16 October 2020

Back in November 2019, we held our second Gig 4 Wendy at the Voodoo Lounge below Mama Liz’s in Stamford. Gig 4 Wendy was inspired by our late friend, who loved nothing more than to enjoy live music, singing and dancing whilst rattling her trusted tambourine. 

Our friend, Will Fry, came up with the idea in June that my band, Listen Like Thieves could play a gig to raise money for local mental health charities in Wendy’s memory, and Gig 4 Wendy was born. It was an easy choice to raise money for MindSpace Stamford. It was important to us to support a local charity who are raising awareness of mental health issues and providing opportunities for people who need help to reach out to their community. I was able to meet with Kevina at one of the ‘tea and chat’ sessions, and it was clear that this was a charity to get behind.

We had great support from Michael at the Voodoo lounge in setting up the evening and were delighted that our friends Baker and Harding were able to open the gig. The fabulous Bakers Dozen Brewing Company created a beautiful new beer specially for the occasion called Ella, £1 per pint went towards the cause and it sold out by 10pm. We also had a bucket collection that that raised over £300 in return for the orange MindSpace wristbands.

On the night, Baker and Harding were fantastic playing original music and brilliant covers. I even got to join them for an enthusiastic version of Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love. Then, Listen Like Thieves played two lively sets. We had the most fun playing our unique combination of covers. The sold out 110 strong crowd were in great form, all singing and dancing. I think we ended up playing for 2 hours! It was an incredible evening. We all get real pleasure organising events like this and a real buzz being able to contribute to our local community. MindSpace Stamford is a brilliant and important organisation in the local area, so it’s great to help. Our event was successful, raising over £1,200 on the evening, but most importantly, everyone had a wonderful evening together. We can’t wait to do something again, but the current covid world is making that difficult, however, keep your eyes peeled for future gigs.

John Burton, Listen Like Thieves