Pete Steel, hillwalker & musician
Pete and his daughter on top of Mam Tor in the Peak District.
“We smashed the charts and raised invaluable awareness for male suicide”
Pete Steel, a keen hillwalker, musician and member of our Mountains for the Mind community, stormed the charts in March with an emotional song to help raise awareness for male suicide.
Two years ago, on 5th March 2019, Pete Steel’s world was turned upside down when his brother and best friend Chris took his own life. Like so many people who lose friends or family members to suicide, Pete was left in a state of shock and grief with many unanswered questions, but two years on he’s using those experiences to spread a message of hope.
Suicide remains the most common cause of death for men aged 20-49 in the UK, yet it’s still a subject so many people are reluctant to talk openly about. That’s why, on the second anniversary of losing his brother, Pete released a single called The Fifth of March to celebrate Chris’s life and raise awareness for male suicide. And what an impact it’s had!
The single reached number 21 in the UK’s official weekly download chart, stayed at number 1 in the Amazon Music chart for four days, reached number 7 in the iTunes chart and peaked at number 3 in the iTunes pop chart. It sat above household names including Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Justin Bieber and Rita Ora and was played on BBC Radio. For Pete, a member of Trail’s Mountains for the Mind Facebook group who had travelled extensively to play in bands with his brother, it’s been a whirlwind few months.
“I set out to raise awareness about suicide and also raise money for the charity Andys Man Club,” said Pete. “But by far the best thing has been the countless messages I’ve received from people all over the UK telling me that The Fifth of March has either saved their life, changed their life or inspired them to make a change in their life.
“The 5th of March will always be the date we lost Chris, but it is now also the date we smashed into the charts and raised invaluable suicide awareness.
“Now for my own state of mind, I’m buying the kayak I’ve promised my little girl, loading the campervan with supplies, and we’re going on our adventures to the mountains as often as possible to make memories. Life is just too precious and way too short.”
You can buy Pete Steel’s charity single on iTunes and Amazon, and watch the video on YouTube or the song’s official Facebook page.
Pete on guitar in The Fifth Of March music video, with his brother Chris’s face in the smoke.