Tom Barlow, the JUNO-nominated artist behind the pop-rock band Barlow, has released a new song and accompanying music video for “The Wizard,” which sheds light on the North American opioid crisis and Richard Sackler of Purdue Pharma.
Barlow writes about Sackler being “The Wizard” of the Opioid Crisis, using some of Sackler’s actual “on record” statements that show the intent to flood the market and then blame the people who become addicted.
The song, co-written and produced by renowned bassist Tom Lewis, is as current as the topic itself and drives home the message with an infectious groove and a killer bass line.
The music video features appearances by actors Bryan Cranston and Michael Keaton.
In 2019, HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” broadcast a segment about opioids, including clips in which they hired the actors to re-enact Sackler’s deposition transcript, since videos from the deposition were never released publicly.
Oliver offered up the videos for anyone to use, which helped amplify the intent of “The Wizard.”
Barlow, watching the episode, was amazed that some of the quotes in the video were the same quotes he used in his song.
While creating the video for the song, Barlow integrated the footage of the actors to help put the Sackler name on the Opioid Crisis.
SWOMP’s Dana Haggith caught up with Barlow for an interview. Listen to it by clicking the YouTube video above.
Watch the music video for ‘The Wizard’, below:
Barlow will be donating 100% of his royalties from streams and downloads of the song directly to Mississauga-based charity Moms Stop The Harm, a network of Canadian families impacted by substance-use-related harms and death.
In addition to raising awareness for the opioid crisis through the song, Barlow is using his upcoming concerts – including his show at Toronto’s The Drake Underground on June 12 – to educate fans about naloxone.
This life-saving treatment option can reverse the effects of opioids and is available for free at pharmacies across Canada.
Over the past few years, Barlow has invited mental health and medical professionals to his shows to educate fans, including a live naloxone training demonstration in 2022.
His goal is to continue driving awareness about mental health first aid and promoting available online training courses throughout his summer shows.
This will serve to help reduce stigma and normalize conversations about the potential harms of this substance that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
“We need to end the stigma of addiction and make those who engineered and profited from this tragedy criminally accountable for their actions,” says Barlow.
ABOUT BARLOW
Tom Barlow of the Canadian band Barlow is a 4-time JUNO Award nominee, with 3 top 10 singles including his most notable hit, “Walk Away.” He has brought socially conscious music to 20 countries around the world including combat zones in Central America and tiny Inuit villages in the Canadian Arctic. Barlow has been the recipient of several humanitarian awards and citations for his work, bringing attention to such causes as environmentalism and marriage equality.