Wayne Marshall and Derek Marshall

An R&B artist and an entrepreneur are backing a new song written by secondary school students that aims to promote a positive message a year on from the London riots.

Comedian Ricky Gervais supports Everybody Dreams

Derek Marshall, 41, of Mortlake Road, Ilford – who has been involved in music production for more than 20 years – and Wayne Marshall, 43, of Heybridge Drive, Barkingside, who had a Top 10 hit in the 1990s, have joined forces to promote the single, Everybody Dreams.

The pair are hoping to raise awareness of the single, which was written by pupils from Gladesmore School in Tottenham, as well as encouraging high profile celebrities to get involved.

Derek said: “I have known Wayne for many years after he hit the big time in the 90s, and thought I’d get involved. The response has been crazy and we have had so many celebrities jumping on board almost overnight.

“I saw the song’s potential straight away and thought it was really special. We hope the song will help the place to heal after the riots and move on. We want the whole of London to come together and promote cohesion.”

The song, which has already been endorsed by Haringey Council, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and celebrities including Ricky Gervais, was taken by the pupils to Downing Street on Friday who arrived in a Rolls Royce courtesy of K2 car hire, Leyton.

Wayne, whose sister is deputy headteacher at the school, said: “My sister is always full of ideas and she has been so passionate about the project that I decided to become an executive producer.

“I want to promote the single which I hope will bring a positive energy to Tottenham, and instead of people associating the riots with the place, we want them to think about Everybody Dreams.”

The students decided to take the media forms that were used to negatively promote the spread of riots and positively use them to promote their single.

They have created a viral campaign using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and BBM to spread the word and get everyone to download the track on August 19.