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Only Girl reveals moving video for 'Mountain' - premiere

'I wanted Jamie to know that I would always be there - If I could focus myself on climbing this mountain alongside him, I could stay strong'

Roisin O'Connor
Music Correspondent
Friday 02 March 2018 10:22 GMT
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In 2011, Jamie McKechnie was punched in an unprovoked "one punch" street attack in Shortlands, south-east London. He was left in a coma for nine weeks and given a 30 per cent chance of living - but since the assault, the BMX enthusiast has taught himself how to walk, talk and even cycle again.

His now-wife Ellen Murphy, who sings under the name Only Girl, has stayed by his side through everything, and has used her music to express her feelings about the struggles they have gone through.

We're premiering the incredibly moving video for her song "Mountain", written during a particularly difficult time, which conveys McKechnie's story and his life with Murphy in poignant detail.

Check it out (above).

“I wanted the video for Mountain to really convey Jamie's journey through recovery since he suffered the brain injury," Murphy tells The Independent. "I think his story is so inspiring and shows how he really fought for his life against all the odds.

"We found ourselves thrown into this incredibly traumatic journey together and ultimately this song was my beacon of hope, when there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel - 'And I will climb this mountain, just to follow you' - I wanted him to know that I would always be there - If I could focus myself on climbing this mountain alongside Jamie, I could stay strong for him."

"I thought it was really important for people to see what he went through - to show the archive footage from his time in rehab, and especially to understand the consequences of a senseless 'one punch attack' and how this can completely alter someone's life.

"Brain injury affects millions of people across the globe and these people are the real superheroes - persevering through a recovery that can sometimes seem impossible - like Jamie, relearning how to walk and talk; to feel emotions and to be alive again."

Director Cameron Turnball added: “Projections have been used countlessly in music video as a quick and effective aesthetic. In this context however, they demanded a more focused treatment due to their deeply personal nature.

"I strove to give them a sense of life and purpose and was greatly inspired by illustrations of light that I had seen in brain scans; the receptors and synapses firing and illuminating in an array of glowing light. I aimed to implement this into the video, with this light flowing through the projections, bleeding into other segments of the video...

"The sections of Ellen concealed under the sheet, are meant to simulate her physically inhabiting this memory. The sheet is eventually pulled away, exposing her to the outside space; symbolising the importance of perseverance and not allowing the memories of a darker past to define a that of brighter future".

'Mountain', the latest single from Only Girl, is out now

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