Northumberland musicians are fighting cancer through rock music after a charity concert at an Amble pub raised £1,206 for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.
The sell out event at the Wellwood Arms featured three local bands – Life Crisis, Mudsharks and The Range. 'Wellwoodstock' was organised by Tim Fairbridge and Ian Fairbairn and was such a success that the bands are planning to repeat it later this year.
Ian Fairbairn, who lives in Amble and works at Rio Tinto Alcan’s Lynemouth Power Station, says: “Putting this charity event on was an amazing experience for all of us.
“We wanted to put on an evening of live music and as we began planning it we thought it could help a local charity too. We’re all Newcastle United fans so the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation was an obvious choice.
“I actually shared the same birthday as Sir Bobby although he was born a long time before me. He’s a man we all admired and we were very sad when he passed away.
“We’re very proud to support his charity and help local people with cancer. It’s a disease which has affected people we know and sadly I don’t think many people go through life without being touched by it one way or another.
“When my employers Rio Tinto Alcan found out what we were doing they donated an extra £200 to boost the overall total which was great.”
The three Wellwoodstock bands recently came together again to meet with Sir Bobby’s youngest son, Mark Robson, at the Northern Centre for Cancer Care in Newcastle.
Mark says: “Dad loved live music but I’m not sure a rock night would have been his cup of tea!
“He would have been very appreciative of the efforts the bands and Wellwood Arms went to on behalf of his charity though.
“The money raised will be spent on cancer projects which will help patients from across the north east, including the clinical trials of new drugs.
“Often these drugs are at such an early stage in development that they are not yet licensed by the NHS. That’s where the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation is helping with funding.
“Events like Wellwoodstock are vital to the ongoing success of the charity and the fight against this terrible disease. We’re grateful to Ian and all the bands for thinking of us.”
Thanks to incredible ongoing support, the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation has raised over £2.1 million since its launch in March 2008.
In addition to equipping the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre, the charity has funded a specialist research nurse and doctor and enhanced a children’s waiting area at the Northern Centre for Cancer Care. It also recently announced a £30,000 contribution to the Teenage Cancer Unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.
The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation operates within the Newcastle upon Tyne NHS Trust and a wider cancer research network to provide services not currently funded by the NHS for the benefit of patients from across the north east.
