A huge thank you to our wonderful supporter, Ray Clark, for organising another fantastic Annual Band Appeal in aid of OPA Cancer Charity. We are incredibly grateful for his continued support, dedication and hard work in bringing people together through music to raise awareness and funds for our cause. Thank you to Ray, all the performers and everyone who helped make the event such a success!
“I always look forward to the day of the Band Appeal concert, despite the build up of uncontrollable nerves. Mixed feelings cloud your mind. You want to see all your hard work of the previous months come to fruition. You’ve planted the idea in people’s heads. You’ve booked the club, contacted everyone that may or may not help, and who may or may not donate – even if it’s only a raffle prize. You’ve booked all of the acts, and then you’ve supplied an itinerary of how you want the night to proceed.
I’ve done enough now to know how many things can go wrong, the most precarious being an act. We are all of us, only human. We can come down with things, we can have an accident, or we can simply feel ill on the day. Fortunately, none of this happened.
One of the most exciting things is seeing everyone arrive at the club, perhaps within half an hour of each other. We all help to carry in raffle prizes and amplifiers, and everyone is talking ten to the dozen, pleased to see their colleagues and fellow musicians again, despite the nerves. Not that it is, but it can be fun seeing the expressions on everyone’s face as the time draws closer for it all to kick off.
All too soon, that moment came. Sound check complete, the doors opened and the show was under way. People turned up all excited, they bought raffle tickets, drinks, and waited in anticipation of what they were going to see.
The lights dimmed and the event cracked off to a great start with local band, Raging Phoenix, who played a number of covers from a variety of bands, culminating in a Beatles classic, Come Together. The youngest member of the team, Jack Dadswell (17) stepped on to the stage and treat the audience to a number of classic hits on his keyboard, starting with Dire Straits Walk of Life, after which, he stepped away and launched into a series of jokes. Irish singer songwriter Paula Ryan closed the first half with a number of her own compositions, one or two covers and even song with the help of the previous act.
The second half started with The Alcatraz Swim Team, a contemporary acoustic duo who gave each song their own modern twist, most of which came from the charts of the previous two years. Jessica Sharp took to the stage next, a very powerful female vocalist, who chose unforgettable hits like Cher’s Turn Back Time and the almost anthem like, Black Velvet by Alanna Myles. I finished off the night with a host of sixties classics from The Tremeloes, The Searchers, Herman’s Hermits and many more. The glue that held us all together was a local comedian/magician and all round entertainer, William Knight. Who could ask for more?
The total raised was a comfortable £650.60. As everyone left, they more or less said the same thing, here’s to next year.” – Ray Clark
