Wor Vera singer wraps up her 150 concert lockdown tour

When pubs and clubs shut due to the coronavirus and her income dried up, Deborah Taylor-Smith set about keeping herself busy with shows performed outside in exchange for petrol money and donations.

Now she has put together a CD featuring 21 tracks she has recorded, with a new radio show in the pipeline and plans to launch a vintage school, helping to keep the old times alive through the next generation.

It comes after the 37-year-old from Hebburn, who is mum to Matthew, 20, Charlotte, 18, Charlie, 13, and Maysie, nine, completed the 150 shows in 111 days, with the last held close to home, including appearances at Hebburn Court and Hadrian Lodge in Simonside.

Each was done while socially distanced from her audience, with homes across the region visited by the singer, while she also streamed shows online.

Deborah, a Sunderland University performing arts student who also sang as part of Clap for Carers, said: “It’s meant the world to me.

"I feel like it’s been like a battery in my heart, because when all my revenue dried up, which was a bit emotional, working at the care homes made me really happy.

"If you do something nice, nice comes back to you.

"Before lockdown I lost all my work and lost thousands of pounds, I had to look at Universal Credit, think about my kids and I just thought, what can I do?

"A lot of these residents have dementia and can’t remember what they had to for tea, but they can remember these old songs and it helps them think about their families and friends, maybe they were in the war or were young, so it brings back memories for them.

"I feel so grateful for all the support I’ve been given.”

Deborah has previously worked on Radio South Shields and is now set to launch a new show, Wor Vera Geordie Sweetheart, on Nova Radio, at the end of this month.

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