Mansfield teen releases parody song about his 'grey' home town

The talented 15-year-old singer-songwriter has written ‘Welcome to Mansfield’ about his experience of the ‘grey town’ as a teenager.

With lines like: ‘Teenagers only stand on corners because there’s nothing out there for us’ and ‘As dark as a Tim Burton film’ the song describes the recent decline in the town and the lack of things to do for teenagers.

The year ten pupil at Shirebrook Academy was due to release the song in the summer, but decided lockdown was an appropriate backdrop and mood for the song.

He explained: “I wrote the song as a bit of fun to try and get people to listen to young people, and released it during the lockdown to make people laugh.

“I was unsure what the reaction would be, but I have only had about five negative comments out of hundreds.

“I have even had people from Mansfield in America tell me that they like it too.”

The video was recorded around Mansfield and Shirebrook, and features empty shops, graffiti, and people walking around with brown paper bags on their heads with the instruction ‘keep your head down’.

His dad, David Hopkins loves his son’s work: “We think it’s great – he loves Mansfield really, but he wanted to get across how uninspiring it is for young people of his age.

“Its such a shame for him at the moment as he had just got an agent and had gigs booked, which have now been cancelled.

“He loves performing, and we were unsure what people would think to the song, but it’s mainly been positive so far.”

His family hope that people will enjoy the comedy of song, but that it might also make people listen and think about the lack of opportunities for young people.

The full video is here. You can also see more of his songs on his YouTube channel