recognition. His contribution is invaluable in raising both funds and awareness for Scotland’s mental health, which means so much to all of us at SAMH.”