A Norwich barber left with spare time on his hands in lockdown has pursued a lifelong passion project and released a song about mental health.

Peter Tuttle, 57, runs Tutts Cuts on Sprowston Road, but has been forced to spend more time at home during the country's three lockdowns.

With help from long-term client and producer Adrian Fletcher, 50, he has created a song which has brought personal struggles during isolation to light called In My Bubble.

Since last March, closures enforced following government guidelines have meant that trade built up over more than three decades took a hit.

"It's worrying, not only me and my two colleagues but all businesses classed as 'non-essential'," he said. "Anxiety of what the future holds took control of my thoughts, my mind drifted and, although I'm confident they will, I began asking questions like will my clients return and will my business survive?"

Mr Tuttle said he did not want to sit around feeling sorry for himself, and said he was grateful for everything key and front line workers had done.

"Aside from financially, it's affected me because of the loss of social interaction," he said. "I went from talking to 20 to 30 people a day to one, my wife Allison, who I'm proud to say is a care worker."

He began writing lyrics, an act of expression stemming from childhood and one which is found throughout his family. His oldest daughter Sharmayne is the lead singer in a group called Iconic and his youngest, Lili-Mae, made it as far as judge's houses on the X-Factor.

"I've been writing and singing since I was a child, but for me, my profession and family was always my main priority," Mr Tuttle said. "Now my family has grown up, and I can no longer work because of Covid-19, it just felt right."

Eastern Daily Press: Peter Tuttle, a Norwich barber who has written a song during lockdown which is now on all streaming services.Peter Tuttle, a Norwich barber who has written a song during lockdown which is now on all streaming services. (Image: Archant 2021)

The song's purpose? To document the personal struggle of lockdown, with a core message of mental health and wellbeing.

Producer Mr Fletcher, who worked out of a home studio, said: "Normally, we'd get together and record the vocals here, but because of lockdown, we couldn't. Peter sent some basic recordings of ideas he had. It surprisingly worked well. Recording vocals along with ideas for a beat and bassline."

Unable to work out of a professional studio, Mr Tuttle used an iPhone as a mic and fabricated a makeshift studio in his living room. The process was quick, 10 days from start to finish.

Within a couple of weeks, In My Bubble had almost 800 YouTube views, will be played on Future Radio and is available to download on Spotify, Apple Music and iTunes.