Charity single released in memory of 13-year-old who killed himself after years of homophobic bullying
By Will Stroude
News that a young teenager committed suicide in Australia following a campaign of homophobic bullying shook the LGBT+ community when it emerged last week (November 25).
Tyrone Unsworth, a Year 7 student at Aspley State High School in Brisbane, was just 13 when he took his own life on Tuesday (November 22). Tyrone’s mother, Amanda, said that her son was targeted by bullies because of his perceived sexuality.
“He was a really feminine male, he loved fashion, he loved make-up and the boys always picked on him, calling him gay-boy, faggot, fairy; it was a constant thing from year five,” she told The Courier Mail.
Following the teenager’s tragic death, Sydney-based singer-songwriter Jack Colwell released a single called ‘No Mercy’. Having originally been written in response to the anti-Safe Schools attacks that have dominated politics in the country, Colwell has pledged to donate 100 per cent of the proceeds from the track to QLife, a counselling service for LGBT+ people in Australia.
“I wrote this song a few months ago, and it came to me very quickly,” he told Pedestrian TV. “I was feeling very angry about the campaign against Safe Schools that was gathering steam. It is also a song that connects my past to my present.
“It describes my personal experience of homophobia, and living in fear, but as an adult I have learnt to reclaim that fear, and reclaim the words used to torture me.”
The singer went on to explain how Tyrone’s death inspired him to release the song for charity.
“After a year that has seen a sustained campaign against the Safe Schools programme, the suicide of a 13-year-old boy who wanted nothing more than to grow up to be a vet or a fashion designer, and our government moving LGBTQIA people around as though we’re chess pieces, I felt I had to release this song urgently to let young people know that we’re listening to them, and that we hear them and see them.
Almost every time I perform ‘No Mercy’ live, someone will approach me after the show to single out the song and let me know that it was positive for them to hear their experience being vocalised.”
Listen to ‘No Mercy’ below:
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