LAST month, 22 people tragically lost their lives when they were caught up in the Manchester terror attacks.

Among the thousands at the packed-out concert at the Manchester Evening News Arena having watched their idol Ariana Grande perform, they sadly didn’t survive the blast after a lone attacker set off a bomb in the foyer which injured a further 59 concert goers.

After such tragic circumstances, the country has united in the fight against terror and a group of musicians from across the North-East have got together to form a one-off super group to produce a charity single in memory of all those who didn’t arrive home safely.

All 22 are in the thoughts of the group of 30 musicians, including the four victims from the North-East – Gateshead’s Philip Tron and Courtney Boyle and South Shields teenage couple Chloe Rutherford and Liam Curry.

Humshaugh singer/ songwriter Amy Ridley and Corbridge’s Hayley Ellen Watson were a big part of the North-East Artist Collective which produced the charity video of Ariana Grande’s One Last Time.

Amy’s involvement was a particularly poignant one, for she instantly became best friends with Chloe after they met signing up for a music performing course at Newcastle College two years ago.

From that moment they became inseparable and they formed an acoustic band, TwoNotes, as part of the course.

Amy (18), a former pupil at Hexham’s Queen Elizabeth High School, has found the strength to carry on her music despite losing her sidekick.

She said: “I had a spell after the attacks when I didn’t want to pursue my singing because it had been me and Chloe singing together for the past two years. But then I thought that I should continue for her.

“I’ll never forget the moment we met. My mam told me just to go in and be full of myself, and I said to Chloe, ‘do you want to be my best friend?’ It was just the funniest thing.

“Everybody says this, but I don’t think I ever saw Chloe angry or cross. She may have had a firm word with you, but she was just so kind.”

When Amy returned from work on May 22 to learn of the terrorist attack on the MEN arena, she instantly grew concerned for Chloe and Liam’s well-being. After being declared missing, they were both pronounced dead in the following days.

The news rocked Amy, and the entire country.

But the brave teenager somehow summoned the strength to perform live at Newcastle’s O2 Academy on the Friday evening, opening Channy Thompson’s sell-out headline show.

There she paid an emotional tribute to her best friend which had the entire audience in tears.

Amy has since gone on to perform at Chloe and Liam’s wake in South Shields and complete her end of course performance as a solo artist, representing both Chloe and herself as part of TwoNotes.

“That was the hardest thing I have had to do because she was supposed to be there next to me.”

To help remember Chloe and all the people who lost their lives in the attack, Amy was particularly keen to join in with the project for the charity video.

Pulling in the likes of former X Factor contestant Geoff Mull and up-and-coming star Channy Thompson, local music producer Tyron Spence dreamed up the idea in a bid to raise £50,000 for the families of the Manchester victims

Within days, he had 60 requests from artists wanting to help out, which was whittled down to 32 for the final production.

Fittingly, Amy features heavily throughout the song.

She said: “It’s good to see North-East musicians support such a project and as a singer myself, it has brought us all together. We have always been a bit of a family, but this has made us a lot stronger.

“It’s a nice tribute to all those who lost their lives. In my eyes, music has no boundaries and you can interpret it in different ways, so something like this emphasises that.

“An important message it sends out to the people who think it’s all right to carry these attacks is that we will not live in fear.”