#HoldTrue with Magners

Remember that song by the Rolling Stones, I’m Free? The one where Mick Jagger boisterously claims that he can do what he wants? Yeah, easy for him to say, we hear you groan. But these days, that’s a sentiment most forget – that we can be our own person, and really do what we want. Your friendly neighbourhood cider brand Magners recently teamed up with a whole bunch of different musicians to cover that classic song, as part of their new #HoldTrue project. And it’s not just a contrived video to relive some Stones nostalgia – the artists tell their own stories, driven by that message – holding true to yourself.

“I’m kind of like the Forrest Gump of alternative culture,” says Bruno Wizard, veteran underground punk rebel and frontman of The Homosexuals. “I was a child growing up in economically deprived England where people have been taught not to expect anything from life.” He later started a band – The Rejects – but quickly felt pressure to conform. Frustrated by outside forces “controlling distribution and production of punk, I changed the name of the band from The Rejects to The Homosexuals to keep the major labels and the establishments away from me.”

Meanwhile Gaz Mayall, founder of legendary ska troupe The Trojans, holds true with his commitment to the Notting Hill Carnival, having played there for 25 years. “It’s fun but it’s now become my duty. An institution. It’s sounds really corny and cheesy to say it but I am a man of the people.”

Younger acts are here too. London rock outfit The Scarletinas are barely three months together, but already energised by their connection as a band. “Bands are very complex things,” co-frontman Marc tells us. “You've got to really keep focused and know why you're doing it. All of us are sure of what we're doing – we love it, we're passionate about it.”

Bellatrix – up-and-coming vocalist and UK beatbox champ – has overcome challenges in her musical career. “I’m a bass player and beatboxer and actually there aren’t many women who do either,” she explains. “When I started to clock that the people who were inspiring me to do what I do were all men, that did pose some obstacles for me. It took a lot for me to break those barriers down.”

Rising R ‘n’ B singer Daze talks of her inspiration. “There are many female singers I look up to at the minute – Imogen Heap, particularly. She does what she wants and doesn’t sell in to anything.” Struggling with inertia in her former band, she found opportunity in music. “I now do visual branding for musicians, working on the other side of the music industry which is really exciting, just because I’ve never wanted to stop doing working in music.”

When it comes down to it, the most important thing is to do what’s true to you. #HoldTrue

We’ve teamed up with Magners to offer five lucky winners a crate of cider each – click here to find out how.

The song as performed by the above artists, both collectively and by Daze and Gaz Mayall individually, is available for download via iTunes and Google Play.