Coronavirus: Radio stations show solidarity by playing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ at same time

‘We all have to do what we can to beat this crisis’

In a show of solidarity against coronavirus, radio stations across Europe including the BBC simultaneously played Gerry & The Pacemakers’ “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.

The 1963 hit was played at 7:45am on BBC1’s weekend breakfast show with Matt Edmondson and Mollie King, Lauren Laverne’s BBC 6 Music show and Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 show.

Hundreds of other radio stations across Europe joined in — participants were based in Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Latvia, Slovakia, Romania and Spain.

After the track finished, Ball admitted that the show of unity had left her feeling emotional. She went on to share a selection of messages from listeners who praised the move.

Dutch radio presenter Sander Hoogendoorn of 3FM came up with the idea, and explained: “We all have to do what we can to beat this crisis. Things like this just go beyond the boundaries of radio channels.

“[The song] could speak to those doing an incredible job working in healthcare right now, those who are ill or those who can’t leave their house for a while.”

The lyrics to “You’ll Never Walk Alone” include:

When you walk through a storm

Hold your head up high

And don’t be afraid of the dark

At the end of a storm

There’s a golden sky

And the sweet silver song of a lark

Other celebrity responses to the pandemic have been criticised by members of the public. When Gal Gadot gathered together a number of famous friends for a cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine” it was deemed “cringey”.

Others enjoyed footage of Little Mix star Perrie Edwards and her footballer boyfriend dancing around while in self-isolation.