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Fundraising gig tribute to heart victim
GET ready to rock with Essex band Glasshouse who, for the third year running, are staging a charity gig to raise money for the Cardiomyopathy Association.
The cover band's guitarist Matt Sykes lost his brother-in-law Paul Davies to cardiomyoptahy in 2005.
He's hoping that the gig will raise awareness of the low-profile heart disease which causes a small risk of sudden death in younger people.
Paul, of Brightside, Billericay, died at the age of 28 after suffering from one of three main types of the disease- dilated cardiomyopathy.
Affecting one in every 5000 people, dilated cardiomyopathy causes the heart to enlarge preventing it from pumping blood efficiently.
"Paul had had a stroke three or four years before I met him but he always had a very mischevious sense of humour." Matt recalls, "He never let his disability get to him."
The gig at the Wick Community Centre should be a fitting tribute to music lover Paul as the crowd can expect to hear the band banging out the best in contemporary rock and pop as well as all those classic rock favourites.
"Every year we get my wife Catherine (Paul's sister) to do a song with us," says Matt, "this year she's singing Valerie, the Amy Winehouse version.
"One of the reasons she did Sweet Child Of Mine by Guns'n'Roses last year was because Paul loved all that rocky stuff."
Proceeds from the gig will go to the Cardiomyopathy Association which provides support and information to sufferers of the disease and their families.
The Davies family has taken part in a number of fund raising events for the charity and as a trustee of the association Paul's father Peter is
closely involved with their work.
Matt explains: "The whole family has been involved in charity events. We must have raised nearly £20 000 all together."
Between them Paul's extremely dedicated family and friends have taken part in the Great North Run, the London Marathon and the New York Marathon.
Another succesful fund raiser is the Paul Davies Memorial Cycle Challenge which, for two years running, has started out in Billericay with cyclists taking part in 25km, 50km and 100 km routes."
In past years the gig has attracted over 150 of the bands friends and family and raised nearly £1000.
This year Matt's hoping the band can attract more local music fans.
"Basically the more people we can get to come down the more money we can raise," he says. "If only one more person comes to the gig after reading this its worth it because it all helps to raise awareness of the disease."
Glasshouse play the Wick Community Centre at 8pm on Saturday (April 26).
Tickets are £10 available on the door and via the band's Myspace page www.myspace.com/glasshousecoversband.
10:30am Tuesday 22nd April 2008
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