For the first time ever many of the biggest and emerging artists of the Dutch heavy music scene have collaborated to record and release a track to help raise funds for the Red Cross, in occasion of 3FM’s Serious Request 2014, a massive Dutch charity event that is organised every year by one of Netherland’s biggest radio stations.

 

 

From December 8th 2014, on thepoweroflove.nl, fans will be able to give a donation and download a heavy cover of “The Power Of Love”, originally performed by Frankie Goes To Hollywood.  

Featuring, in random order:

Anneke van Giersbergen - The Gathering, The Gentle Storm

Floor Jansen - Nightwish, Revamp

Simone Simons - Epica

Arjen Lucassen - Ayreon

Ruud Jolie - Within Temptation

Charlotte Wessels - Delain

Marcela Bovio - Stream of Passion

Daniel de Jongh - Textures

Jochem Jonkman - Vanderbuyst

Mark Jansen - Epica, Mayan

Manda Ophuis - Nemesea

Valerio Recenti - My Propane

Dianne van Giersbergen - Xandria

George Oosthoek - Orphanage  

Caroline Westendorp - The Charm the Fury

Epic Rock Choir - The Theatre Equation

Joost van den Broek - Producer, After Forever

Maaike Peterse - Kingfisher’s Sky

Anand Mahangoe, Remon Masseling, DJ van Zon - My Propane

Ben Mathot - Ayreon, Kyteman Orchestra

 

 

The Cause: help victims of sexual violence in conflict territories.

It’s a war within a war. One in five women worldwide is raped or otherwise sexually abused in their lifetime.

In conflict areas, sexual violence is used as a weapon, to humiliate the enemy, with catastrophic consequences on the victim’s physical and mental health. Often excluded from their community, surrounded by shame, victims also suffer social and economic consequences. Still, they are the ones who will have to take care of their families, their children, their homes, after everything around them has fallen to pieces.

The Red Cross provides shelter, medical care and psychological counseling, but is also committed to providing these women view of a future, for example through fundings and training.  

The Red Cross provides information to the public, the police and armed forces about the consequences of sexual violence, to prevent the victims from being expelled from the community, and to help decrease sexual abuse during war and conflict. Each year, 3FM - one of Netherlands biggest radios - organises “Serious Request” a large-scale charity event in the country, managing to successfully raise funds for the Red Cross to intervene for different causes. The event takes place from December 18th to December 24th, when some of the most famous DJ’s and personalities of the country broadcast live 24h from a “glass house” in the main square a dutch town.

 

 

The track. A song with a message of universal love, this year is the 30th anniversary of the release of “The Power Of Love” by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. One of the most beautiful love songs ever written, the track was released as third single of their Welcome To The Pleasuredome album in November 1984. It scored the band a UK #1 and was also a top 10 hit in several European countries, in New Zealand, and in Canada. Since then, reissues and/or remixes of the Frankie Goes To Hollywood recording of this song have been top 10 UK hits on two other occasions, hitting #10 in 1993 and #6 in 2000.