A DUNFERMLINE group have dedicated a song and launched a record label in their bandmate's honour after his tragic death two years ago.

Callum Paterson was just 29 when he died suddenly in Dunfermline.

A much-loved brother to his younger sibling, Conner, and a highly-thought of young musician in the town, his death came as a complete shock to those around him.

He was part of the band 1/4 Chubz, which started off in 2012, and two of the band's members, Stuart Barrett and John Simpson, reconnected at Callum's funeral after years without seeing each other and created a path, through music, to make Callum proud.

For Stuart, writing a song in the wake of the tragedy proved to be a coping mechanism.

"Callum was the main songwriter back in the day and, to be honest, I was pretty talentless," Stuart recalled.

"But, when Callum died, I felt I wanted to try and write a song for him – my first attempt at writing a song.

"I didn't know where to start so I wrote his name down the page and that gave me a starting point for each line.

"I came up with a melody and chorus that were pretty rubbish so I stuck my notebook away and forgot about the song. It was a good way of dealing with the loss for me and I never expected it to become an actual song.

"Then, a few months down the line, John sent through a few songs he was working on and we started jamming again.

"I got the song I wrote for Callum out and showed him it and John came up with the beautiful acoustic guitar melody.

"We then both set about tweaking the verses and writing a new chorus for it. When John sent me the melody through messenger for the first time there was a bit of echo on it that sounded like violin.

"It sounded great and luckily my girlfriend, Mariam (Amhaz), plays violin so I asked her to add some to the song.

"I remember clearly the first time I heard the guitar and violin together, it felt perfect and it brought a tear to my eye. All that was left was for me to to add the bass line.

"Not only was Callum the main songwriter but he was the lead singer. I decided I wanted to sing the song as it was too personal a song to let anyone else do, even though John is a much better singer than me.

"My vocals are a bit off in places but I like the realness of them and the fact you can hear the emotion through it. I didn't want any tweaking of my vocals as I think it would take away from the song.

"When I was singing for the recording I felt like Callum was singing through me and it did bring me to tears, so if it sounds emotional that's because it was."

What started as just an idea on a page transformed into Until We Meet Again, the song set for release on April 9 in Callum's honour.

Stuart and John have also created Whanga Records in Callum's memory, a name that pays homage to his Maori roots (Callum Jake Paterson Whanga).

Stuart believes that their friend will be looking down on them and having a laugh at their expense, while also recognising their tribute.

"He will be laughing and taking the mickey out of us for the song but it will mean the world to him I'm sure and he'll be very proud of us," Stuart states.

"Callum was the guy that had belief in me to play music. He always said, 'I know you aren't the most talented but I'd never be in a band without you'.

"The three of us were a gang of mates who played rough music but we loved it and didn't care what anyone thought of us.

"Never let a lack of talent stop you doing what you love!

"I'm glad that we managed to write this song for him. Through the label, we want to find raw talented people like Callum and give them the opportunity to make music."