Whitby brothers attract international audience and raise over £2500 for the NHS

David Neil Crabtree, 26, and brother Mike, 24, did their first live broadcast on Monday, April 5 and have been performing to a rapidly growing audience ever since.

People from countries including Canada, Kenya, Norway and Australia are now tuning in to watch the pair sing, discuss movies and to chat with the brothers, who are regularly attracting between five and eight thousand views.

The interactive session sees talented musician David perform songs which range from The Killers and Stevie Wonder to Bruce Springsteen and Bill Withers, intermingled with a selection of new and original music composed by David himself.

However, it is brother Mike, who has Down’s Syndrome, that steals the show, providing backing vocals, jokes, a wardrobe that David Beckham would be proud of and delivering the show’s trademark catchphrase “Get involved and give us a quid.”

David, who in normal times is music coordinator at The Cock Pit - Music Venue in Pickering and earns his living as a musician, said all of his live gigs have been cancelled until November.

Other work has also dried up, although he says he is still managing to run some after school clubs via Skype and the odd hour of guitar tuition via the internet.

A solo project David was working on with George Michael’s producer Danny Schogger has also had its release date pushed back. The EP includes a track called “Miniature Sun” - a song about the way Mike lights up everyone around him.

Initially the two started performing in response to requests for Dave to do some live shows online, but after the first two Mike had a brain wave and said they could use them to raise some money, David suggested the NHS and before they knew it, the idea had taken off.

David said: “The first couple were about 1h15m in length, but since then we have performed for around two hours every day, which is the length of a Bruce Springsteen Concert, it’s real value for money.”

“It's a strange old time at the moment, but if lots of people do a little bit it will make big positive changes.”

Mike is no stranger to being the centre of attention. He is currently working on his new podcast “On the Mike '' where he will discuss music, movies and fashion with his brother who has created the theme music for the project.

David said his brother's fashion choices have been his favourite moments so far, and, of course, Mike’s rendition of Bryan Adam’s Summer of ‘69, which is attracting fans across the globe.

The pair plan to continue the daily livestream while they are still raising money for the NHS, and at the time of writing they had raised £2650 including gift aid.

Dave said every day might not be as long or as funny, and there is the distinct possibility that Mike may run out of hats, but one thing’s for certain, there will be a growing band of followers tuning in each day to find out.

You can join them on David’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/davidneilcrabtree/ from around 2pm each day.

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