Malta’s victory over the Turks 445 years ago, celebrated yesterday, has a particular significance for a Gozitan-Australian singer/songwriter whose debut album goes by the name of 1565 Patiently Waiting.
Joseph Portelli, known as Jay P, has fused his pride in his ancestors’ battle with his own against Alzheimer’s disease, which his father is suffering from. And the result is his music.
He equates the “hard adversary” Malta met in 1565 in the form of the Turkish enemy with today’s war against Alzheimer’s, drawing inspiration from Malta’s victorious outcome.
For the musician, the Great Siege is a symbol of “faith, belief and hope – everything that is missing in today’s society” and he believes “the world needs a bit of 1565 injected into it”, calling on generations to look back and learn a few lessons.
His own “belief”, he claims, has resulted in the creation of his dream album.
“When I was writing the music a couple of years ago, I had a lot on my plate, including the fact that my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. I had visited an old man, a friend of his, who noticed I was rundown, so he threw a book at me – The Great Siege: Malta, 1565 – and told me: ‘If you think you have it hard, look at your ancestors.’
“I was really drawn by the book. If they had such huge odds stacked against them, then my problems were minor. Think about it: 9,700 Christians, of whom only 700 were trained, fought and were victorious over a 40,000-strong Ottoman armada.”
Jay P embraced that element of positivity and injected it into his own album, which includes a track for the Alzheimer’s ad campaign in Australia and another about his dad’s disease, expressing what his family is going through as they watch him deteriorate.
His message to sufferers and carers around the world is that “we are at war against Alzheimer’s and everyone should take on the battle as though it were the Great Siege like our ancestors did. “1565 can be a marriage breakdown; it can be financial turmoil; or the fight against cancer.” The musician is intent on resurrecting the date in Malta and, especially, overseas, where it is relatively unknown, a “sunken ship”.
Yesterday’s feast – also commemorating the feast of Our Lady of Victories, and the day the Italians surrendered to the British during World War II in 1942 – may not have as deep an impact on others at it does on the Gozitan-Australian, who feels he would not be here if it were not for his ancestors.
Although he has spent about 25 of his 37 years of life in Australia, Jay P still feels “fully” Gozitan.
“Malta means everything to me. It is my spiritual petrol station. I get my fuel from it and go and burn it out around the world. I am who I am because of my upbringing here and the ancestors we should be proud of... That will always filter through my music and what I have to say.
“Unfortunately, not everyone in my position is aware of their history and tends to shy away from it. Then, when they return to their roots, they are amazed.”
Jay P continues to be the voice of Alzheimer’s and the ambassador for the UK branch.
By 2050, 115 million people worldwide will have Alzheimer’s, which means 115 million carers, sons and daughters, he points out, insisting on the need for education on what lies in store before the floodgates open.
“I am fighting against a disease but I want to spread like one to raise awareness about it.”