'COME TOGETHER' FOR CANCER: HASTINGS BEATLES DAY REVIEW

On this past Sunday, the 7th of April, I had the delight of attending the annual Beatles Day at the White Rock Theatre in Hastings.

hastingsbeatlesday.org.uk

Beatles Day is an all-day event that was created by Pete Prescott, which sees various local bands and music artists perform songs by The Beatles, and all the proceeds from the day go to MacMillan Cancer Support. All artists don't get paid and are there out of the goodness of their own heart, which makes the atmosphere of the event really great. This is the 20th year that the event has occurred, however, it was only the second year I have been so I went into it still not entirely sure what to expect. The event consistent not only of musical performances but also a raffle with some very impressive prizes and a small Beatles focused record store, which featured everything from newly printed albums to rarer copies worth over £150. Hastings Beatles Day is not just a gig, it is an event.

I will put out a disclaimer that the event runs from 12pm - 10:30pm, which meant that I was unable to see some of the later acts for various thoroughly boring reasons. However, my family and I were there from 12pm until 7pm so I definitely feel like I witnessed enough acts to give a fair review of the
day!
Also, I apologise for the bad photo quality.

The most impressive thing about Beatles Day, in general, is the sheer variety of acts they have. When I say they had something for everybody, I mean they had something for everybody. The most interesting part of the event is that each act is only on for a 20-minute slot, meaning that they get through a hell of a lot of acts.
There were four different stages; the main Gaby Hardwicke auditorium, the smaller Sussex Hall and two acoustic stages in two of the theatre bars. The combination of the short sets and the number of stages made it very easy to move around and find something that took your fancy. If there was an act that you didn't like as much, you could either go elsewhere or wait it out and there would be something new on in a few minutes.

Obviously, for this reason, there are a hell of a lot of acts to talk about it, so I am going to talk about the real highlights of the day

The Wingmen performing.

The first act on the bill, that we just about managed to catch, was the Wingmen. The four-piece were a really good start to the show, bringing a good amount of energy to a pretty small crowd of people starting to settle down for the day. They brought their own spins to the song they performed, and gave them a little bit of a heavier sound. For a group so young, they seemed to very much know what they were doing, and overall The Wingmen set a great tone for the rest of the day. While doing research on the band, I see they have an EP out, which I'm intrigued to listen to so that's a sign that they did pretty well!

The Wingmen were followed by The Showcase Performance Company, which were a dance troupe that performed choreography to covers of various Beatles songs. Although it wasn't my thing, it was nice to have something completely different in dance as opposed to singing.

The only slight, and I mean very slight, issue was the organisation of the acts. When dealing with this sheer amount of people, and everyone doing everything for free, you're bound to have a few slip ups. It was at this point after the dancing that a band had cancelled, and things got a little confusing and led to a delay that lasted the rest of the day. However, the organisers did the best they could and I appreciate that, and the timing wasn't really a big issue.

Autistix performing

The next standout band came a bit later in the shape of 'The Autistix'; a band that consists of 6 musicians in total with three members who have autism. They're a band you might have heard of as they've been featured on local news many times and most recetly on The One Show in January. There was a lot of hype surrounding them and they absolutely did not disappoint. The Autistix put their heart and soul into every performance they do, and their performance here was no exception. They brought a great amount of energy to the room and you could feel the atmosphere completely change in the room. The band are incredibly talented, with both vocals and instrumentals being very impressive, and this talent especially showed in this performance as they were still able to keep up their usual greatness, even with their usual drummer not present. I would absolutely say that The Autistix were one of the highlights of the day, and the same was to be said last year.

Mike Hatchard performing

Following the Autistix were the mellow musings of Poppy Prescott, who gave each song she performed an almost haunting tone. The simplicity of her voice with an acoustic guitar and subtle saxophone and drum, combined with the fact that you could hear a pin drop in the room, gave a completely different atmosphere than had been seen before. Following Poppy was Mike Hatchard, a usual to the Beatles Day who gave more lively performances with his piano and his violin, which at one point he played at the same time. The great thing about the variety of artists was the amount of times the atmosphere changed throughout the day.

Eclipse performing

Another very impressive act was Eclipse, who are usually a Pink Floyd tribute band but took to The Beatles for the day. This band one was one of my favourites because they put their Floyd-y sound with The Beatles and it worked. They performed songs that went well with their sound and the entire performance was very impressive. There were many acts that took on the iconic track of 'My Guitar Gently Weeps, but I'd say Eclipse pretty much had the best performance of it of the day (that I was able to see). Each element of the band was great, but the vocals and guitar, in particular, were outstanding. The room seemed to fill out when they came on, which showed they were a favourite among people there. They were just a really great band to sit and watch.

The Rodger Stone Band performing

The next band on, The Rufus Stone Band, were also very a hit with their upbeat covers of iconic early Beatles such as 'Help' and 'Ticket To Ride'. The ordering of the event was done very well in the sense that there was always a mellow act followed by a more lively one, which meant that there wasn't a mellow sound for too long. The Rufus Stone Band were a lot of fun, with a lot of instruments and their quirky look they gave something a little different and got people singing and clapping along.

It was at this point we headed downstairs to the Sussex Hall to see The Flying Teapots, a band which was made up of the majority of the line-up of Eclipse but with a different lead singer. The Sussex Hall had a more 'up and dance' vibe than the main auditorium, and The Flying Teapots certainly provided the music to dance to. By this point drinks were beginning to flow, and combined with some easy-to-dance to songs performed by the band, it meant there were a few people up and about.
My personal favourite song by The Beatles is Come Together, and The Flying Teapots were the only band that I saw that did a performance of this, so maybe I'm a little bit bias. Either way, The Flying Teapots put on a great show with a great atmosphere that really got the audience involved, which is really the point of small gigs like these.

There were many other bands and artists I saw that day, and absolutely none of them were bad, just some weren't quite for me. Overall the event was a huge amount of fun and I've never met anyone that's been that had a bad experience with it. Huge props to all the artists that played for free, as well as all the volunteers that worked the event for free also, especially to Pete Prescott who stepped down as head organiser this year after starting the day 20 years ago.
Beatles Day has raised nearly £300,000 for Macmillan since it has been going, with over £20,000 of that being made this year. Not only is it a great event, but it's really helping a lot of people with the astonishing amounts it raises every year.
It's a good day out for a good cause with some good music and a great atmosphere. What's not to love about Beatles Day?

To find out more about Beatles Day click HERE.
To find out more about Macmillan Cancer Support click HERE

LINKS TO BANDS

• THE WINGMEN
• THE AUTISTIX
• POPPY PRESCOTT
• MIKE HATCHARD
• ECLIPSE
• THE RUFUS STONE BAND
• THE FLYING TEAPOTS

Other bands that performed can be found on the Hastings Beatles Day website linked above.

Written by Ruby Crowhurst.