Morecambe set to boom for charity festival

There are still some tickets left for Seaside Specialized taking place at the Winter Gardens in Morecambe this Saturday (March 4 from 1pm-1am).

The Beat and Roddy Radiation are among the headliners for the event which is raising funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust and Youth Music.

“It will be a big boost for the town, we are looking at it becoming an annual event,” said Ivan Harrison, one of the organisers who also runs the Nice nSleazy Festival in Morecambe. “Many people who have bought tickets are coming out of town, staying at hotels including the Lothersdale.

“I think the charity is a good cause, teenage years are meant to be the best years of your life.”

Phil Loynds brought the idea for the event to Ivan after becoming aware of the Specialized Project.

The project brings together amateur and professional musicians with the shared goal of creating musical projects to raise funds for cancer research and support agencies, particularly The Teenage Cancer Trust and now The National Foundation for Youth Music.

This has been achieved by the production of themed albums supported by live music events across the UK.

Phil went along to one of the specialised events and immediately wanted to bring the idea back to Morecambe.

“I bought into the concept of specialized and was amazed at what they were doing,” said Phil, who has worked with Ivan as a volunteer on Nice n Sleazy.

“Teenage Cancer Charity there is very little funding for it, not many people give to it, people give to young kids and adults so we want to raise the profile to get people to realise that there are teenagers who get this dreadful disease.

“I wanted to bring the idea back here, I was thinking of something small but Ivan said we can get the Winter Gardens involved and it took off.”

Joining the Beat and Roddy on stage will be Skabilly Rebels, Big Fat Panda, Natural Rhythm Raw Ska, Root System, Millie Manders and the shutup, The Skapones, Skaciety, with DJ Dave Moran (Revival) and DJ Terry Hendrick.

Working on the Nice n Sleazy festival gave Phil a “reignited love for music” and is excited to hear some of the headliners play.

“We have got really big names which is fantastic,” said Phil, a Ska music fan.

“It was a kind of growing wish list, the one headliner I really wanted to see was The Beat, so I am particular pleased about that, especially with the fact that they have just released the new album back in September which has been very highly rated.”

Organisers are hoping to raise as much money as possible for the charities.

Phil said: “Cancer can affect everybody at some point in life, it has affected people in my family, not at a teenage level, thank god, but my wife has people on her side who have unfortunately passed away.”

Tickets for Seaside Specialized are £20, children under five are free and under 16 is £5. Family tickets are also available. All tickets can be purchased at www.ticketsource.co.uk/date/307333 and at Mega-Games, 200A Marine Road, Morecambe.

The Friday before the event, the Winter Gardens will also host a free music night from 7pm in conjunction with the specialized gig. The band Selecta will play along with a host of DJs.

To find out more about the specialized project visit www.specializedproject.co.uk.