A Grand Night

It was more than a grand night. In fact, it was a ‘grand’ plus £132.

Yes, that’s right, last Thursday’s fund-raising evening raised a total of £1,132 no less, thanks to the incredible generosity of everybody who tuned-in to enjoy what was an absolute belter of a music night.

Regulars and Guest Appearances

Pretty much all the songs were dedicated to the charity RENEW and its relentless fund-raising to help the refugees locked-down on the Greek island of Leros. Many had chosen their songs for the meaningful lyrics, others had included a special introduction. Club regular Robin Spreckly updated one of his own protest songs and incorporated a specially rewritten middle eight.

We had a first-time visit from The Christians former frontman, Henry Priestman who introduced his lovely “Beautiful Dreamers” with a special message to the club and to the charity.

Merry Hell
Merry Hell (right)contributed their hauntingly beautiful, a Cappella, “I Am Coming Home, I Am a Refugee, written by band member Bob Kettle.

Accompanied by his wife Elizabeth, Gary Edward Jones sang the beautifully poignant “Oceans” which he wrote after hearing about the three-year-old Syrian boy, Alan Kurdi, who drowned in the Mediterranean Sea during 2015 as he and his family fled war-torn Bagdad.

The evening had opened with “Only Human”, a song penned by club-member Alan Thompson after attending a talk given by one of the founders of RENEW about the desperate plight of the refugees on Leros.

Accompanied by a slideshow of pictures taken by the charity’s volunteers, the video has since been used during several fund-raising events. And then to close the show Alan and his sister Linda had recorded a special “lock-down” live version of that fabulous heart-wrenching song.

Rewind
If you missed the show, it is available to replay at the bottom of this page. Near the beginning, Louise Edwards gives a brief explanation about the work done by the Buckley based Refugee Essentials North East Wales (RENEW). Herself, one of the group’s volunteers,  Louise has also hosted fund-raising concerts at her own music venue, The Tin Shed, in Treuddyn.

Above all, enjoy the wonderful locally-produced music by as talented a bunch of musicians to be found anywhere.  The show is three hours long and if you skip through to the best bits, it will only take you… erm… three hours 😉