What occurred around him at the time could only be described as a nightmare.

What Ian didn't know about those nightmares was that his school friends were part of them.

They were victims at the hands of a clergy child sex abuse scandal that would not fully be understood until almost half a century later.

But Ian can understand, he was a victim himself while a student at St Kevin's College in Toorak in 1972.

He later learnt of the stories from his friends, while others he will never know.

But more than 40 years on he returned to Ballarat for one very particular reason.

That reason was to film a videoclip for his new song "99 Candles in Ballarat".

Speaking with The Courier Mr Whitehead said the touching musical piece was driven by emotion, both good and bad.

He said there were two main aspects which inspired him to write the song, one of those was the determination to help other victims.

The second driver was his anger at former headmaster at St Patrick's College – where notorious paedophile Edward Dowlan operated - Paul Nangle, who told the Royal Commission into Institutionalised Response to Child Sexual Abuse he cannot remember any sexual abuse complaints being made against a teacher.

"I'm really angry about (Nangle's evidence), but at the same time I want (the song) to be a message of hope," he said.

"It took me 20 years to talk about (the abuse) ... if you have someone who can say it's OK to talk about it, it makes it easier.

"I'm trying to convey to people what happened ... but also help people speak up."

With the Royal Commission findings imminent, Mr Whitehead is hoping the song channels both emotion and discussion within the community.

He is now also pushing for a designated day where every institution takes a moment to remember victims.