A vicar receiving treatment for stage four skin cancer composed a song using the sounds of an MRI scanner. In 2019, the Reverend Matthew Simpkins of Lexden, Colchester, was diagnosed with the condition for the first time.
In 2021, the 44-year-old priest-in-charge of Lexden was diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer and underwent months of treatment and scans.
“I figured that writing a song during the scan would help me get through this,” he stated.
“I believed I had an option when the machine began up: either I’m going to lose it or I’m going to have fun with it, if that makes sense.
“I’m in a horrible circumstance with stage four cancer, but again, you have a choice, and this song is a good illustration of that – how you can turn a difficult situation into a song and live.”
Mr. Simpkins, who grew up in Ipswich and Sudbury, had to temporarily walk aside from his duties as the vicar of St. Leonard’s Church in order to focus on his health last year.
He was initially diagnosed with uncommon lentiginous acral melanoma (ALM) before it transformed into malignant melanoma.
As a means of coping with his diagnosis, the patient, a veteran of local bands such as Fuzz Face and Rev Simpkins & the Phantom Notes, stated that music had given him both relaxation and consolation.
He stated that the sounds of the scanner demonstrated that music could be found anywhere.
While lying in the scanner, the married father of two figured out which keys the machine’s noises was in and composed corresponding harmonies in his thoughts.
After downloading the MRI’s noises from the internet, he recorded them and digitally layered them to create the track.
“It was like being in a strange nightclub, with these deafening, but cool, sounds,” Mr. Simpkins explained.
This is how I’ve dealt with it every time I’ve gone in: by being creative, sharing that with my family and friends, and making the best of the situation.
The song, titled Spooling, was created in cooperation with Ben Brown of renowned local bands Dingus Khan and Superglu, and it will be published by Ipswich-based Antigen Records.
Mr. Simpkins remarked,
“It would be great if people who are apprehensive about a scan heard the song – perhaps it would make the experience a little less terrifying to see a hairy vicar sing about it.”
The couple has also recently created the band Pissabed Prophet (named after a slang term for a dandelion) and will release their debut album in May.
Mr. Brown said:
“The year I spent recording this album was one of the best of my life, both musically and in terms of establishing friendships with such speed and intensity.
“I hope [individuals] find and like it.”
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