A CHART-TOPPING musician who became a Co Down schoolteacher has helped pupils record a song to support victims of the Philippines typhoon disaster. Tim Brown achieved success as the bassist with alternative rock band The Boo Radleys, most famous for their 1995 hit single Wake Up (it's a beautiful morning). The 45-year-old now works at St Louis Grammar School in Kilkeel after retiring from the music industry in 1999. Mr Brown has helped pupils from the school record a song and YouTube music video to encourage people to donate towards the Typhoon Haiyan appeal. The original song, Now I Know, was performed by A-Level music-technology pupils and has gained thousands of hits since it was uploaded online on Sunday. Mr Brown, who wrote the song with his wife Catherine and the school's music teacher Dearbhla McDonagh, urged people to support the Serve charity appeal. The music technology and ICT teacher said it was "a bit strange" to be speaking about a music video 14 years after The Boo Radleys ended. "The irony is that I never did interviews when we were in the band. It was up to the singer and the guitarist to do them and I just sat quietly in the back," the father-of-two said. "I felt that the song would be a perfect way to raise money for those who have been affected by the typhoon. "The song is about reaching out to help others less fortunate than ourselves and I hope the local community puts their support behind it." Fierce winds and tsunami-like storm surges battered the Philippines two weeks ago when it was struck by one of the strongest typhoons on record. The death toll has risen above 5,000 and is likely to climb further, Philippine officials said yesterday. School principal Kevin Martin said: "We have a strong tradition of supporting charitable causes here in St Louis and I am pleased that the staff and pupils could use their talents in this way to raise money for Serve." * Visit http://youtu.be/ lLeeelXYq-4 to watch the music video and visit the Serve website serve.ie to support the charity's Typhoon Haiyan Appeal. * SUPPORT: Teacher Tim Brown, above, has helped pupils record a song for victims of the typhoon. Right, a screengrab from the video MAIN PICTURE: Kelvin Boyes/PressEye
